The Brainerd Warrior junior varsity/sophomore team rallied in the final minute Monday to nip the Bemidji Lumberjacks 29-28 and finished the season undefeated.
Trailing 28-21 with 1:31 left in the game, the Warriors threw a double pass from Abe Schlegel to Joe Stolski to Renzen Caughey for a 55-yard gain to the Bemidji 12. Schlegel scored from the 12 with 33 seconds left. Schlegel hit Garrett Gardiepy with a 2-point conversion pass to put the Warriors ahead by the final score with 26 seconds left.
With Bemidji leading 7-0, the Warriors scored in the first half on a 55-yard double pass from Stolski to Schlegel to Caughey and tied the game 7-7 after a David Benson extra-point kick.
The previously unbeaten Lumberjacks controlled the game for the next two quarters and took a 21-7 lead.
In the fourth, the Warriors' Joe Klang ended a 65-yard drive with an 11-yard TD run, followed by Benson's kick that cut the margin to 21-14. The Lumberjacks scored on a 75-yard TD run for a 28-14 lead with 3:36 remaining.
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The Warriors then scored on Will Lundstrom's 2-yard run. Benson's kick sliced Brainerd's deficit to 28-21 with 2:34 left.
