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by Tim Kolehmainen
The BREAKDOWN
(posted 10/04/2008)
Photos of the game are available at http://photo21.dotphoto.com
HALLOCK – The streak is still alive.
In a grind-it-out game that befitted two strong defensive teams, top-ranked Stephen-Argyle shut out No. 2 Kittson County Central Friday night, 16-0. Let no one accuse the Bearcats of scheduling a breather for their homecoming.
Stephen-Argyle (6-0) ran its state-record winning streak to 73 games, while Kittson County Central (4-1) had to play runner-up again. During the Storm’s streak, they’ve beaten KCC 10 times. In that time, the Bearcats have lost only 12 total games.
But there were more than a few people thinking the streak might end on a crisp fall night in far northwestern Minnesota. Both teams came in unbeaten and ranked No. 1 and 2 in the state, respectively.
“This one had gotten a lot of hype,” said Storm coach Mark Kroulik. “It was a great high school crowd for small towns coming together.”
 The Hallock field had no bleachers, but was ringed by a big standing-room-only crowd that swelled at game time. From the southeast corner, Storm followers chanted for their team. Bearcats boosters rallied from the west side, thundering their approval.
Stephen-Argyle had spanked its first five opponents by an average score of 41-7. But Kittson County Central was even more impressive, shutting out all four foes by a combined 229-0.
But as the saying goes, to be the best you have to beat the best. And no one has beaten Stephen-Argyle in more than five years.
“These kids, when they talk about the (state) record, they just say 5-0. I think it was a bigger deal last year because that was when the record was broken,” said Kroulik. “Really, their goal is to get the section championship first and get back to state. This was big, because now we have the No. 1 seed in the section and the (Top of the State) conference title tonight.”
 “It’s a lot of pressure, but it’s good pressure,” said senior fullback Matt Borowicz, who said program alumni keep up with the team’s streak and have been known to stop by during practices.
Borowicz kept up his end of the bargain. After injuring his ankle early in the game, he returned with a flourish. He rumbled in for two 1-yard touchdowns in the second half and helped the Storm preserve their shutout with a big hit on defense.
With Stephen-Argyle leading just 10-0 with five minutes remaining, the Bearcats drove deep into Storm territory. KCC back Kellen Albrecht rumbled 28 yards down the right sideline to the Storm 4-yard line, but was pushed out of bounds just shy of the goal line. It proved to be key.
On the next play, Borowicz drilled the Bearcats’ ballcarrier as he crashed through the line, forcing a fumble that teammate John Safranski recovered on the 2-yard line. It was KCC’s last scoring chance, as the Storm successfully ran out the clock.
As befitting two teams with great defenses, the game was scoreless until the final play of the first half. Erik Aakre booted a 32-yard field goal as time expired, the first points the Bearcats had allowed all season. The half-closing 81-yard drive seemed to inspire the Storm.
 “I could see it in their eyes at halftime,” said Kroulik. “We had the momentum and we weren’t going to let it slip away.”
They came out of intermission with a time-consuming drive, capped by Borowicz’s 1-yard plunge at the 7:18 mark of the third quarter. Borowicz then capped the scoring with a 1-yard dive with 44 seconds remaining. He finished with 28 carries for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Taylor Swanson added 80 yards rushing for the Storm.
“The line did a great job,” said Borowicz. “They got great line push and I just hit the holes.”
The Storm defense limited KCC to just 152 yards of offense. Albrecht led the team with 62 yards rushing, while quarterback Dylan Kent was 10-of-21 for 79 yards in the air.
Friday night was just round one. These two teams are likely to meet up again in the Section 8 9-man finals later this fall in Grand Forks. And as the Storm keeps on winning, so their mystique grows.
“This was the game we’ve been waiting for,” said Borowicz. “Especially on their homecoming. We knew they were going to bring it, so we had to match that.
“We’ll probably see them later in the year, too.”
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