by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Thief River Falls was overmatched on both sides of the ball against a strong Morris Area/Chokio/Alberta squad in its football opener Friday night, as the Tigers claimed a 42-0 win.
“Morris was incredibly talented,” said Thief River Falls Head Coach Kurt Reynolds. “Their QB is for real. They had some very skilled guys at running back and wide receiver.”
The Tigers are likely the most explosive offense the Prowlers will see this season. They are led by senior standout quarterback Drew Huebner, who completed passes to seven different receivers in the game’s first 36 minutes. Huebner connected on 14 of 21 attempts for 209 yards and three touchdowns.
Huebner’s favorite target was junior wideout Riley Asmus. The two only connected twice, but both went for touchdowns of 49 and 14 yards.
“[Asmus] was a handful at wide receiver,” Reynolds said. “We just took one false step, and it was over. He and the QB were just in synch and it was hard.”
Overall, the Prowlers fared much better against the Tigers’ ground attack.
“We shut the C gap power down well, but they made plays through the air and on the perimeter,” Reynolds said.
The Tigers took advantage of Prowler miscues throughout the game. The Tigers returned the opening kickoff 50 yards to the Prowler 41 and they marched to the Prowler 13 yard-line before the drive ended with rare back-to-back incomplete passes.
The Prowlers’ game plan called for a ball control, smashmouth attack that would keep the Tigers’ explosive offense on the sideline. Instead, the Prowlers got the first of many three and outs.
Following a 33-yard punt and 36-yard punt return, the Tigers started drive number two at the Prowler nine-yard-line and needed just two plays to put points on the board as Drew Huebner connected with tight end Jonah Huebner on a seven-yard route. Riley Saito split the uprights on the extra point to make it 7-0.
The Tigers got the ball back following a Prowler three and out and began their third possesion at midfield. It took just one play to score this time, as Huebner hit Riley Asmus for a 49-yard touchdown pass. The Tigers opeted to go for two following a Prowler encrochment penalty on the PAT kick. The run failed and it remained 13-0 in favor of the Tigers.
The Prowlers began their third possession of the game at their own six-yard-line after the ball initially got past both kick returners. They picked up their first first down of the game before punting for the third time to give the Tigers yet another short field.
The Tigers again took advantage of the short field as Grayson Gibson scored on a 33-yard run on a third and four play from the Prowler 33 to make it 20-0 with a few seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Tigers added a 27-yard field goal by Saito with 4:42 remaining in the half, and they added six more Huebner capped a five-play 32-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run.
The Prowlers looked like were building some momentum early in the third quarter when a nine-yard run by quarterback Gannon Zutz that was initially ruled as down by contact was changed to a fumble recovered by the Tigers.
Much like they had in the first half, the Tigers took advantage of the gift and scored three plays later as Huebner hit Asmus in the endzone from 14 yards out to make it 36-0.
The Prowlers put together their best drive of the night on the ensuing possesion. Wyatt Nelson, Ian Winter, Jackson Boyer and Zutz shared carries on an 11-play drive that got all the way to the Tigers’ two-yard line before stalling.
After taking advantage of short fields all night, the Tigers proved they could go the distance if they needed to, with an 11-play, 94-yard drive that culminated with Gibson’s second scoring run of the night on a nine-yard run on a third and goal play.
“Gannon Zutz ran the ball well,” Reynolds said. “Tucker Grindeland made some plays in the secondary for us, breaking up a pass in the endzone and again with a vicious hit on a short pass. I thought our defensive ends – Everett Nelson and Jaxon Hams – did a good job keeping their QB in the pocket and forcing everything inside.”
The Prowlers are back on the road this week with a match-up against three-time defending Section 8AAA champion Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton Friday night in Glyndon. The Rebels are off to a surprising 0-2 start after losing to Barnesville 24-14 on opening night and 48-29 at Fergus Falls in week two.
Scoring
1 2 3 4 T
Morris Area 20 9 13 0 42
Thief River Falls 0 0 0 0 0
First Quarter
Morris Area – Jonah Huebner 7-yard pass from Drew Huebner (Riley Saito kick)
Morris Area – Riley Asmus 49-yard pass from Drew Huebner (run failed)
Morris Area – Grayson Gibson 33-yard run (Saito kick)
Second Quarter
Morris Area – Saito 27-yard field goal
Morris Area – Drew Huebner 1-yard run (kick failed)
Third Quarter
Morris Area – Riley Asmus 14-yard run (Saito kick)
Morris Area – Gibson 9-yard run (pass failed.
Fourth Quarter
No Scoring
Team Statistics
• First downs – Morris Area 18; TRF 8.
• Fumbles (total-lost) – Morris Area 1-0; TRF 1-1.
• Penalties (number-yards) – Morris Area 7-62; TRF 4-32.
• Punts (number-averge) – Morris Area 1-36; TRF 5-31.8.
• Rushing (attempts-yards) – Morris Area 22-121; TRF 33-119.
• Passing – Morris Area 14-for-21, 209 yards; TRF 1-for-8, 11 yards.
• Total yards – Morris Area 330; TRF 130.
Individuals
• Rushing – (Morris Area) Grayson Gibson 4-52, 2 touchdowns; Drew Huebner 6-25, touchdown; (TRF) Ian Winter 7-37; Wyatt Nelson 9-36; Gannon Zutz 4-21; Tucker Knott 3-16.
• Passing – (Morris Area) Drew Huebner 14-for-21, 3 touchdowns; (TRF) Gannon Zutz 1-for-8, 11 yards.
• Receiving – (Morris Area) Riley Asmus 2-63, 2 touchdowns; Jack Kehoe 5-73; (TRF) Ian Winter 1-11.
Mid Northwest Red District
Division Overall
W L W L
Detroit Lakes 1 0 2 0
East Grand Forks 1 0 2 0
Fergus Falls 1 0 2 0
Morris Area/C-A 2 0 2 0
Perham 0 1 1 1
DGF 0 1 0 2
Little Falls 0 1 0 2
Thief River Falls 0 1 0 2
• Results Week 1 – Detroit Lakes 41, Rocori 14; East Grand Forks 41, Crookston 8; Fergus Falls 39, Park Rapdids Area 0; Morris Area/C-A 46, Minnewaska Area 27; Perham 14, Hawley 12; Barnesville 24, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 14; Pierz 36, Little Falls 30; Roseau 22, Thief River Falls 12.
• Results Week 2 – Detroit Lakes 35, Perham 8; East Grand Forks 14, Little Falls 0; Fergus Falls 48, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 29; Morris Area/C-A 42, Thief River Falls 0.
• Upcoming games – Fergus Falls at Detroit Lakes; Perham at East Grand Forks; Little Falls at Morris Area/C-A; Thief River Falls at Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton.