BARNESVILLE BLANKS CROOKSTON IN SECTION 8AA FOOTBALL MATCHUP

The Barnesville Trojans scored on their first four possessions and shut down the Crookston Pirate offense to beat the Pirates 58-0 in a Section 8AA matchup played in Barnesville. It was a physical game that saw Barnesville control the line of scrimmage as they outgained Crookston 366-40 on the ground. 

FIRST-QUARTER –
Barnesville took the opening drive of the game 71 yards on four plays highlighted by a 31-yard run by Senior Captain Cameron Heng before a 32-yard touchdown run from Andrew Pederson, making it 6-0 after the extra point failed with 10:17 left in the quarter.
Crookston responded with a first down on their opening drive before an interception gave the ball right back to the Trojans on the Pirate 39-yard line. The Trojans took advantage of the short field and controlled the line of scrimmage once again, finishing off their second drive of the game with an 11-yard touchdown run from Cameron Heng, and after the missed extra point, the Trojans led 12-0.
The Pirates went three and out, going backwards on their second drive, and Barnesville for the third straight time found the end zone, this time through the air on a 16-yard strike from Noah Krause to Tate Inniger. Krause completed two passes on the drive for 48 yards. The two-point conversion would fail and Barnesville led 18-0 with 1:02 remaining in the quarter.

SECOND-QUARTER –
The first play of the second quarter wasn’t what Crookston was looking for as they threw an interception, giving Barnesville another short field to work with as they would take over on their own 45. The Trojans capitalized on the short field, as John Roller finished the drive with a six-yard touchdown run. Roller was the seventh Trojan to run the ball in the first half, as the Trojans utilized a balanced and deep attack all night. The extra point kick was successful making it 25-0 Barnesville.
The Pirates were forced to punt once again after Barnesville Senior Captain Kaden Zenzen was once again too much for the Pirate’s offensive line, as he picked up his second tackle for a loss on the night.
A booming 56-yard punt from Brooks Butt would back the Trojans inside their own 20. Jack Doda would make the biggest defensive play of the night for the Pirates a few plays later as he stepped in front of a Barnesville pass for an interception, giving the Pirates their first defensive stop of the game, and the ball near the Red Zone on the Trojans 22-yard line. The Pirates would convert a fourth down on a Jack Doda 23 yard pass to George Widman down to the Trojans four-yard line with a first and goal. The Trojans defense stood tall sacking Doda on back-to-back plays and forcing the Pirates into a turnover on downs and keeping the score 25-0 with 2:52 remaining in the half.
Two plays later Cameron Heng broke a 79-yard touchdown run for his second score of the game making it 32-0 with under 2:00 remaining in the half. Barnesville forced the Pirates into their third turnover of the game after a muffed snapped that Kaden Zenzen fell on. The Trojans would score their sixth touchdown of the half as Andrew Pederson bolted down the left side of the field for a 23-yard touchdown. Barnesville imposed their will in the trenches and outgained Crookston in Total Offense 349-10 in the first half on their way to a 39-0 lead at halftime.

THIRD-QUARTER –
Crookston received the football to begin the second half, and Ethan Boll started the third quarter with three straight carries for 21 yards, after only four carries for seven yards in the first half. The Pirates would pick up two first downs and take up over four minutes in the quarter before their fourth turnover of the game on a fumble gave the ball back to the Trojans. Barnesville’s offense picked up right where it left off in the first half, as Andrew Pederson took a handoff on a fourth-down play and ran 28-yards for his third touchdown of the game, making it 45-0 after the two-point conversion failed. Field position was in the favor of the Trojans all night, and after forcing another Crookston punt, they took over at the Pirates 48 with 3:38 remaining in the quarter.

FOURTH-QUARTER –
Barnesville faced a fourth and two on the Pirates 26 to begin the final quarter of play. Owen Riddle scampered around the edge for more than just the first down, as he would take it all the way for a 26-yard TD Run. Riddle was the fifth and final different Trojan to score a rushing TD, giving Barnesville a 52-0 lead after a successful PAT. The fourth quarter moved along quickly with running time in effect has Barnesville led by more than 35-points. Connor Loeks would fall on another Crookston fumble, giving Barnesville the ball inside the Pirates 20. On the very next play, Ayden Hauck picked up his own fumble at the goal line for a fumble recovery touchdown giving Barnesville a 58-0 led. The Pirates would muster a few first downs on the ground as Antonio Romero, a sophomore running back, picked up gains of eight, nine and nine, to move the chains. Spencer Ness also saw some playing time and picked up a gain of two yards on Crookston’s final drive giving the Pirates a first down. The drive came to a halt as the Pirates turned the ball over on downs, and the Trojans would go on to run the rest of the clock off to secure the 58-0 victory.

Crookston falls to 0-2 on the season and will host the Hawley Nuggets next Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Barnesville moves to 1-1 on the season with the win.

1st Quarter
10:17 – Barnesville – Andrew Pederson 32-yard run (kick failed)
6:29 – Barnesville – Cameron Heng 11-yard run (kick failed)
1:02 – Barnesville – Noah Krause 16-yard Pass to Tate Inniger (pass failed)

2nd Quarter
10:13 – Barnesville – John Roller 6-yard run (Isaac Maneval kick)
1:54 – Barnesville – Cameron Heng 79-yard run (Isaac Maneval kick)
0:43 – Barnesville – Andrew Pederson 23-yard run (Isaac Maneval)

3rd Quarter
5:49 – Barnesville – Andrew Pederson 28-yard run (pass failed)

4th Quarter
11:53 – Barnesville – Owen Riddle 26-yard run (Isaac Maneval kick)
9:47 – Barnesville – Ayden Hauck offensive fumble recovery (run failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATS