The Crookston Pirate Football team fought hard, but came up short against the Hawley Nuggets, 44-6 at KROX Radio Stadium in Crookston.
1st Quarter–
After an opening drive three and out from Crookston and a short punt into the wind, Hawley started their first possession in Pirate territory. Liam Pederson ran for eight yards on first down, but Crookston recovered a fumble on a toss from Nuggets quarterback Brody Hadley around the 39. The Nugget defense held, forcing another three and out followed by a Pirate punt. Hawley got the ball back with 8:24 to go in the quarter but milked off six minutes on a seven-play touchdown drive. Levi Lelm found the endzone for the Nuggets first, striking from four yards away to make it 6-0. Crookston’s next possession would result in a couple of positive plays, but the Pirates were ultimately turned over on downs at their own 41 following a 4th and 5 drop by Tate Hamre. When Hawley took over, a roughing the passer penalty on Crookston set the Nuggets up at the 15. Two plays later, it was Linkolin Midthun scoring another Nugget touchdown with 1:23 to go in the quarter. Crookston’s offense continued to struggle, as a Teagen Lubinski fumble recovered by the Nuggets set them up on the 36. Facing an early 2-score deficit, the Pirate defense stepped up as Tate Hamre dropped Hadley for a 10 yard sack. A bad snap on the next play set Hawley up in 3rd and 28, which ended the quarter.
2nd Quarter –
Crookston’s defense turned Hawley over on downs to start the quarter and got the ball around midfield. The Pirates started to get going on offense, picking up a couple of first downs with the help of Lubinksi’s hard count. Crookston was able to sustain a seven-play drive, but their momentum was stopped after Lubinski was sacked on 4th and short. Hawley fed the ball to Liam Pederson on their next possession, but it was cut short after the Pirate defense recovered a fumble from Pederson on the second play of the drive. Crookston took over on their own 48 and worked the ball inside the five with a 50-yard catch and run from a wide-open Rylan Lubarski. A negative run on first and goal set the Pirates up nine yards away from the endzone, and Lubarski was able to score a touchdown on third down with a minute left in the half. The Nuggets answered back 20 seconds later, as Pederson broke off a 72-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion attempt from Midthun put the score at 20-6 for Hawley. The Pirates took a couple of shots at the endzone to end the half, but Lubinski’s Hail Mary attempt was batted away from the Hawley secondary.
3rd Quarter –
Hawley opened the third quarter with the ball, but another Nugget fumble was recovered by Ean Deleon of the Pirates in opposing territory. Set up on the Hawley 35 with just over 11 minutes to go in the quarter, Crookston regained momentum and built on it with a 6 yard first down run from Hamre. Lubinksi found Hamre for a 13 yard catch and a first down two plays later. The drive would stall though, as a 10 yard sack of Lubinski led to a 4th and long incompletion and Hawley regaining possession. Crookston was able to milk the clock to around 6 minutes in the quarter, but the empty possession shifted momentum back to the Nuggets. Levi Lelm had two big carries on the drive: one for 28 yards across midfield, and a 44 yard touchdown moments after that to further solidify the Hawley lead. A 2-point conversion run was good on a run up the middle from Pederson, and the lead was increased to 28-6. Crookston got the ball back with around four minutes left in the quarter, and ground out a few first downs to end the quarter.
4th Quarter –
Crookston started the quarter on their seventh play of a drive started in the third quarter, and Parker Kelly picked up a gain of 8 from a Lubinski throw to the sidelines. Set up with 2nd and two; the Pirates were driven backward for a loss of 1. Hawley’s defense brought the heat on both third and fourth downs, stopping Crookston’s offense short of the marker with 9:31 to go in the game. Hawley’s next drive was only one play, as Zach Libak took a handoff outside and outran the Pirate defense for a 49-yard touchdown. Pederson ran outside for two more points, giving Hawley a 36-6 lead. Crookston’s next drive started with promise, as Kelly hauled in an 18-yard reception on second down to get it rolling. The Pirate offense was unable to keep the drive going, as a fumble on a bobbled exchange and a sack led to another turnover on downs. Two plays later, Hawley was in the endzone again, this time from a 24-yard carry from Levi Lelm. Pederson caught a pass in the flat on the 2-point try, making the lead 44-6 for Hawley. The Pirate offense was unable to get rolling for the rest of the game, but the defense forced and recovered one more fumble in the final moments of the game.
Crookston is now 0-8 on the year, and will face Barnesville Tuesday, October 22 in the first round of the Section 8AA playoffs. Hawley improves to 6-2, and will likely be the #2 seed in the Section 8AA Playoffs.
Click below to listen to Pirate Coach Nate Lubarski’s comments.
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
Hawley | 12 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 44 |
Crookston | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
SCORING-
1st Quarter –
2:41 – Hawley – Levi Lelm 4 yard run (Liam Pederson run failed)
1:23 – Hawley – Linkoln Midthun 5 yard run (run failed)
2nd Quarter –
1:03 – Crookston – Rylan Lubarski 9 yard run (Zach Ali run failed)
0:53 – Hawley – Liam Pederson 72 yard run (Linkoln Midthun run)
3rd Quarter –
4:04 – Hawley – Levi Lelm 44 yard run (Liam Pederson run)
4th Quarter –
9:18 – Hawley – Zachariah Lybak (Grady Hines run)
6:25 – Hawley – Levi Lelm 24 yard run (Elliot Lee pass to Liam Pederson)
TEAM STATS | CROOKSTON | Hawley |
Rushing Yards | 73 | 330 |
Passing Yards | 94 | 0 |
Total Yards | 167 | 330 |
Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 4-3 |
First Downs | 11 | 15 |
Penalties-Yards | 3-35 | 3-15 |
Punts | 2 – 14yds | 0 |
INDIVIDUAL STATS
CROOKSTON | Hawley |
Rushing | Rushing |
Teagen Lubinski – 13-35 | Liam Pederson – 8-117 1 TD |
Rylan Lubarski – 11-29 | Levi Lelm – 6-113 3 TD |
Tate Hamre – 10-15 | Linkolin Midthun – 4-28 1 TD |
Zach Ali – 2-(-6) | Zach Libak – 2-53 1 TD |
Passing | Passing |
Teagen Lubinski – 6/13 94 yds | Brody Hadley – 0/3 |
Receiving | Receiving |
Rylan Lubarski – 2-55 | |
Parker Kelly – 2-22 | |
Tate Hamre – 2-16 |







