The season came to an end Tuesday night along the north shore of Lake Superior for the International Falls football team.
The Broncos lost their Section 7AAA quarterfinal game at Two Harbors, 20-12.
“It was a great battle,” said Falls head coach Jay Boyle. “Two Harbors is a good team. It was back and forth. We got some stops here. They were still able to crank out a big play or two on us. We were able to get a few on them.
“Towards the end of the game, we let them take control of the line of scrimmage a little too much. Not having guys in the spots they've been in all season due to injury had ended up hurting us in the end.”
The Falls, which received the Section's No. 5 seed after having also lost 30-28 at home to the Agates during the regular season, ended the 100th year of Bronco football 4-5 overall. Two Harbors, seeded No. 4, improved to 6-3 and advanced to Saturday's semifinal game at top-seeded Proctor.
After giving up a first-quarter touchdown to trail 6-0, the Broncos tied the game with 5:18 left before halftime on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Jakob Eide to Luke Spilde.
Falls' 2-point conversion attempt failed and the half ended tied at 6-6.
After the Broncos stopped the Agates on downs and took over on offense 43 yards away from the end zone, Eide capped off the scoring drive with a 1-yard quarterback sneak to put the Falls in front with 2:29 left in the third quarter. The Broncos' lead remained at 12-6 after the run for the 2-point conversion failed.
“Our guys ran some good routes, were able to complete some passes, get them to back off the line, run the ball a little bit, so the guys just played tough in the middle (of the game),” Boyle said.
Two Harbors regained the lead after capping off a 65-yard scoring drive early in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run by Kyle Omtvedt. The extra point by Eli Hebl put the Agates in front, 13-12.
After receiving the ensuing kickoff, the Falls ended up punting the ball back to Two Harbors, which then capped off a 68-yard scoring drive with a 40-yard touchdown run by Lucas Kempffer with 8:56 to play. Hebl's extra point extended the Agates' lead to 20-12.
The Broncos' final series on offense in an effort to tie the game late in the fourth quarter ended after Eide fumbled the ball on their 27-yard line, where the Agates took over and ran out the clock.
Following Tuesday's season-ending playoff loss, the Falls will be losing 10 seniors to graduation.
“This has been a fantastic season,” Boyle said. “Our seniors (and) the whole team represented Bronco football very well during this 100th season.
“It was our first .500 (regular) season that we've had in a few years, and the team got better as the year went on and the program's heading in a good direction. The biggest thing is I'm so proud of our players that stuck it out the whole year and represented our school and our community well.”
Two Harbors 20, I. Falls 12
I. Falls 0 6 6 0 – 12
Two Harbors 6 0 0 14 – 20
