by Tim Kolehmainen
The BREAKDOWN
(posted 11/3/2008)
Photos of the games are available at http://photo21.dotphoto.com
 FARGO – For one program, the nightmare continued on Halloween night. For the other, it was a dream come true. For the fourth straight season, the Hawley Nuggets claimed the Section 8AA title game by beating Pelican Rapids, 30-22.
But there were plenty of scares to go around.
 Leading 28-7 with just 4:29 to play, Hawley (11-0) seemed to have the game in control. They'd held the Vikings' spread offense under wraps, sacking quarterback Tydan Storrusten five times and intercepting him twice.
"I don't think he's been sacked that many times all year," said Hawley coach Peter Naatz. "We did a great job of getting pressure up front early on."
 Yet suddenly, Pelican Rapids seemed to find a weakness. Storrusten connected with Matthew Skow-Anderson for a 65-yard touchdown at the end of a double-reverse flea flicker to cut the lead to 28-14. After forcing a punt, the Vikings' pair hooked up again for a 67-yard score with 3:19 left -- and it was nailbiting time for Hawley.
Again, Pelican Rapids' defense stiffened and forced a punt. They took over one last time at their own 9-yard line with 1:16 to play and all of Hawley suddenly paying attention.
"They're a great passing team to be able to score like that," said Hawley senior Brock Bjornson.
But on the first play, Brantly Gram broke through the line and forced Storrusten into taking a safety. The Nuggets recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
"We were on the edge of nervous, but we've got to believe in these kids," said Naatz of giving Pelican Rapids the ball back after their outburst. "They've been in this game before. Most of these kids that are seniors have been there since freshmen."
 "They trust us, we trust them. That's why I think we're where we're at," said Naatz.
Behind a bruising running attack, Hawley jumped out to a big lead and held off the late Vikings' rally. Junior Nate Mattson (24-200-2) and sophomore Kevin Olson (22-161) combined to run for 361 yards.
"Coach just told us to keep running as hard as you can," said Olson. "Don't stop. Just keep going and going and we'll wear them down."
Clad in seasonal black and orange, Pelican Rapids just couldn't overcome its nightmarish start. The Vikings (10-1) had fewer than 100 yards of total offense until late in the third quarter.
Storrusten finished 17-of-27 for 269 yards and threw three touchdowns, all to Skow-Anderson, who caught five passes for 178 yards.
In other action Friday at the FargoDome:
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Verndale rolled up more than 300 yards rushing to soar past Eagle Valley in the Section 4 9-man final. Matt Moenkedick (24-184 and two TDs) and Amos Schmidt (17-111 and three TDs) led the way for the Pirates, who remained unbeaten on the season.
Eagle Valley's Julius Stone ran for 83 yards on 18 carries and scored on a 7-yard run.
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The Raiders rallied with 14 third-quarter points to claim their first section title in school history. Trailing 12-6 at halftime, Lake Park-Audubon scored on a 1-yard run by Kenyon O'Brien and a 28-yard scamper by Bobby Lalonde to take the lead for good.
After Mahnomen's Anthony Lavoy brought the Indians within two with 3:47 to play, LP-A's Danny Ware stuffed the two-point conversion to preserve the victory.
O'Brien finished with 18 carries for 97 yards, while Lavoy led Mahnomen with 77 yards on 14 carries. Mahnomen had beaten LP-A 16-14 in the regular season. |
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The Cowboys broke open a close game with three 50+ yard scoring passes in the second quarter to rout Pierz in the Section 6AA final.
After quarterback Jordan Blaufuss got Breckenridge on the board with two 1-yard touchdown runs, he went to work through the air. First, he tossed a lateral to Bryan Jacklitch, who then went downfield 51 yards to Joe Johnson. Blaufuss later threw a 54 yard score to Jacklitch and a 55 yarder to Johnson to push the halftime lead to 31-14.
Stephen Erlandson ran for 125 yards and two second-half touchdowns for Breckenridge, while Blaufuss completed all four of his passes for 139 yards and the two long touchdowns.
John Omann caught seven passes for 82 yards and a touchdown for Pierz. |
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