by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Thief River Falls’ impressive playoff run came to an end Friday night in the Fargo Dome with the Prowlers losing 41-12 to Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton in the Section 8AAA championship game.
“We knew going in that to beat DGF, we would have to play our best game of the season … by far … and we just didn’t,” said Thief River Falls Head Coach Kurt Reynolds. “We played okay in spurts, like when we took the lead in the second quarter, but we just couldn’t play consistent football.”
The Rebels have been a model of consistency since moving from Section 8AA to Section 8AAA in 2012. Friday night’s section championship game appearance was their seventh consecutive and the championship was their fourth in the past five seasons.
“In order to beat DGF, you are going to have to take what they give you on defense and hope you can stop them somehow on offense,” Reynolds said. “We struggled to stop them, and we certainly were not able to take what their defense was giving us.”
The Prowlers, who went 3-5 in the regular season following an 0-3 start, were seeking their third straight playoff upset. The number six-seed in the Section 8AAA playoffs, the Prowlers had a 21-7 win over third-seeded Morris Area/Chokio/Alberta in the opening round and a 28-21 triumph over second-seeded Minnewaska Area in the second round of the playoffs to punch their first ticket to the section championship since 2013.
The teams met in Glyndon to open the 2025 season, with the Rebels defeating the Prowlers 28-7. Both teams are much improved from the initial meeting. The Prowlers held the Rebels in check for most of the season opener, but couldn’t generate any points offensively.
The Rebels are a physical team that utilizes a double tight end wishbone as their base offensive formation. DGF running back Jace Baumgartner broke a 57-yard run on the Rebels’ first play from scrimmage to set up a first and goal from the Thief River Falls nine-yard line. Four plays later, Baumgartner found the end zone on a three-yard run on a fourth and goal play. Guillermo Collado added the extra point and the Rebels were up 7-0 just over two minutes into the game.
After going three and out on their first possession, the Prowlers answered the Rebels’ score with a six-play drive before punting on a fourth and two at the DGF 42.
The Prowlers attacked the inside gaps on the ensuing drive and forced a three and out by the Rebels. That set the Prowler offense up at DGF 48-yard line to begin their third possession and the Prowlers took advantage of the good field position with a seven-play, 48 yard drive, with Spencer Anderson scoring on a one-yard touchdown run. Edgar Velasquez-Fernandez’s extra point was no good and the Rebels stayed in front 7-6.
The Prowler defensive unit forced a fumble by DGF quarterback Brady Wadena on the first play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive, with Connor Bruce falling on the loose ball to give the Prowlers the ball at the DGF 33. The Prowlers again took advantage of a short field with an eight-play drive that ended with a seven-yard touchdown run by Bridger Wilcox.
The Prowlers’ two-point conversion attempt failed, and the score remained 12-7 in favor of the Prowlers.
Through a quarter and a half, the Rebels had gained just 72 yards on their frist three possessions, with 57 coming on one play. Unfortunately for the Prowlers, the Rebels found their footing on the fourth possession with a very DGF-like 11-play, 65 yard drive to regain the lead. Quarterback Brady Wadena carried the ball three times on the drive – each on a bootleg that took advantage of the Prowlers’ aggressive defense – and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a six-yard run. Collado added the extra point to make it 14-12 in favor of the Rebels.
The Prowlers got the ball back with 2:17 remaining in the half and had two goals – keep the ball away from the Rebels and put points on the board. They didn’t accomplish either goal. On a second and two from the TRF 24, Anderson found daylight and broke off a six-yard run. The ball was jarred loose at the end of the play and the Rebels recovered, to take over at the TRF 30.
Three plays after the turnover, Baumgartner broke the plane of the endzone on a three-yard run and Collado added the extra point to give the Rebels a 21-12 lead.
The Rebels got the ball to start the second half and added to their lead with a seven-play, 59-yard drive. Jacob Luebke scored on a 14-yard run and Collado added the extra point to make it 28-12.
The Rebels were not done scoring. Following a TRF punt, the Rebels added to their lead with a 10-play, 68-yard drive that ended with Baumgartner scoring his third touchdown of the game on a seven-yard run.
The Rebels added a final score halfway through the fourth quarter with Wadena completing a 15-yard pass to Mason Tysver on a third and goal from the TRF 15.
“You just have to play a mistake free game,” Reynolds said. “With their offense, you know they are going to hammer it down your throat and go on a 10-12 play drive every time they get the ball unless you force a turnover. And that is what they did on their first drive. Luckily, we did force a turnover, and we capitalized on it with our next two possessions. But – as I said earlier – you need to play a mistake-free game and we didn’t do that.”
New offense
The Prowlers ran the Power T formation as their base offense for the 2021-24 seasons. The run-heavy formation led to a pair of 5-5 seasons and section semifinal appearances in 2021 and 2022. The Prowlers continued using the two tight end, three running back offense in 2023 and 2024 and went a combined 4-14.
“I think it was an absolute must to change offensive schemes,” Reynolds said. “The Power T was great for us to get this thing turned around to be competitive in games, but it is not an offense that attracts a lot of athletes. Plus, no one ever sees the Power T in college or the NFL.”
The Prowlers switched to a shotgun, spread offense that utilizes two wide receivers lined up as split ends, and three running backs with various alignments.
“Switching to the Gun T, well that opens things up and it is what kids see every Saturday and Sunday,” Reynolds said. “Plus, it gives us a chance for a wide variety of athletes to make plays in space. Two years ago, we scored just over 70 points. This year we scored over 200 points, so the switch was really a no-brainer for us.”
The offense was a work in progress throughout the season, but it was a big reason why the Prowlers reached the section championship game. The Prowlers should continue to improve offensively with the spread offense with more reps in the scheme.
“We still have work to do,” Reynolds said. “We never ran the option consistently well. Part of that is certainly on me, as a first-time offensive coordinator and play caller, but I will get better. Plus, during the offseason, I’ll be meeting with our quarterbacks and working on how to read a defense when throwing the ball and how to read the defense when running the option. We threw the ball okay, but we weren’t consistent enough with it. The access throws were huge for us, so we need to refine those and keep improving.
Friday night’s game was the final game in a Thief River Falls football uniform for seniors Joey Brugeman, Tucker Grindeland, Noah Lee, Kaleb Mehrkens, Wyatt Nelson, Teagan Syverson, Brayden Thomson and Bridger Wilcox.
“These seniors have worked so hard for us,” Reynolds said. “They have been a dream group. I recall when I got us into the seven on seven passing league, and we had to load up a van and head up to Badger for our first game. Everyone turned out. Even the O-line, and all they did was work on the side with Coach [Tyler] Hennings. There were zero excuses and zero complaints. The guys just wanted to work. That never changed. They were great leaders who included the underclassmen in everything. I have never seen a group like these seniors. I am so proud of them. They were a great example for the underclassmen in how to work and handle things with class.”
Scoring
1234T
TRF 0 12 0 0 – 12
DGF 7 14 14 6 – 41
First Quarter
DGF – Jace Baumgartner 3-yard run (Guillermo Collado kick).
Second Quarter
TRF – Spencer Anderson 1-yard run (kick failed)
TRF – Bridger Wilcox 7-yard run (pass failed)
DGF – Brady Wadena 6-yard run (Collado kick)
DGF – Baugmartner 3-yard run (Collado kick)
Third Quarter
DGF – Jacob Luebke 14-yard run (Collado kick)
DGF – Baumgartner 7-yard run (Collado kick)
Fourth quarter
DGF – Mason Tysver 15-yard pass from Wadena (kick failed)
Team Statistics
• First downs – TRF 12; DGF 26.
• Fumbles (total-lost) – TRF 3-1; DGF 1-1.
• Penalties (number-yards) – TRF 2-10; DGF 2-10.
• Punts (number-average) – TRF 4-26.0; DGF 1-30.0.
• Rushing (attempts-yards) – TRF 32-138; DGF 46-339.
• Passing – TRF 6-for-13, 53 yards, interception; DGF 2-for-3, 36, touchdown.
• Total yards – TRF 191; DGF 375.
Individuals
• Rushing – (TRF) Bridger Wilcox 12-67, touchdown; Spencer Anderson 1561, touchdown; (DGF) Jace Baumgartner 15-109, 3 touchdowns; Jacob Luebke 17-132, touchdown; Brady Wadena 10-84, touchdown; Thomas Reno 3-14.
• Passing – (TRF) Bridger Wilcox 6-for-13, 53 yards; (DGF) Brady Wadena 2-for-3, 36 yards.
• Receiving – (TRF) Ian Winter 3-32; Tucker Gridneland 2-19; Wyatt Nelson 1-2; (DGF) Wyatt Conklin 1-21; Mason Tysver 1-15.
• Tackles – Hudson Brouse 11, Clay Nelson 8, Bridger Wilcox 7, Ian Winter 7, Wyatt Nelson 7, Joey Bruggeman 6, Tucker Grindeland 5, Brody Arlt 5, Landen Larson 5, Connor Bruce 4, Kaleb Merkhens 3, Gres Hruby 2, Tucker Knott 1, Tristan Hruby 1, Keaton Tillet 1, Hudson Hall 1, Caleb Mauch 1, Marshall Myhrer 1, Teagan Syverson 1.
• Tackles for loss – Joey Bruggeman 1, Teagan Syverson 1.
• Forced fumbles – Connor Bruce 1.
