6TH RANKED WEST CENTRAL AREA CRUISES TO A WIN OVER PIRATE FOOTBALL

The Crookston Pirate Football team struggled offensively with only 49 yards rushing and the sixth ranked West Central Area Knights scored late in all four quarters to win the game 45-6 in a game played in Barett.   “We struggled offensively and we struggled putting drives together,” said Pirate Coach Nate Lubarski. “You don’t get enough plays to gain enough yards a lot of the times with three-and-outs.  We had our defense on the field working like crazy for so long so that was tough.”

FIRST-QUARTER
West Central Area received the opening kickoff and began on their own 38 yard-line after a short squib kick. The Knights gained two first downs on the ground before turning it over after an errant snap sailed over the quarterback’s head. Ethan Boll was able to fall on the loose ball for the Pirates, giving Crookston possession on the Knights 43-yard line. The Pirates didn’t take advantage of the good field position going three and out, and after a 38-yard punt from Brooks Butt sailed into the end zone, the Knights would take over at their own 20-yard line with 7:12 remaining in the first quarter. On the very first play of the next drive, Hunter Norby ran 80-yards for a Touchdown, that would be called back after an illegal block in the back was called on the Knights. After the penalty the Knights would have it at the Pirates 35-yard line. A few plays later Hunter Norby would run for a five-yard touchdown, giving the Knights a 6-0 lead after the two-point conversion try failed. This time the Pirates would turn it over, as Carson Spangler forced a fumble on a strip sack, and three plays later the Knights had their second touchdown of the quarter. A one-yard touchdown run by Mattson Hoff was set up after a 36-yard strike from Evan Paulson to Torin Olson. The Pirates would be forced to punt again, and this time Brooks Butt boomed a 53-yard punt backing up the Knights inside their own five-yard line.  “Our defense was playing pretty well, I thought,” said Coach Lubarski. 

SECOND-QUARTER
The second quarter was highlighted by strong defense until the end of the quarter. The Knights would go on a ten-play drive to begin the second quarter, working the ball into Pirates territory before being stopped on fourth down. The Pirates after taking over on their own 22-yard line couldn’t muster any first downs and would be forced to punt for the fourth time in the half. Brooks Butt once again got off a great punt of 49 yards and the Knights would take over on their own 31-yard line. Thanks to a great punt after their offense stalled, and help from their defense, the Knights would force the Pirates to punt from their own endzone the next time they possessed the ball. Brooks Butt got off a good punt, but Torin Olson used a couple of nice cutbacks and was able to return it 46 yards for a punt return touchdown, giving the Knights an 18-0 lead with 3:18 remaining until halftime. There was plenty of action in the last three minutes of the half, as the Pirates were able to gain two first downs on their next possession, one being on their best play of the half, a 23-yard pass from Jack Doda to Ethan Boll that moved the Pirates inside the Knights 30-yard line. Doda was injured on the play and on the next snap the Pirates would fumble giving the Knights the football back with two minutes remaining in the half. “That was tough,” said Coach Lubarski. “It was a tough spot to put a young quarterback in, but I was pretty happy with how Teagan Lubinski played the rest of the game.  He was earning his stripes tonight.”  The Knights would go on a two-minute drill and find the end zone on a 34-yard touchdown run from Anthony Sykora, stretching the lead to 24-0. The Pirates would run the remaining time off the clock to end the half down 24-0.  “Your playing against a good team and they are leaning on you the entire half and you get a missed read here or there and they took advantage of it,” said Coach Lubarski.  “We were pretty proud of the defense and that was the message at halftime.”

THIRD-QUARTER
The tempo slowed down in the third quarter of play. The Knights stout defense continued its impressive performance and began the second half by forcing the Pirates into a quick punt. West Central Area would then go on a 12 play 70-yard drive spanning over six minutes to score their fifth touchdown of the game. This time it was through the air as Evan Paulson found Mattson Hoff for a 25-yard touchdown pass. Anthony Sykora would convert the two-point conversion extending the lead to 32-0 late in the third quarter. Carson Spangler would then force his second turnover of the game, intercepting a Pirate pass and giving the Knights possession inside Pirates territory on the 45-yard line. The Knights took advantage of the short field as Anthony Sykora took a handoff 20-yards for his second touchdown of the night, and the Knights fourth straight possession ending in a touchdown. The score gave West Central Area a 38-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter of play.  “They have a fair amount of athletes with tall and athletic receivers and solid running backs,” said Coach Lubarski. 

FOURTH-QUARTER
There would be running time for the fourth quarter of play as the Knights extended their lead above 35+ points. This is a Minnesota State High School League rule. Crookston would go on their best drive of the night to begin the quarter. On the first play of the drive, Teagan Lubinski, replacing an injured Jack Doda, found Ethan Bowman over the middle for a 20-yard pass completion into Knights territory. A few plays later, Teagan Lubinski found Rylan Lubarski on the Pirates longest offensive play of the game, for a 25-yard connection working the ball down to the Knights 16-yard line.  Unfortunately for the Pirates, they would be forced into a fourth down and goal from the 6-yard line, and their offense couldn’t convert, as the Knights kept the shutout intact for the time being. The Knights would add one last score for themselves on a 74-yard touchdown reception by Cole Anderson from an Anthony Sykora pass. “I will hold my comments on the pass,” said Coach Lubarski.  Evan Paulson would add the extra point making it 45-0. The Pirates avoided the shutout, as on the ensuing kickoff, Ethan Boll sprinted down the Pirates sideline 82-yards into the endzone for Crookston’s lone touchdown of the game. “It was nice for us to get on the board and actually to get a score on special teams when we have given a few up,” said Coach Lubarski. The Pirates two-point conversion would fail making it 45-6 West Central Area. The Knights would run the rest of the time off the clock securing a 45-6 victory and keeping their perfect season rolling.

Crookston falls to 1-4 on the season with the loss and will be back in action next week when they travel to East Grand Forks to take on the Green Wave on Friday night. The kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. “We have had a tough schedule but you don’t take them off the schedule because playing them is a learning tool for us, especially for a young team,” said Coach Lubarski. “It is nice to have a great, fun rivalry like we do with East Grand Forks and we look forward to taking on another very good team next week.” West Central Area improves to 5-0 with the win.

1st Quarter
5:10 – WCA – Hunter Norby 5-yard run (pass failed)
2:17 – WCA – Mattson Hoff 1-yard run (run failed)

2nd Quarter
3:18 – WCA – Torin Olson 46-yard punt return (pass failed)
1:37 – WCA – Anothony Sykora 34-yard run (pass failed)

3rd Quarter
4:04 – WCA – Evan Paulson 25-yard pass to Mattson Hoff (Anthony Sykora run)
1:30 – WCA – Anthony Sykora 20-yard run (pass failed)

4th Quarter
2:58 – WCA – Anthony Sykora 76-yard pass to Cole Anderson (Evan Paulson kick)
2:43 – Crookston – Ethan Boll 82-yard kick return (pass failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATS