| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|  Cody Chambers (30) wraps up Panther running back Justin Peterson(22) during the second half of the Patriots 28-21 win – photo by Paul Boblett  Tailback Matt Michaelson gained 106 yards against Park Rapids – photo by Paul Boblett  Pequot Lakes head coach Chip Lohmiller slaps hands with Nic Harrison (3) after Harrison’s late interception against Park Rapids on Friday – photo by Paul Boblett | Patriots Rally to Beat Panthersby Paul Boblett, Editor Following a dismal first half, the Pequot Lakes Patriots roared back with 28 unanswered points, erasing a 21-0 deficit to beat the visiting Park Rapids Panthers last Friday night. Matt Michaelson ran for 106 yards on 22 carries to lead the offense and his touchdown on with 4:32 remaining gave the Patriots a 27-21 lead. Michaelson scored twice in the fourth quarter and had an interception in the first half. Fullback Cody Chambers’ 40- yard burst up the middle started the comeback in the third quarter. His touchdown came just moments after Luke Landecker recovered a Panther fumble on their opening possession of the second half. Chambers and Landecker’s physical play energized the Patriot defense, which held Park Rapids to under 100 yards in the second half. Pequot’s Jekyll-Hyde performance was not lost on Patriot head coach Chip Lohmiller, who was visibly frustrated by his team’s lackluster first half performance. “I wasn’t very happy,” said Lohmiller. “[Park Rapids] ran the same five plays, and for some reason we couldn’t stop them.” “But we made some adjustments, we put the linebackers in the gaps and it worked,” added Lohmiller. “We cut down on errors and played great in the second half.” The Patriots were flagged for five penalties in the first half, but only had one in the second - a 5-yard unintentional facemask call. Chambers finished with 73 yards rushing and his clutch 15-yard fourth down reception from a scrambling Jeff Redmond late in the fourth quarter kept his team’s final drive alive. “We showed heart in the second half,” said Lohmiller. “It took them a half to figure it out. We can’t do that anymore; we have to play a full game.” The Patriots were close to getting on the board in the first half, but a negated 50-yard kickoff return and several dropped passes kept them from having good field position against the Panthers. Redmond finished the game completing only 5 of 16 passes for 114 yards, but was 3 of 6 in the second half. He scored the second Patriots touchdown on a 1-yard keeper set up by a 48-yard Nic Harrison reverse. Harrison’s late interception sealed the victory for Pequot, now 3-1 in conference play. The Patriots host Roseau for homecoming on Friday night. Kickoff is at 7:00 pm. Park Rapids 14 7 0 0 - 21 Pequot Lakes 0 0 14 14 – 28 First quarter PR - Ricke 19 pass from Walsh (Pike kick) 5:54 PR - Vaadeland 54 pass from Walsh (Pike kick) 2:02 Second quarter PR - Free 6 run (Pike kick) 11:34 Third quarter PL - Chambers 30 run (kick failed) 6:23 PL - Redmond 1 run (Engen pass from Redmond) 3:06 Fourth quarter PL - Michaelson 15 run (run failed) 11:28 PL - Michaelson 5 run (Michaelson run) 4:32 Rushing: Michaelson 22-106, Chambers 10-73, Harrison 1-48, Redmond 6-(-4); Passing: Redmond 5-16-114; Receiving: Johnsen 2-71, Engen 1-28, Chambers 1-15, Michaelson 1-(-1). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northland Press | P.O. Box 145 | Outing, MN 56662 | (218) 692-5842 Email: news@northlandpress.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
