Last Friday’s football game at Sports Stadium could be described as the “tale of two halves” after International Falls ended up losing to Proctor, 19-12, after leading by two touchdowns at halftime.
“I think for the most part we played well,” said Broncos head coach Jay Boyle. “We got a little winded in the second half.”
It was the second straight week the Falls led for much of the game and ended up losing. The Broncos’ season record dropped to 0-3 overall and 0-2 in the Sea-Range Conference.
The Rails, who rushed for 222 yards out of 278 yards on offense, limited the Broncos to 124 yards rushing and 175 yards of total offense.
Both of Falls’ first-half touchdowns came on fourth-down pass plays.
The Broncos broke a scoreless tie with 5:06 left in the first quarter when quarterback Gunnar Anderson found Austin Geiselhart open for a 10-yard touchdown pass. The score remained 6-0 after Hope Dunn missed the extra point.
Facing a fourth down on Proctor’s 5-yard line, Falls senior running back Nick Janttie threw an option pass to Jakob Ettestad, who found the end zone with 3:32 left before halftime. A similar two-point conversion play was unsuccessful as the Broncos led 12-0.
Falls’ defense kept the Rails’ offense off track in the first half. Proctor had turned the ball over on downs near the middle of the field with 3:31 left in the first quarter and also provided the Broncos with good field position in the first half with short punts.
As the game progressed, the proverbial injury bug bit the Broncos.
Falls running back Nehemiah Olson left the game early with a knee injury and didn’t return.
Broncos lineman Brandon Cox came out of the game with an injury shortly before Proctor scored its first touchdown on a 4-yard run by Alex Greene with 6:12 left in the third quarter. Falls remained in front 12-6 after the extra point failed.
A botched punt play by the Broncos later in the quarter ended up as a first down when punter Josh Potter pitched the ball to Anderson, who ran to the their own 44 for a new set of downs with 4:12 left in third.
However, the play also resulted in an injury to Potter, who remained down on the field for several minutes before being helped off as he walked slowly to the sideline and did not return.
Kameron Koerbitz later came in as the punter as Falls’ drive stalled and Proctor went on offense at its own 36-yard line with 2:35 left in the quarter.
When asked last weekend about the Bronco players injured in Friday’s game, Boyle said he wasn’t sure about their status for the next game this Friday at Cloquet.
The Rails tied the game with 10.2 seconds left in the third quarter when Nate Layne caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Brodie Nordquist. The extra point by Jack Nikko then put Proctor in front, 13-12.
The final touchdown by the Rails came around the midway point of the fourth quarter when Joe Carter scored on a 12-yard run. Proctor’s lead remained at 19-12 after the two-point conversion failed.
There was still plenty of time for the Falls to put together a scoring drive to tie or take the lead as the Broncos’ offense took over the ball at midfield following a horse-collar penalty on the kickoff.
After advancing within Proctor’s 30-yard line, Falls’ drive stopped with 2:59 to play when Anderson was sacked on fourth down at the 44-yard line.
The Rails, who converted a fourth-down play to keep their offense on the field, then ran out the clock to secure the victory.
Though the Broncos have yet to win this season, Boyle said he has seen improvement in the team, which needs to have a “full 48-minute effort.”
Falls’ next opponent, Cloquet, is 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the Sea-Range after the Lumberjacks won last Friday at Virginia, 47-18.
Proctor 0 0 13 6 — 19
I. Falls 6 6 0 0 — 12
Scoring: IF: Austin Geiselhart, 10-yard pass from Gunnar Anderson (kick failed); IF: Jakob Ettestad, 5-yard pass from Nick Janttie (run failed); P: Alex Greene, 4-yard run (kick failed); P: Nate Layne, 13-yard pass from Brodie Nordquist (Jack Nikko kick); P: Joe Carter, 12-yard run (run failed).
Team statistics: IF: 124 yards rushing, 51 passing, 175 total. P: 222 yards rushing, 56 passing, 278 total.
Rushing: IF: Nick Janttie, 27-71; Jakob Ettestad, 3-31; Nehemiah Olson, 2-12; Gunnar Anderson, 10-8; Austin Geiselhart, 2-2.
Passing: IF: Anderson, 5-14, 46 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; Janttie, 1-1, 5 yards, 1 TD.
Receiving: IF: Janttie, 2-26; Ettestad, 3-15, 1 TD; Geiselhart, 1-10, 1 TD.
