Falcons defeat Pillager 30-22

By BOB VARMETTE

Journal Sports Writer

MINNEAPOLIS -- All season long, the McLeod West defense got lost in the shuffle. Despite allowing only about 17 points per game, the Falcons' defenders were overshadowed by a high-powered offense led by senior tailback Tyler Evans -- Minnesota's high school career rushing leader regardless of class.

It wasn't their prettiest performance of the season, but it was arguably their finest. Twice the Falcons made stands deep in their own territory. One was Ryan Hansch's interception at the goal line that preserved a 30-22 win for top-ranked McLeod West over No. 7 Pillager Friday afternoon in the Class 1A championship game at the Metrodome.

"We knew this was going to be as hard-fought of a game as it ended up being," McLeod West co-coach Curt Strand said. "It came down to we got a little bit lucky, they got a little bit unlucky."

The title is the first for McLeod West (14-0) in its four state appearances. It almost didn't happen.

Trailing 30-22, Pillager (11-2) had one last gasp. The Huskies got the ball with 3:09 in the game at their own 22.

Six plays later -- the key play a 35-yard pass from Lee Roberts to Adam Brown -- the Huskies were within striking distance with about a minute and a half to play.

Roberts, who finished 1 of 7, was then intercepted for the second time. Hansch, a junior safety, broke in front of Ben Broberg at the goal line and returned the interception 20 yards.

From there, the Falcons ran out the clock.

"They'd been running that all game, and I figured they'd have to throw with time running out," said Hansch, who made his ninth interception of the season with just 1:22 left. "I just read (Broberg) leaving the line of scrimmage and took my drop. ... I had him covered pretty good, but the throw was maybe off a little bit."

On the Huskies' previous offensive series, they marched from their own 34 all the way to the McLeod West 3. Roberts, the triggerman for the Huskies' triple-option Wishbone, picked up 44 yards on the march's first play.

The Huskies then turned to fullback Steve Bethel, who finished with 158 yards on 27 attempts. Bethel carried the ball five of the next seven plays, taking the ball to the Falcons 4.

Roberts moved the ball to the 2, but Bethel lost a yard on third-and-1. On fourth-and-2, the Huskies' Tony Mason was jumped at the line of scrimmage by junior linebacker Brent Pichotta and friends.

"That was the big key," Pillager coach Pete Bothun said. "They held us twice when we were down there knocking on the door. We've been running everybody out of gas. I thought we were doing it. But give them credit -- they made the plays."

McLeod West surrendered 352 yards to Pillager. The Huskies' rushing attack, which had been averaging 384.2 yards per game, picked up 317 on the ground. The Falcons bent, but held when it was critical.

The Huskies had only 96 yards rushing at halftime -- a defensive show to that point with the score 6-all. And 52 yards of that 96 came on Jeff Pace's first-quarter touchdown.

In the second half, the Huskies began to grind it out. McLeod West, meanwhile, did something very un-Falcon-like -- the Falcons took to the air.

With Evans and the rushing attack slowed by the Huskies' gap-jumping defense, McLeod West got several key completions from Nathan Strand. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound junior quarterback went 3 of 5 for 63 yards during a Falcon drive that used up 4:20 of clock late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter. The drive was capped by a 5-yard touchdown run by Evans -- his second of the day and 47th of the season.

McLeod West got two big plays via the air. Nathan Strand found Hansch floating behind the Huskies' defense for a 24-yard gain; if not for falling down as he made the catch, the wide-open Hansch likely would have scored. Later that drive, facing a third-and-10 from the Pillager 41, Nathan Strand found Pichotta for a 26-yard gain.

Then came the big one. Less than a minute after the Huskies had tied the game at 22 on a 55-yard Bethel run, Nathan Strand went downfield to Matt Maiers. Maiers caught the ball near midfield, broke a tackle, got an unintended block from an official and sprinted to the end zone to complete the 80-yard scoring play that put the Falcons up for good at 30-22 with 9:16 in the game.

"It was a bootleg right," Maiers said. "Their safety hit me and bounced off the ref ... I just ran it in from there."

Maiers finished with two catches for 93 yards. Hansch added two catches for 53 yards and Pichotta had one catch for 26 yards. Nathan Strand went 6 of 11 for 175 yards.

"We noticed watching them on tape that we could pass on them," Nathan Strand said. "Our line just stepped it up in the second half and got me the time to throw. I was able to make use of that."

Added Curt Strand: "The only adjustment we made was to say, 'Give us time.' We knew that with that many people on the line of scrimmage that we had people wide open. We had three plays in the first half where we had people wide open and we couldn't get them the ball because we didn't give (Nathan Strand) time.

"We had to scratch for every yard, like they did. I guess that's what championship games are all about. I guess we scratched one more time than they did."

MCLEOD WEST 6 0 8 16--30

PILLAGER 6 0 8 8--22

1st Quarter

MW--Evans 3 run (pass failed), 3:50

PHS--Pace 52 run (run failed), 1:58

3rd Quarter

MW--Strand 9 run (Hansch pass from Strand), 9:02

PHS--Roberts 14 run (Pace run), 3:11

4th Quarter

MW--Evans 1 run (Evans run), 10:51

PHS--S.Bethel 55 run (S.Bethel run), 10:03

MW--M.Maiers 80 pass from Strand (Evans run), 9:16