Kittson Co. Central football scores on 5 of first 6 offensive plays to beat Cook County, advance to state semifinals

The Kittson County Central Bearcats scored on their first play of the game. Then they scored on five of the first six offensive plays of the game and cruised to a 49-0 victory over the Cook County Vikings in the State 9-Player Football quarterfinals at Grand Rapids High School on Thursday evening.

1st Quarter –
Cook County won the toss and deferred to the second half, and Kittson County Central took the ball to start the game. On the first play of the game, the Bearcats handed the ball off to Ashton Knutson, who had a nice hole on the right side of the line, bounced the run to the sideline, and sprinted down the sideline for a 71-yard touchdown, and after a Keaton Brewer extra point kick, they led 7-0 17 seconds into the game.
The Bearcat defense was as impressive as they allowed one yard on the first three plays, and Cook County had a three-and-out and punted. The punt only went 22 yards and KCC had the ball at their own 47-yard line. After a 31-yard Elijah Muir run down to the Viking 22-yard line, Knutson ran the ball again and blew through the line like a rocket and scored on a 22-yard run. After the Brewer extra point kick, the Bearcats led 14-0 2:23 into the game.
Cook County was forced into another three-and-out, as they only accumulated two yards before punting. The Viking punt went straight up in the air and bounced for a 16-yard punt.
KCC had the ball at the Viking 47-yard line, and the first play had Eli Peterson drop back to pass, and he found Kellen Johnson wide-open, and after he broke one tackle, he bolted down the sideline for a 47-yard touchdown, and after the Brewer kick, it was 21-0, less than four minutes into the game.
Cook County’s first play of the ensuing drive started with a nine-yard loss, and after an incomplete pass and a one-yard gain, they were forced to punt again. The punt only went 24 yards, and Kittson County Central had the ball at its own 47-yard line. The Bearcats handed the ball to Muir, who broke about five or six tackles, somehow kept his balance when it looked like he was going to fall, and then regained his balance and flew down the field for a 53-yard touchdown. After the Brewer kick, it was 28-0 with 6:14 left in the quarter.
Cook County had another three-and-out with a loss of six plays on three plays, and after a 35-yard punt, Kittson County Central returned the ball down to the Viking 25-yard line. You guessed it, on the next play, Peterson dropped back to pass and dumped the pass towards the goal lin,e and Jame Cerkowniak made the grab for a touchdown to cap a series of six plays with five of them for touchdowns to start the game. Brewer kicked the extra point and KCC led 35-0 with 3:47 left in the quarter.
Cook County got the ball back and gained nine yards on three plays and went for it on a fourth down and one play. The Vikings were called for illegal motion, resulting in a five-yard penalty. They were called for another five-yard penalty and decided to go for it on fourth down. They threw an incomplete pass and turned the ball over on downs and KCC took a 35-0 lead into the second quarter.

2nd Quarter –
The second quarter was decided to be an eight-minute quarter (instead of the usual 12 minutes) due to the lopsided score at the end of the opening quarter.
Kittson County Central’s Eli Peterson ran for 21 yards for another Bearcat first down. Knutson ran for seven yards, but had his facemask grabbed, and the officials added 15 yards to the end of the run for another first down. KCC ran four more plays for 33 yards and got the ball to the one-yard line. Peterson went with the quarterback sneak to score, and after a Brewer kick, the Bearcats led 42-0 with 4:32 left in the half.
The teams exchanged fumbles on the next two drives, and when the Bearcats got the ball back, they handed the ball to Muir, who scampered 33 yards for another touchdown. After the Brewer extra point kick, the Bearcats led 49-0, which was the score at halftime.
KCC had 339 yards of offense in the half while limiting Cook County to a loss of two yards in the half!

3rd Quarter –
The officials and coaches decided the third quarter would also be an eight-minute quarter. KCC didn’t play a starter in the second half, and Cook County took advantage of it. They slowly moved the ball down the field with gains of 30 yards on the first five plays of the half. The next play was a 20-yard run from Devan Rude for a first down. On the next play, the Vikings fumbled the ball and KCC recovered.
Two plays later, KCC fumbled the ball, and Cook County regained possession.
The Vikings started the drive with a 10-yard holding penalty, but got the yards back with a total of 21 yards on the next four plays for a first down. Five plays later, the Vikings had the ball down to the one yard line and looked like they were going to score, but a Bearcat knocked the ball free and KCC recovered the ball in the endzone for a touchback and the starters were celebrating on the sideline as the shutout continued and the score was still 49-0 at the end of the three quarters of play.

4th Quarter –
The fourth quarter was an eight-minute quarter with running time and it flew by, which was fine for the Bearcats.
KCC had the ball again and ran three plays for a loss of one yard and punted the ball for the first time. After a 49-yard punt, Cook County was looking to find a way to get its first touchdown of the game. On a run, KCC poked the ball away from a Viking running back and recovered another fumble to get the ball back. KCC ran the clock down and won the game 49-0.

KCC improves to 11-0 on the year and will play Fergus Falls Hillcrest Academy at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 13 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis in the Class 9-Player state football semi-finals. You can listen to the game on KROX Radio. Cook County ends the season at 9-1 on the year.

SCORING-
1st Quarter –
11:43 – KCC – Ashton Knutson 71 yard run (Keaton Brewer kick)
9:37 – KCC – Ashton Knutson 22-yard run (Keaton Brewer kick)
8:16 – KCC – Eli Peterson 47 yard pass to Kellen Johnson (Keaton Brewer kick)
6:14 – KCC – Elijah Muir 53 yard run (Keaton Brewer kick)
3:47 – KCC – Eli Peterson 25 yard pass to James Cerkowniak (Keaton Brewer)

2nd Quarter –
4:32 – KCC – Eli Peterson 1-yard run (Keaton Brewer kick)
:53 – KCC – Elijah Muir 33 yard run (Keaton Brewer kick)

3rd Quarter –
No scoring

4th Quarter –
No scoring

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Ashton Knutson

Bearcat gang tackle

Elijah Muir TD

Aiden Wiese

Bearcat gang tackle

Bearcat gang tackle

Kellen Johnson

Karsynn Peterson

Eli Peterson

Ashton Knutson

Bearcat gang tackle

Elijah Muir TD

Aiden Wiese

Bearcat gang tackle

Bearcat gang tackle

Kellen Johnson

Karsynn Peterson

Eli Peterson

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