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Monday, November 2, 2009

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Michaelson, defense lead Pequot Lakes

High school football playoffs

By JOE LINDHOLM

Sports Writer

PEQUOT LAKES - The top-seeded Pequot Lakes Patriots used stifling defense and two big plays from senior standout Matt Michaelson to advance to the Section 8-3A finals with a 22-3 victory over No. 4 Thief River Falls on Saturday afternoon.

Michaelson returned a first-quarter interception 74 yards to give the Patriots a 6-0 lead. He capped off his day with a 49-yard touchdown run in the second quarter as the Patriots took a 14-3 lead to the half. Michaelson did exit the game late in the third quarter with an injury.

If there was a game ball to give out it would have to go to the Pequot defense. The Patriots held Thief River Falls to 151 total yards and a field goal. Prowlers quarterback Jacob Langevin was picked off three times and held to 49 yards passing.

Matt Michaelson of the Pequot Lakes Patriots ran into the end zone Saturday during their 22-3 Section 8-3A semifinal win over Thief River Falls. Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
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The Patriots had played the Prowlers on Oct. 21 with the Patriots winning 28-6. In that game Michaelson rushed for 242 yards. On Saturday, with terrible field conditions from snow and rain all week, Michaelson had 14 carries for 75 yards.

"With our speed on offense we need good field conditions to be productive," Pequot coach Chip Lohmiller said. "We tried to set them up with some blasts and some sweeps. We did decide to throw the ball and were successful there, but we didn't play like we normally do."

The offensive struggles aside, Lohmiller was impressed with the way the Patriots stepped up after Michaelson left.

"They didn't give up," Lohmiller said. "They knew that Matt has been the workhorse all year. Logan Lange can run the ball and Nick Greer can run. We also started to throw the ball. The guys just didn't give up because their star was down. They just kept playing hard and we scored. I am proud of them for staying with it."

The Patriots couldn't score on their first two series, and things started to look bad when they muffed a punt close to midfield. After a short Prowlers drive, Michaelson came up with the first big play as he stepped in front of a Langevin pass and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown.

With 3:26 left in the half, Michaelson capped off a three-play drive with a 49-yard touchdown scamper and the Patriots led 14-3. Pequot was hampered by two facemask penalties and turnovers in the first half.

In the third quarter, the Patriots put the game away on a 35-yard scoring pass from Cole Engen to Greer. That capped a 6-play, 52-yard drive and gave the Patriots a commanding 22-3 lead.

It was a commanding lead because Pequot wasn't giving the Prowlers anything on offense. Senior Cody Chambers led a defense that had the Prowlers off the field without a first down on six possessions. They also picked off Langevin twice in the second half to end drives.

Chambers knew that with the intensity of playoff football, and bad field conditions, there would be more pressure on the defense to perform.

"Thief River Falls ran a lot harder and we couldn't block them early on," Chambers said. "They were hitting us pretty hard.

"We were slipping everywhere. Once we got to the outside it was OK, but in the middle you couldn't do anything."

Lohmiller was also impressed with the play of his defense.

"The defense played very well," he said. "We made some big plays with interceptions and created turnovers. They have been holding us up and doing great all year."

Thief River Falls 0 3 0 0 - 3

Pequot Lakes 6 8 8 0 - 22

First quarter

PL: Matt Michaelson 74 interception return (kick failed) 11:36

Second quarter

TRF: Gerry Guerrero 36 FG, 4:23

PL: Michaelson 49 run (Michaelson run) 3:26

Third quarter

PL: Nick Greer 35 pass from Cole Engen (Greer run) 2:46

Team statistics

Rushes-yards: PL 31-133, TRF 48-102

Pass comp-att-int-yards: PL 4-6-2-59, TRF 4-10-3-49

Total offense: PL 192, TRF 151

Individual statistics

Rushing: PL Michaelson 14-75, Engen 4-50, Cody Chambers 2-11, Greer 7-5, Logan Lange 3-(1), Nevin Greer 1-(7); TRF Riley Simenson 20-52, Kaleb Torgerson 11-33, Jacob Langevin 2-8, Aaron Yaggie 14-8, J.C. Hansen 1-1

Passing: PL Engen 4-6-2-59; TRF Langevin 4-10-3-49

Receiving: PL Liedl 2-6, Chambers 1-18, Nick Greer 1-35; TRF Josh Watne 1-8, Yaggie 2-33, Simenson 1-8.

Overall: PL 9-1. Next: Pequot Lakes vs. Perham in Section 8-3A final at Alerus Center, Grand Forks, N.D., 8 p.m. Friday.

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