by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor

Thief River Falls punted after a three-and-out on its opening drive Tuesday night. It would end up being the team’s only punt of the night as the Prowlers took care of business in the opening round of the Section 8AAA playoffs with a 33-14 win over the Fergus Falls Otters.
“They didn’t do anything we didn’t expect. They just came out ready to play and we were flat,” said Thief River Falls Head Coach Kurt Reynolds. “Coach Jensen made some adjustments on defense to handle the power they were running. Once we shut that down, they struggled to move the ball.
The Prowlers trailed 7-0 after one quarter of play, before scoring 33 unanswered points over the second, third and first half of the fourth quarter.
“Offensively, we just had to get our linemen to stay low and fire off,” Reynolds said. “On that first drive, they stood right up and just rubbed bellies with Fergus Falls. To their credit, Fergus had some big guys on their D-line that gave us fits, but once we adjusted and hit them with quick FB traps and dives, they had trouble stopping us.”
Up next for the Prowlers is a rematch of last year’s Section 8AAA semifinal against top-seeded Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon in Glyndon. The 8-0 Rebels are currently ranked second in the state.
More coverage of the Prowlers Section 8AAA quarterfinal win over the Fergus Falls Otters will appear in this weekend’s print and e-editions of The Northern Watch.
Scoring
1234T
Fergus Falls 7 0 0 0 14
TRF 0 20 6 7 33
First Quarter
FF – Griffin Babolian 29-yard run (Jaydon Manteufel kick)
Second Quarter
TRF – Jake Friedrich 17-yard pass from Caleb Rosendahl (Brayden Spears kick)
TRF – Griffin Lundeen 1-yard run (Spears kick)
TRF – Jack Rosendahl 4-yard pass from Caleb Rosendahl (kick failed)
Third Quarter
TRF – Carter Engebretson 26-yard pass from Caleb Rosendahl (run failed)
Fourth Quarter
TRF – Friedrich 6-yard run (Spears kick)
FF – Babolian 3-yard run (Maneufel kick)
Team Statistics
• First downs – FF 13; TRF 23.
• Fumbles (total-lost) – FF 1-1; TRF 0-0.
• Penalties (number-yards) – FF 4-35; TRF 3-35.
• Punts (number-averge) – FF 3-29.0; TRF 1-41.0.
• Rushing (attempts-yards) – FF 35-224; TRF 47-326.
• Passing – FF 1-for-6, 6 yards; TRF 6-for-10, 101 yards, 3 TD.
• Total yards – FF 232; TRF 427.
Individuals
• Rushing – (FF) Griffin Babolian 25-189, 2 TD; Levi King 5-16; (TRF) Jake Friedrich 11-93, TD; Griffin Lundeen 18-89, TD; Kadin Grindeland 6-66; Braedon Potucek 5-62; Caleb Rosendahl 3-11.
• Passing – (FF) Brayden Nelson 1-for-5, 6 yards; Levi King 0-for-1, 0 yards; (TRF) Caleb Rosendahl 6-for-10, 101 yards, 3 TD.
• Receiving – (FF) Levi King 1-6; (TRF) Jack Manning 2-34; Carter Engebretson 1-26, TD; Braedon Potucek 1-20; Jake Friedrich 1-17, TD; Jack Rosendahl 1-4, TD.