Crookston Football falls to Frazee in Home Opener

The Crookston Pirate Football team fell to the Frazee Hornets 41-16 to spoil Crookston’s home opener at the UMC Football Field.

1st Quarter–
The Hornets started the game on offense, and opened with a four play drive that resulted in a four yard score for running back Tanner Moe. The snap on the point after was bobbled, which resulted in the try being no good. Crookston’s offense struggled on their first possession, going three and out and punting. Frazee’s next drive was just like the first, as a 22 yard run from Dawson Lyman put the Hornets up 13-0. Crookston’s next drive was a three-and-out, following a couple of short runs, but a 50 yard punt from Teagan Lubinski set Frazee up on their own three. The Hornets offense was efficient, chipping away on a long drive. The quarter ended with a big run from Cade Nagel, who set Frazee up inside the 5 to start the second. “Our tackling was not very good tonight, and offensively, we did not do a good job up front in moving some people,” said Pirates head coach Nate Lubarski.

2nd Quarter –
Frazee started on the 3-yard line. They were held to minimal gains on the first three downs by the Pirate defense, but Hornets quarterback Adam Vigen scored on a QB sneak to extend the lead to 20-0. “It wasn’t necessarily the ‘tush push,’ but it was close,” said Lubarski. “We need to get more people to the ball.” Crookston would go three and out for the third series in a row, with a short punt starting Frazee near midfield. The passing game came alive for Frazee on this possession, as quarterback Adam Vigen completed a 25-yard pass to Carter Sonnenberg for 35 yards, followed by a touchdown catch over the middle by tight end Blaine Asher. Another Pirate offensive drive would stall following a penalty on a short catch by Tate Hamre, and the Hornets were able to score one more touchdown on a 32-yard carry by Cade Nagel with their final possession. “The message isn’t a whole lot different as it was the last two games,” explained Lubarski, “We need to prove to ourselves that we can play physical football, and that we’re not okay with what happened in the first half.”

3rd Quarter –
Crookston took the opening kickoff and with it, some momentum. After a first half of short runs, Crookston opted to spread the ball through the air. Teagan Lubinski used a 31 yard catch from Tate Hamre to move the Pirates into Frazee territory. “They were bringing three, maybe four guys at times. I thought our pass protection was okay,” commented Lubinski on his passing offense. Later in the drive, Lubinski would fumble on a pass attempt right into the hands of Asher Blaine of the Hornets, who returned the ball 66 yards to the house. “90 percent of the time, that one falls incomplete and the kid made a nice pkay on it in tight quarters on what was basically a sack,” Lubinski said. Crookston’s interior was able to block the point after. The special teams seemed to create some momentum, as Teagan Lubinski rattled off a 70 yard scramble for a touchdown to get the Pirates on the board. “[Lubinksi] did a nice job in the second half of stepping up in the pocket instead of bailing out,” Lubarski said. “He feels like there’s more lanes to scramble, and tonight, a couple of scores happened.” The 2 point try was good on a quick out pass to Hamre in the flat. The Hornets offense began to sputter, with Crookston’s defense standing tall and forcing a stop. The punt from Frazee’s Dawson Lyman got a hornet bounce, and set Crookston up inside the 5 for their next possession. Crookston was penalized twice on the drive, which nullified a first down pass to Tate Hamre and a nice scramble from Lubinski. Crookston was forced to punt again from deep in their territory.

4th Quarter –
Many of Frazee’s reserves started to trickle into the game. One of the few remaining Hornet starters, Mason Mickelson, broke away for a long touchdown, but it was called back due to penalty. Frazee’s backups were able to muster a few good plays, including a 12 yard sideline pass from quaterback Ean Kilde to Blake Sonnenberg. An injury to a Crookston defender briefly stopped play, and the Hornets were eventually turned over on downs to finish the drive. A sack and a four yard loss on a run from Mickelson helped Crookston get the ball back. Teagan Lubinski was able to break off another long touchdown run, with about 4:00 to go in the game, this time for 69 yards on a quarterback keeper. Lubinski kept himself for the 2 point try, and strolled into the endzone untouched. The Hornets backups took one more drive on offense, resulting in a short punt. Crookston’s final drive saw many of their reserves coming in to drain the final minute of time. Moving into next week, Lubarski wants his his team to work on controlling what’s in their hands. “We need to focus on turning this thing around for our own selves,” he says, “Our focus needs to be on us, and then on going out and playing well against Pelican Rapids next week.”

Crookston drops to 0-3 on the year and will host Pelican Rapids on Friday, September 20. Frazee improves to 1-2 on the year.

1st Quarter –
10:12 – Frazee – Tanner Moe 4 yard rush TD (kick failed)
6:35 – Frazee – Dawson Lyman 22 yard rush TD (kick good)

2nd Quarter –
11:15 – Frazee – Adam Vigen 1 yard rush TD (kick good)
5:31 – Frazee – Asher Blaine 33 yard TD catch (2pt good)
2:52 – Frazee – Cade Nagel 32 yard rush TD (kick good)

3rd Quarter –
10:02 – Frazee – Asher Blaine 66 yard fumble recovery TD (kick blocked)
8:41 – CHS – Teagan Lubinski 70 yard rush TD (2pt good)

4th Quarter –
:09 – CHS – Teagan Lubinski 69 yard rush TD (2pt good)

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