By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Ean Kilde threw for 190 yards and four touchdowns as the Frazee Hornets blew past the New York Mills Eagles 33-14 on Friday night for their first win of the season.

“It was nice to get a win. Things looked better for us,” said head coach Russ Hackel. “Quarterback play was good for us and that led to more touchdowns. We got the ball in space a little bit more so that was the big difference.”

Tony Nichols put the Eagles in front midway through the first quarter when he broke loose for a 46-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion was good to give NY Mills an 8-0 lead.

From there, Frazee would go on to score 33 consecutive points, 26 of which came from Kilde touchdown throws, as the Hornets flexed their offensive muscle on the ground and in the air.

Kilde found Ben Reierson just one minute after the Eagles broke a scoreless tie on a 15-yard touchdown pass to make the score 8-6 in favor of the Eagles. Just 4 1/2 minutes later, Kilde found Ayden Grossman on a 35-yard touchdown pass to give Frazee a 12-8 lead. A lead they would never give up.

The Kilde-Reierson connection continued in the second quarter when Kilde found his teammate for a pair of long touchdown passes late in the quarter. The first game on a 52-yards pass with 4:45 remaining in the quarter, before the duo connected for the third time in the game at the 1:30 mark of the quarter, this time on a 45-yard pass to put the Hornets in front 26-8. 

Hunter Malone made it 33 straight points for the Hornets in the third quarter when he scored on a 10-yard run to give Frazee a 33-8 lead. 

The Eagles scored early in the fourth quarter when Creed Mursu scored on a six-yard run to make the score 33-14 where it would eventually end. 

The Hornets held a big advantage on the offensive side of the field as they collected 322 yards of total offense, including 190 yards passing and 132 yards on the ground, compared to 212 yards of total offense for the Eagles, including 67 yards through the air and 145 yards on the ground. 

While the passing game was firing on Friday night, Hackel said the Hornets will need to clean up a few things on the offensive line and in the run game moving forward.

“The run game was OK, but we have some things to clean up with on the offensive line,” said Hackel.

Frazee went 3-8 on third down, while holding NY Mills to just 3-13 on third down and 1-2 on fourth down attempts. 

Kilde led the way through the air as he went 11-20 for 190 yards and four touchdown passes.

Malone led the charge on the ground as he rushed 18 times for 54 yards and a touchdown, while Blake Sonnenberg rushed three times for 34 yards. Reierson rushed one time for 20 yards, Mason Mickelson rushed two times for 13 yards and Grossman rushed two times for 12 yards.

Reierson was the leading receiver in the game as he caught four passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns, while Grossman caught four passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. Mickelson caught two passes for 11 yards and Caleb Ratz caught one pass for three yards. 

With the win, Frazee improved to 1-3 on the season and will gear up for a tough test against Parkers Prairie at home on Friday night. The Panthers are currently receiving votes in the state rankings in Class A and come into the game with a record of 2-2 overall. Their two losses have come to a pair of state ranked teams in Upsala/Swanville by a score of 30-8 and Breckenridge by a score of 7-6. The Panthers have also defeated New York Mills 42-8 and Menahga 56-18. 

Parkers Prairie is averaging 28 points per game on offense, while giving up 15.8 points per game on defense. 

The Hornets are averaging 17 points per game on offense, while giving up 20.2 points per game on defense.