The Pirates had a chance to beat the Thief River Falls Prowlers for the first time since 2005 but the opportunity was fumbled away in the opening possession of overtime in Friday's game. The Prowlers capitalized on their overtime possession by handing the ball to Kaleb Torgerson three times from ten yards out for the game-winning touchdown in a 20-14 win.
The brief overtime was just a thumbnail of the eventful season opening game for the two teams.
"It's frustrating," said Pirate Head Coach Chris Trostad. "Josh [Edlund] is young; he's still only a sophomore. It was a bad time to learn a tough lesson. You want to win the game but you also want to come out of the game thinking you were the better team. I do feel we were the better team. We just have to limit those mistakes."
Thief River Falls wasted no time in getting the first score of its season when on third and ten from his own 20, Ralph Williams got loose on a counter play and covered all 80 yards for a touchdown just 1:35 into the game.
"It was just a couple breakdowns right off the bat," said Coach Trostad about the two quick Prowler scores. "We got them straightened out and everything was good after that. We just had to correct a couple things. After that we were pretty rock solid. You want to end the game playing at the level we did. Now we just have to start at that level."
Crookston began driving on its opening drive but an interception by TRF's Jacob Mattison and a 58-yard return gave the Prowlers possession on the seven-yard line. On the first play, Micah Schneider hit Williams with a swing pass and he made it into the end zone for his second score in less than four minutes into the game.
The Pirates struck back early in the second quarter on an eight play, 76-yard drive that was highlighted by a 12-yard reception by Tim Desrosier on fourth and three to get to the Prowler 12. On the next play, Austin Proulx went in to the end zone untouched on a counter play to make it 14-7.
The Pirate defense settled into the game and held the Prowlers around midfield for the rest of the first half.
In the second half, the Pirates began driving the ball but turned it over on downs at the Prowler 25. Thief River Falls gave the ball back with a fumble at midfield and Anthony Caputo recovered to give Crookston first and ten on its own 45.
After a five-yard penalty against the Pirates on the first play, Proulx snagged a 36-yard reception from quarterback Mark Bittner to get down to the Prowler 24. Bittner and Proulx hooked up a few plays later with a 14-yard catch down at the ten. Josh Edlund did the rest with a pair of five-yard runs to tie the game at 14-14 with 2:00 minutes left in the third quarter. The Pirate drive finished with six plays for 55 yards.
Both teams got the ball inside enemy territory in the remainder of regulation but couldn't finish a drive.
The Pirates' best chance was with about three minutes left in the fourth quarter when they drove 46 yards, nearly all of it on the running of Edlund, who started the drive with five consecutive carries for 46 yards. Once the drive stalled at fourth and nine on the Prowler 22, the Pirates faked a field goal but the pass fell incomplete.
In the overtime, both teams get a chance to score from the ten-yard line. Crookston got the ball first and fumbled on its first play. Thief River Falls took over and let Torgerson pound through the Pirate defense. He covered all ten yards on three carries to win the game. Coach Trostad said his team was able move the ball so well because of the big guys up front.
"I think we decided to run right at them," he said. "I don't think anyone can match up with us right up front. People will struggle with Aaron [Remick], Brody [Davidson], [Ethan] Pilger and [Nick] Regeimbal."
In year's past it has been Thief River Falls who dominated Crookston at the line. This year, Crookston closed that gap with its big front four.
"Physically we're matching up a lot better with them," Trostad said. "The kids that are playing both ways are similar. They have more kids going both ways. They are still a little bigger than us but physically our kids are pretty tough."
The Pirates finished the game with 365 total yards, 207 on the ground and 158 through the air. The Prowlers tallied 225 total yards, 186 rushing and 39 passing.
Bittner was 15-of-29 passing with 158 yards, while Edlund had 101 yards rushing on 18 carries. Bittner had 63 yards rushing on 13 carries and Caputo had 26 yards rushing on four carries. Proulx led all receivers with 80 yards on four receptions. Desrosier had 53 yards on seven reception and Edlund had 22 yards on three receptions.
Trostad noted that it was more passes than Bittner usually throws in a game but the Prowlers were focusing on stopping the run.
"They were putting nine in the box," he said. "You gotta kind of take what they give you. They had no safeties in the middle so that's where we had to go. It opened up the run game after we started throwing."
Most, if not all, of Crookston's big plays came from two players, Proulx and Edlund.
"Teams are going to have a tough time with those two," said Trostad. "Austin is a shifty kid; he very quick. Josh hits the line quick. He's very elusive in open field. Josh is faster than heck. Both of them will make guys miss."
Schneider was 3-of-8 passing for 39 yards for the Prowlers. Williams had 136 yards on 13 carries, while Torgerson had 44 yards on 11 carries. Nathan Hruby caught one pass for 26 yards.
The Pirates play their other biggest rival Friday in East Grand Forks. The Pirates and Green Wave face off Friday, Sept. 10 with the kick off set for 7 p.m.
