“A very good game, both teams played well,” commented New York Mills Head Coach Matt Radniecki.  “Our defense had some big stops and a goal line stand in the fourth quarter to help us keep the lead and get a victory.  Pelican is well coached and has some athletes and we were able to keep them from getting the big play.  This is something that we talked about all week and we were able to do that on defense.  On offense we made enough plays to win.  Daunte Leiran and Bren Salo did a very good job of running the ball for us.  Bren Salo also connected with Jonah Johnson on 42 yard touchdown pass.  On special teams Jace Rudolph our place kicker nailed all three extra points allowing us to maintain a two score margin.  Very good team win for us.”

Salo’s 17 yard TD run with 5:27 to play in the first quarter was followed by Rudolph’s first PAT kick, giving the Eagles a 7-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Jayden Rutherford put the Vikings on the board with a five yard run, however, the two-point conversion pass failed and the Eagles led 7-6. 

Mills upped their lead to 14-6 with 3:56 remaining in the half on a 27 yard run by Leiran and an extra point kick by Rudolph.

Pelican cut the lead to 14-12 on a one yard touchdown plunge by McHale Korf with 2:01 left in the third quarter.

The final score came when Salo connected with Johnson on a 32 yard TD pass and Rudolph tacked on the extra point with 9:56 left in the game.

“We had too many mistakes against a good New York Mills team,” stated Pelican Rapids Head Coach David Haugen. “Penalties put us in a bad position on a night with less than perfect conditions and an opponent that really played well.  That combined with turnovers was too much to overcome. Mills defense came up big with some tough red zone defense keeping us out of the end zone when it looked as if we had some good scoring opportunities.”

Pelican Rapids had 247 yards of total offense with 143 rushing yards and 104 yards through the air.  McHale Korf completed 9-of-19 passes, but had two intercepted.  Korf was the leading rusher for the Vikings with 81 yards on 14 carries.  Logan Fahje caught 3 passes for 56 yards to lead the receivers.  Fahje also led the defense with 6.5 tackles (5 solo, 3 assisted).  Carter Johnson also had 6.5 tackles (3 solo, 7 assisted).  Nick Haugrud recorded a sack.

“We're going to learn as much as we can from this game and work to be ready next week when Mahnomen-Waubun comes to Pelican Rapids,” concluded Coach Haugen.