Frazee, Crookston combine for 34 points in wild first quarter

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Frazee lost a heart breaker on the road on Friday night as the Hornets were on the wrong side of a 28-18 game on the road. 

“We had our opportunities. A couple of big plays just really changed the game,” said head coach Russ Hackel.

The first quarter was action packed as it featured 34 points in a back and forth opening quarter of action. Following a three and out for the Hornets, Crookston was able to block a punt to give the Pirates a short field to work with on offense. They ended up scoring on a 15-yard screen pass and converted the two-point conversion to make the score 8-9. 

On the following drive, Dylan Selly made his return to the line up as he scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to cap a seven play 31-yard drive to make the game 8-6. 

“Dylan Selly had a nice night,” said Hackel. “Running the ball he made us right when we were wrong.”

The Pirates turned right around and scored on a 66-yard touchdown pass and converted the two-point conversion to make the score 16-6 with 2:39 remaining in the quarter. The big plays continued as this time George Flynn returned the ensuing kickoff 77-yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 16-12 in favor of Crookston. 

The Pirates were able to punch in the ball one more time before the end of the quarter on a 13-yard touchdown reception to make the score 22-12 in a wild first quarter. 

From there the defenses settled down and held both teams scoreless in the second quarter as the Hornets went into halftime trailing by a score of 22-12. 

The Hornets were able to cut the lead to one possession midway through the third quarter when Selly scored his second touchdown of the game, this time on a 4-yard run. The two-point conversion failed to leave the score at 22-18.

In the fourth quarter the Pirates gave themselves a bit of breathing room as quarterback Jack Doda threw his fourth touchdown of the night, this time on a 6-yard pass to give Crookston a 28-18 lead. The game would remain scoreless the rest of the way. 

Hackel said he was pleased with the way the team played on the defensive end of the field as two big plays were really the difference in the first half.

“Defensively we played a good game,” he said.

Despite the loss, Hackel said the Hornets were just a few plays away from a different outcome. He said they will get back to the basics this week and look to rebound in Underwood on Friday night.

“I tell the boys every week, there are five to eight plays that change the outcome every week and we need to win half of them,” he said, noting the Pirates held an advantage in that department last week.

As the team prepares for their upcoming game, Hackel is hopeful the Hornets will be back to full strength on the field. While Selly was hurt last week, he is optimistic that several Frazee players will be able to take the field again this week.

“Hopefully Dylan is OK and we can be back at full strength for the first time in a long time,” he said.

As far as their opponent this week, Hackel said the Rockets are a solid team that likes to run the football with a lot of misdirection plays. Frazee lost to Underwood, who is 1-3 on the season, by a score of 20-19 in overtime last year. Hackel said the Hornets are hoping to avenge that loss and get back in the win column this week.