The Crookston Pirate Football team scored on the opening kick return and never looked back, cruising to a 54-6 victory over the Red Lake Warriors in a game played in Red Lake.
1st Quarter –
Crookston started the game with a bang as Red Lake kicked the ball off and Mauricio Arriaga fielded the ball and ran to his right and handed the ball off to his older brother Jose and he took off down the sideline for a 78 yard kickoff return touchdown and after Tate Hamre ran the ball to add the two-point conversion, the Pirates led 8-0 17 seconds into the game.
Red Lake had a solid opening offensive series as quarterback Isaac Jordain zipped a pass to Demetrius Harris for a 30-yard connection for a first down. Two plays later, Jordain found Harris for a 14 yard completion and another first down. Red Lake tried another passing play and Crookston was called for pass interference. Five plays later, Red Lake tried another pass deep in Crookston territory, but Crookston’s Dexter Janek intercepted the ball and returned it to the Crookston 22 yard line.
Crookston’s first play after the interception was a short pass from Hamre to Masen Reitmeier that spanned about 15 yards and Masen Reitmeier was all alone and sprinted down the sideline for a 72 yard touchdown for a 14-0 lead with 4:56 left in the quarter.
Red Lake tried a pass on their second play of the series and Crookston’s Masen Reitmeier picked off the pass and the Pirates had the ball back.
Tate Hamre dumped a pass to Jose Arriaga who came out of the backfield and Arriaga scampered down the sideline for a 42 yard touchdown, but a holding penalty brought the ball back. Two plays and a penalty later, Hamre found Janek wide open for a 33 yard touchdown pass and after a Jaron Knutson two-point conversion the Pirates led 24-0 with one minute remaining in the quarter.
Red Lake got the ball back and on the second play they fumbled and Crookston’s Jack Odegaard jumped on the ball and the Pirates had the ball back with 11 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
The first Pirate play was an incomplete pass before Jose Arriaga ran for a 42 yard touchdown and after a two-point conversion, Crookston led 30-0 at the end of the quarter.
2nd Quarter –
Red Lake started the second quarter with the ball and tried a pass on the first play, and Crookston’s Janek intercepted the ball at midfield and returned it down to the Red Lake 11-yard line. Crookston’s first play was for no gain, followed by a five-yard run. Crookston scored on the next play as Hamre dumped the pass to Jose Arriaga out of the backfield for a six-yard score, and after another two-point conversion, the Pirates led 38-0 with 8:50 left in the half.
Red Lake’s second play of the ensuing drive was a dandy as Jordain found Jake Anderson for a 61-yard pass completion. Three plays later, Red Lake tried another pass and Crookston’s Masen Reitmeier grabbed the ball after it was tipped by a teammate and picked off the pass and returned it 59 yards down to the Red Lake 42-yard line.
Crookston’s first play was a handoff to Jaron Knutson, who scampered down the sideline for a 42-yard touchdown run. Knutson added the two-point conversion for a 46-0 lead with 3:43 left in the half.
Crookston kicked the ball down the field. It went off the chest of the Red Lake returner, hit his knee, and shot forward about 10 yards. Crookston’s Casey Weiland jumped on the ball.
Time would run out on the next drive and Crookston took a 46-0 lead into halftime.
3rd Quarter –
The third quarter had an eight-minute running time. Red Lake started with the ball, and on the first play of the half, Jordain found Harris for a 34-yard passing play and another first down. Three plays later, Jordain lobbed a pass down the sideline, and a Crookston defensive back was in perfect position. The Warrior receiver, Harris, leaped up over the Pirate, made the grab, and took off into the endzone for a 36-yard touchdown pass to get within a 46-6 deficit. The Warrior points were the first since the first week of play, when they lost to Cass Lake-Bena 34-26.
Crookston had the ball back, and on the second play, Zachariah Ali winged a pass to Masen Reitmeier. Reitmeier caught the pass along the Red Lake sideline, cut back to theield, found a seam, and sprinted 54 yards for a touchdown. T middle of the fhe Pirates led 54-6 with 2:40 remaining in the quarter.
4th Quarter –
The fourth quarter was another eight-minute running time quarter. Red Lake turned it over, and Crookston’s first drive was three minutes into the quarter. The first two Pirate plays were runs for a loss of 10 yards. Crookston’s Ali zipped a pass down the middle of the field, and Mauricio Arriaga made a catch for a 19-yard completion to set up a fourth down and one-yard play. Crookston was stopped and turned the ball over on downs after an incomplete pass.
With time running, Red Lake got the ball back with less than three minutes remaining and after an incomplete pass, they lost 16 yards on the next two plays for a fourth and 26 play. The pass was incomplete and they turned the ball over on downs. Crookston let the clock run out and the Pirates won the game 54-6.
Crookston ends the regular season with a 2-6 record and will either play Frazee or Pelican Rapids in the first round of the Section 8AA playoffs on Tuesday. Red Lake drops to 0-8 and will likely play Red Lake County in the first round of the Section 8A playoffs on Tuesday.
Click below to listen to Coach Jim McBride’s post-game comments.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| Crookston | 30 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 54 |
| Red Lake | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
SCORING-
1st Quarter –
11:43 – Crookston – Jose Arriaga 78 yard kickoff return (Tate Hamre run)
4:56 – Crookston – Tate Hamre 75 yard pass to Masen Reitmeier (run failed)
1:00 – Crookston – Tate Hamre 33 yard pass to Dexter Janek (Jaron Knutson run)
0:00 – Crookston – Jose Arriaga 42 yard run (Tate Hamre pass to Masen Reitmeier)
2nd Quarter –
8:50 – Crookston – Tate Hamre six yard pass to Jose Arriaga (Tate Hamre pass to Masen Reitmeier)
3:43 – Crookston – Jaron Knutson 42 yard run (Jaron Knutson run)
3rd Quarter –
5:05 – Red Lake – Isaac Jordain 36 yard pass to Demetrius Harris (run failed)
2:40 – Crookston – Zachariah Ali 54 yard pass to Masen Reitmier (Zachariah Ali run)
4th Quarter –
No scoring
| TEAM STATS | Crookston | Red Lake |
| Rushing Yards | 13 – 88 yards | 11 – (-17) yards |
| Passing Yards | 188 yards | 181 yards |
| Total Yards | 276 yards | 164 yards |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2 – 0 | 4 – 2 |
| First Downs | 10 | 6 |
| Penalties-Yards | 4 – 50 | 6 – 30 |
| Punts | 0 | 0 |
INDIVIDUAL STATS
| Crookston | Red Lake |
| Rushing | Rushing |
| Jose Arriaga – 5 – 52 yards | Isaiah Oak Grove – 4 – 0 yards |
| Jaron Knutson – 3 – 43 yards | Isaac Jordain – 4 – (-15) yards |
| MIko Roche – 3 – 2 yards | Stephan Howard – 2 – (-2) yards |
| Jack Odegaard – 1 – (-2) | Vincent Beaulieu – 1 – 0 yards |
| Travis Blackbird 1 – (-7) | |
| Passing | Passing |
| Tate Hamre – 4 – 5 117 yards 3 td | Isaac Jordain – 7 – 19 181 yards 1 td 4 int |
| Zachariah Ali – 3 – 4 71 yards 1 td | Jake Anderson 0 – 1 |
| Receiving | Receiving |
| Masen Reitmeier – 3 – 127 yards | Demetrius Harris – 5 – 125 yards |
| Jose Arriaga – 2 – 9 yards | Jake Anderson – 1 – 61 yards |
| Dexter Janek – 1 – 33 yards | Zander Papageorgio – 1 – (-6) yards |
| Mauricio Arriaga – 1 – 19 yards | |
