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Alexandria wins game of comebacks against Brainerd High school football Sports Editor ALEXANDRIA - In a swirling snowstorm, a vigorous wind and a back and forth game sprinkled with comebacks the Alexandria Cardinals had one more rally up their sleeve.
Trailing Brainerd 35-31 with 5:06 left, the Cardinals launched a 10-play, 63-yard drive that dealt the Warriors their first Central Lakes Conference loss 38-35 on a frosty Friday night.
Alexandria's Matt Peterson crowned the game-winning drive with a 23-yard touchdown run with 58.8 seconds to play.
"That was a fun one, that was a classic," Cardinals coach Mike Empting said. "Anytime Alexandria and Brainerd get together you expect something like this one tonight. They're two good teams, both are having good seasons, and they have good athletes.
"Hats off to Brainerd. That was an amazing game. They made the plays to keep themselves in the game and to go ahead. It just comes down to the kids on the field sometimes."
On its final possession Brainerd started from its 15 and staring into a polar wind. The Warriors made one first down, via penalty, in five plays and the possession ended as quarterback Reid Mimmack was hit while throwing and his ball fell incomplete.
Brainerd led three times and rallied from two deficits. The Warriors led 7-0, 28-20 and 35-31 and trailed 20-7, 31-28 and by the final score. Brainerd scored twice within 36 seconds to seize a 21-20 halftime edge.
In the fourth quarter, Brainerd seized its final lead on Mimmack's 10-yard run. His score capped a 15-play, 96-yard march into the wind.
"It was a great high school football game," Warriors coach Ron Stolski said. "Man, they don't get much better than this. We just fell one possession short."
Both quarterbacks had big nights.
Mimmack rushed for three touchdowns and 120 yards and threw for 116 yards and a 2-yard score to Taylor Main.
Strong-armed Alexandria quarterback Colin Erickson ran for 119 yards and passed for 173, including a 73-yard bomb to Ross Thompson in the second quarter.
"He's a good athlete," Empting said of Erickson, "and he's got weapons to go to. We were pretty confident coming into the season that we were going to have offensive threats all over the field. The things we do open up running lanes for him too. We try to take advantage of that the best we can."
Erickson sparked the Cardinals to 442 total yards while Brainerd chalked up 362. Alexandria did not attempt a punt and had nine plays that ranged from 10- to 73-yard gains.
The Warriors lost despite forcing four turnovers. Tate Rusk intercepted a pass and returned it 27 yards in the second quarter. Bruce London recovered two fumbles and Tyler Kohlmeier gathered in another.
Brainerd 7 14 7 7 - 35
Alexandria 7 13 8 10 - 38
First quarter
Brd-Reid Mimmack 49 run (Zach Cadwell kick) 11:03
Alx-Michael Joerger 4 run (Nick Schmidt kick) 6:36
Second quarter
Alx-Parker Giroux 3 run (Schmidt kick) 7:15
Alx-Ross Thompson 73 pass from Colin Erickson (Schmidt kick) 5:24
Brd-Mimmack 1 run (Cadwell kick) 37.2
Brd-Taylor Main 2 pass from Mimmack (Cadwell kick) 1.7
Third quarter
Brd-Main 8 run (Cadwell kick) 7:50
Alx-Giroux 3 run (Joerger run) 5:04
Fourth quarter
Alx-Schmidt 32 FG, 11:06
Brd-Mimmack 10 run (Cadwell kick) 5:06
Alx-Matt Peterson 23 run (Schmidt kick) 58.8
Team statistics
First downs: Brd 21, Alx 14
Rushes-yards: Brd 39-246, Alx 42-269
Pass comp-att-int-yds: Brd 9-30-1-116, Alx 8-11-1-173
Total offense: Brd 362, Alx 442
Punts-avg: Brd 2-34.5, Alx 0-0
Return yards: Brd 63, Alx 23
Fumbles-lost: Brd 0-0, Alx 3-3
Penalties-yds lost: Brd 3-17, Alx 6-65
Individual leaders
Rushing: Brd, Mimmack 11-120, Jordan Hayes 11-81, Main 14-45, Kyle Crocker 2-(-1), Matt Pohlkamp 1-1; Alx, Erickson 13-119, Peterson 13-107, Giroux 10-45
Passing: Brd, Mimmack 9-30-116; Alx, Erickson 8-11-173
Receiving: Brd, Crocker 5-80, Mitch Bzdok 1-15, Dylan Wheeler 1-12, Tate Rusk 1-7, Main 1-2; Alx, Thompson 1-73, Mark Whiting 4-47
MIKE BIALKA may be reached at mike.bialka@brainerddispatch.com or at 855-5861.
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