RED LAKE COUNTY SHUT OUT BY MAHNOMEN-WAUBUN IN SECTION 8A CHAMPIONSHIP

The Mahnomen-Waubun Thunderbirds proved to be too much for the Red Lake County Rebels, as they shut out Red Lake County 32-0 in the Section 8A Championship played in the Fargodome.

1st Quarter
The Thunderbirds would get the ball to start the game from their own 35 yard line. Jameson Donner would get the ball to start the drive with a quick 4 yard run to up the middle to set up a 2nd and 6. Another carry up the middle from Curtis Mehr would gain another 4 yards to force a 3rd and 2. Mahnomen-Waubun would get the first down on the play with a gain of 5 yards up the middle to the 47 yard line. On the new set of downs. quarterback Dennis Ashley would keep the ball for a gain of 3, and another gain of 5 yards to make it 3rd and 2 once again. The Thunderbirds would go back to the run again, but this time the Rebels would stand up Ashley for only a gain of one to force a 4th and 1 with 9:00 to go in the quarter. The Thunderbirds would go for it, and Donner would gain the first down and more, for a gain of 6 yards to give them a new set of downs on the Rebel’s 38 yard line. Dennis Ashley would carry for a gain of 4 on first down, and another keeper for 3 yards to make it 3rd and 3. The Thunderbirds would keep the ball on the ground yet again, with Donner gaining 6 yards to get the first down. The Rebels would be caught offsides to give the Thunderbirds a 1st and 5 on the Rebels 20 yard line. Mahnomen-Waubun would go right back to Ashley for three consecutive runs, for a gain of 9 total yards to get the first down with 5:20 left in the quarter. The Thunderbirds would continue running the ball with a run to Mehr up the middle for a gain of 5. Another quarterback-keeper would gain 3 yards to give the Thunderbirds a 3rd and 3. A quarterback sneak would end up short as Ashley would only get 1 yard on the play to make it 4th and 1 from the Rebels 4 yard line. Easton Bevins would get his first carry of the game and it was an important one to make get the first down and make it first and goal from the 1 yard line. On the next play, the Thunderbirds keep it on the ground again to punch into the endzone to make it 6-0. On the two-point conversion, Jameson Donner would run in to make it 8-0 with 3:17 left in the quarter to cap off the 18-play, 65 yard drive that took up 8:43 of the quarter. On the kickoff return, Carson Erickson fielded the squib kick and almost found a seam to take it to the house. Unfortunately, Erickson would get tripped up, and the Rebels would start at their own 49 yard line. On the first play, the Rebels would go to the air, but unfortunately would be just out of the reach of Ashtin Fredrickson. Damon Ferguson would get the ball on 2nd and 10, and tried to bounce it out to the right side, but the Thunderbirds would take him down for a loss of 1. Cheverson would roll out to his right sideline, the throw to Fredrickson would go high and Dennis Ashley would intercept the pass to give the Thunderbirds a first down from their own 45 yard line. The Thunderbirds would go right back to the ground to start off the drive, but both the first and second plays would go for a no gain and loss of one to force a 3rd and 11. On the first passing attempt for Dennis Ashley, he would roll to his left and throw on the run to find Carter Clark for a 21 yard pass down to the Rebel 35 yard line. Ashley would then keep it for a gain of 3 yards for 2nd and 7. The Thunderbirds would go to the air again and find the Rebels off guard with a quick pass to Carter Clark for a gain of yards to the 18 yard line. The quarter would end with Mahnomen-Waubun up 8-0. The Thunderbirds would dominate the play in the quarter with 23 plays to Red Lake County’s 3 plays.

2nd Quarter
Mahnomen-Waubun would start the quarter with a gain of 5 thanks to an Easton Bevins run. A Dennis Ashley keeper would gain 3 to make it 3rd and 2. Another penalty, this time encroachment, would give Mahnomen-Waubun a first down on the 5 yard line. Bevins would get the ball and fight for 2 yards down to the 3 yard line. Ashley would keep it again for a quick gain of 2 to make it 3rd and 1 with 10:00 left in the half. After a quick timeout, Curtis Mehr punches it in for a 1 yard touchdown to make it 14-0. Curtis Mehr would go up the middle on the two-point conversion to make it 16-0 with 9:45 left in the half. Red Lake County would start their drive from their own 43 yard line. The Rebels would stick to the ground for the first play of the drive for a gain of 5 yards. A loss of 3 would force a 3rd and 8. Owen Chervstad would pass it Gerald Melin, who couldn’t corral the ball and the Rebels would be forced to punt. Melin would punt and the Thunderbirds would start on their own 36 yard line. A Curtis Mehr run of 4 yards would set up a 2nd and 6. Joe Slette would get his first carry of the game, but the Rebels would stop him at the line for no gain. Dennis Ashley would keep the ball on 3rd and 6, but Brock Seeger would jump the line and tackle Ashley in the backfield for their first 3 and out of the game. The Rebels would start their next drive on their own 38 yard line. Brock Seeger would get his first carry of the game for a gain of 2. Damon Ferguson would take the snap and look to pass, but Lex McDougall would fight through the line to sack Ferguson for a loss of 17 yards to force 3rd and 15. Ferguson would keep the ball, and fight for a run of 5 yards, well short of the first down and the Rebels would be forced to punt again with 4:10 left in the half. The Thunderbirds start the drive on their 46 yard line. They stick with what’s working, going with a Dennis Ashley quarterback sneak would go for a gain of 3 yards. Jameson Donner would then burst up the middle for a gain of 10 yards into Red Lake County territory on the 49 yard line. Donner would get the ball 3 straight runs, for gains of 3 yards, 5 yards, and 5 yards for a first down to the 30 yard line. The Thunderbirds mixed it up by going to Easton Bevins for a gain of 2 yards. Dennis Ashley would fake the handoff and sprint to his left for a run down to the 12 yard line with 1:00 left in the half. Easton Bevins would get three more runs, getting the Thunderbirds down to the 3 yard line. Mahnomen-Waubun would take their final timeout with 17 seconds left in the half looking to go up by 3 scores. Ashley would fake the handoff, roll to his right and find Tyson McArthur in the endzone. But this play would get called back due to an ineligible receiver downfield to back up the Thunderbird’s 5 yards. Tanner Stech would make the 25 yard field goal to make it 19-0 Mahnomen-Waubun with 0:08 left in the half. An onside kick attempt by Mahnomen-Waubun would be canceled by an illegal pop-up kick that would back up the kickoff to the Thunderbirds’ 35 yard line. The next kickoff would go out of bounds, and Red Lake County has Mahnomen/Waubun re-kick from their 30 yard line. The kick would roll past two Rebels and the Thunderbirds’ Seegar would recover the ball at midfield. The Thunderbirds would take a knee to wrap up the half up 19-0.

3rd Quarter –
The Rebels would start the second half with the ball at their own 21 yard line. On the play-action pass, Owen Cheverstad would throw to the right flat which would go through the receiver’s hands and fall incomplete. Damon Ferguson would take the direct snap for a gain of 2 to make it 3rd and 8. The Thunderbirds would get to Ferguson in the backfield for a sack and loss of 9 yards on the play to force Red Lake County to punt with 10:53 left in the quarter. The Gerald Melin punt would be stopped at the Rebel’s own 43 yard line. Mahnomen-Waubun would start their drive with a Dennis Ashley quarterback keep for a gain of 4 yards to the right side. A quick handoff up the middle to Jameson Dononer for a carry of 3 yards to make it 3rd and 3. The Thunderbirds would go back to the ground, and the ball would pop loose with Gerald Melin recovering the fumble for Red Lake County for a huge turnover to give them the ball on their own 46 yard line. Damon Ferguson would get the ball to start this drive for a gain of 3 yards with 9:00 left in the quarter. The Rebels would then go to Brock Seeger for a run of 4 yards to make it a manageable 3rd and 3. A play-action pass to Gerald Melin would be broken up by Dennis Ashley to stall the Rebels’ momentum. The Rebel go for it on 4th down, and the Chervstad pass to Melin would fall short to force a turnover on downs with 8:00 left in the quarter. The Thunderbirds take over on their 47 yard line. Ashley would keep the ball for a gain of 1 yard. On 2nd and 9, Ashely would keep it again, this time finding success for a gain of 6 yards to make it 3rd and 3. Ashley would continue his success, following his blockers for a gain of 4 yards to get the Thunderbirds another first down. Curt Bellfye would get his first carry of the game for a gain of 6 yards. Ashley would try again on the ground, but would only get a yard on the play. On 3rd and 3, Matt Renner would stop the Thunderbirds at the line, to make it 4th and 3 with 5:12 left in the quarter. An option pitch to Joe Slette would be stopped by the Rebels to turnover the ball on downs. Red Lake County starts with the ball on their own 35 yard line. Damon Ferguson would get only a gain of 2 on the first play of the drive to make it 2nd and 8. Owen Cherstad would try and go deep to Gerald Melin but they would not connect to make it 3rd and 8. Another pass attempt would go behind Brock Seeger and would be picked off, and the Thunderbirds would take over on their own 47 yard line. Dennis Ashley would get no gain on the first play of the drive. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Mahnomen-Waubun would bring the Thunderbirds back 15 yards to make it 3rd and 25 from their own 31 yard line with 3:13 left in the quarter. Ashley would drop back and find Tyson McArthur for a gain of 8 yards to make it 4th and 18. The Thunderbirds would punt down to the Rebels’ 21 yard line. Brock Seeger would fight for a yard on the first play of the drive with less than 2:00 left in the quarter. Owen Cheverstad would be sacked for a loss of 9 yards to make it 3rd 19 from their own 12 yard line. On the very next play, Damon Ferguson would drop back to pass, and Lex McDougall would get to Ferguson and get his second sack of the game. The Rebels would be forced to punt once more and would be returned by Dennis Ashley down to the Rebels’ 25 yard line with 0:11 seconds left in the quarter. The Thunderbirds would run Dennis Ashley up the middle for a gain of 4 yards to end the quarter with Mahnomen-Waubun up 19-0.

4th Quarter –
Easton Bevins would get the ball for a gain of 1 to make it 3rd and 4 to start the quarter. Dennis Ashley would be stopped by Matt Renner for no gain to make it 4th and 4. The Thunderbirds would go for it on 4th down, but a false start on Mahnomen-Waubun would make it 4th and 9. The Dennis Ashley pass attempt would be broken up to force a turnover on downs. Red Lake County starts on their own 24 yard line with 10:31 left in the game. On the first play of the drive, the Rebels would drop the ball, and Jacob Littlewolf would recover the fumble on the 21 yard line. Ashley would get the call again on first down and would run for a gain of 5 yards. On 2nd and 5, Ashley would float a pass to Carter Clark, who would get his hands on it, but just couldn’t come down with it for an incomplete pass. On 3rd and 5, Ashley would again go to Clark, but it would be broken up to force 4th and 5. On 4th down, Ashely would roll to his right, and find Tyson McArthur, who would dive into the endzone for the score to make it 25-0. The Thunderbirds would not be able to convert the two-point conversion, so the score remains 25-0 with 9:36 left in the game. A false start on the kickoff would have Mahnomen-Waubun move back 5 yards to rekick. Gerald Melin would get the return to midfield for the Rebels. On first down, Damon Ferguson would be stopped at the line for no gain to make it 2nd and 10. Owen Chevrstad would roll to his right, and Mahnomen-Waubun would have great coverage downfield to force Chevrstad to throw it away. On 3rd and 10, Ferguson would get the pitch to the left side for a gain of 11 yards, and would give Red Lake County their first 1st down with 8:40 left in the game. Chevrstad would lob up a ball to Gerald Melin, which would fall just out of reach incomplete to make it 2nd and 10. Ferguson would get the ball up the middle, and spin-off some contact for a gain of 7 yards to make it 3rd and 3. Brock Seeger gets the ball up the middle and would get stripped with Lex McDougall recovering another fumble. The Thunderbirds would start on their own 29 yard line with 7:02 left in the game. Mahnomen-Waubun would keep the ball on the ground to keep the clock running, going to Easton Bevins for a gain of 1 yard. On 2nd and 9, Curt Bellfye would try to find the left edge but would be tripped up at the line of scrimmage. A false start on the Thunderbirds would make it 3rd and 14 from their own 25 yard line. A Dennis Ashley quarterback draw would find all the open space in the middle of the field for a gain of 56 yards down to the Rebels’ 18 yard line. A quick Bevins run up the middle for a gain of 3 makes it 2nd and 7. Another Bevins run for 3 yards to the left side to the 12 yard line. On 3rd and 4, Bellfye gets a gain of 7 yards making it first and goal with 3:00 left in the game. Bellfye takes it for a carry 2 yards down to 3 yard line. On 3rd and goal, Bellfye would get the ball once more, this time finding the endzone for a 3 yard run to make it 31-0. The Tanner Stech PAT would be good to make it 32-0 with 2:15 left in the game. The Rebels start their drive at their own 35 yard line. A pitch to the right side to Brock Seeger would go for a 12 yard gain down to the 47 yard line and a first down. The handoff to Ferguson to the left side gets a gain of 6 yards making it 2nd and 4. Carson Erickson would get his first carry of the game, for no gain making it 3rd and 4 with 0:45 left in the game. The toss to Ferguson to the left side gets 9 yards for another first down to the Thunderbirds 33 yard line. Red Lake County’s first play of the new downs would be blown up in the backfield forcing a loss of 3 yards. The clock would wind down to 0:00 and the Mahnomen-Waubun Thunderbirds would get the win 32-0.

With the loss, Red Lake County’s season comes to an end, finishing with a record of 7-3. The Mahnomen-Waubun Thunderbirds improve to 9-1, and will represent Section 8 in the Class A State Tournament, and will play the winner of Section 7.

FOR REBELS COACH BRIAN REMICK’S COMMENTS, CLICK BELOW

1st Quarter –
3:17 – Mahnomen-Wabun – Easton Bevins 1 yard run (2 pt conversion is good)

2nd Quarter –
9:45 – Mahnomen-Wabun – Curtis Mehr – 1 yard run (2 pt conversion is good)
0:08 – Mahnomen-Wabun – Tanner Tech 25 yard field goal.

3rd Quarter –
No Scoring

4th Quarter –
9:36 – Mahnomen-Waubun – Dennis Ashley 16 yard pass to Tyson McArthur (2 pt conversion fails)
2:15 – Mahnomen-Waubun – Curtis Bellfye 3 yard run (Tanner Stech PAT is good)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

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