2008 Agate Football Game Summaries
(Summaries
taken from Duluth News Tribune)
Game
1 - August 28, 2008 at Halsted Field, Two Harbors
TWO
HARBORS - 41, AITKIN - 20
Logan Gow led the Agates with 159 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns to lead Two Harbors to victory. Ryan Guentzel had 166 all purpose yards, including an 89-yard kick return for a touchdown for the Agates.
Aitkin 0-12-0-8—20
Two Harbors 7-20-7-7—41
TH — Ryan Guentzel 23 pass from Nate Cavallin (Tim Horgan kick)
A — Dan Catilin 41 pass from Nick Harmon (pass failed)
TH — Guentzel 34 run (run failed)
A — Catilin 55 pass from Harmon (pass failed)
TH — Guentzel 89 kick return (Horgan kick)
TH — Logan Gow 24 run (Horgan kick)
TH — Gow 34 run (Horgan kick)
TH — Scott Comrie 8 run (Horgan kick)
A — Tony Pohl 2 run (Andrew Welshons run)
Game
2 - September 5, 2008 at Hinckley TWO
HARBORS - 35, HINCKLEY-FINLAYSON - 18
Ryan Guentzel scored four times,
including a 90-yard kickoff return as the Agates improved to 2-0 with
the Great Polar Alliance victory in Hinckley.
Scott Comrie added 137 yards rushing for Two Harbors.
Two Harbors 14-7-7-7-35
Hinckley-Finlayson 6-0-6-6—18
TH — Ryan Guenztel 44 pass from Nate Cavallin (Tim Horgan kick)
TH — Guentzel 29 run (Horgan kick)
HF — 20 pass
TH — Cavallin 1 run (Horgan kick)
HF — 1 run
TH — Guentzel 90 kickoff return (Horgan kick)
HF — 5 run
TH — Guentzel 30 run (Horgan kick)
Game
3 - September 12, 2008 at Halsted Field, Two Harbors ESKO
- 48, TWO HARBORS - 20
The Esko and Two Harbors football teams knew the importance of their matchup Friday night. Both squads were unbeaten entering their Great Polar White Conference opener and hoped to get on the scoreboard first.
Ryan Vang made sure the Eskomos did just that. The senior running back rushed for 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 48-20 victory over the Agates at Two Harbors.
“It was a big game coming in,” said
Vang, who had touchdown runs of 30 and46 yards. “Coach [Bill Hudspith]
was talking about getting on top first because they’re a very emotional
team.”
Esko (3-0 overall, 1-0 conference) helped quiet Two Harbors (2-1, 0-1) with an opening-scoring drive that lasted just 2 minutes, 13 seconds, resulting in Vang’s first touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
The Agates’ excitement wasn’t contained for long. Junior running back Ryan Guentzel broke two tackles for a 62-yard touchdown run on Two Harbors’ first series, and Tim Horgan’s extra point tied the game at 7.
The Eskomos re-established momentum with first-quarter touchdown runs by Matt Grusznis (2 yards) and Vang for a 20-7 lead after 12 minutes.
But the crushing blow came at the start of the third quarter. Trailing 28-7 at halftime, Two Harbors received another boost from Guentzel, who returned the second half’s opening kick 85 yards for a touchdown, cutting the Eskomos’ lead to 28-13 and injecting life back into the Agates’ bench.
The result was short-lived, however. Esko’s Cody Townsend responded with a 75-yard return for a score on the ensuing kick, giving the Eskomos a 22-point cushion. That, combined with six Two Harbors turnovers (five fumbles and one interception), sealed the Agates’ fate.
“That was awesome. You don’t know what would’ve happened [without Townsend’s kick return],” Hudspith said. “We work on that a lot. We’ve got some pretty skilled athletes, and that was very big for us because I think that took the wind out of their sails.”
Two Harbors coach Tom Nelson was disappointed in his team’s execution and penchant for putting the ball on the wet ground.
“Give [Esko] credit for probably making us look worse than we are, but I thought we played poorly,” Nelson said. “Against some teams, you might get away with putting the ball on the ground a time or two. You don’t turn the ball over to a good team like Esko two times, let alone six.”
Esko quarterback Jake Toman threw
three touchdown passes, including two to Steve Lewis for 18 and 21
yards. Richard Jubie had a 42-yard catch for a score.
Game
4 - September 19, 2008 at Deer River DEER
RIVER
- 30, TWO HARBORS - 13
Quarterback Tyler Erzar completed 6 of 13 passes for 105 yards and one touchdown as the Warriors opened their Great Polar schedule with a home win.
Wide receiver Ben Grossell had four catches for 88 yards and one touchdown, while senior running back Kyle Wilson rushed for 82 yards and two TDs.
Two Harbors 0-7-0-6—13
Deer River 0-10-7-13—30
DR — Kyle Wilson 1 run (Kenny Benham kick)
TH — Scott Comrie 16 run (Tim Horgan kick)
DR — Benham 22 field goal
DR — Ben Grossell 19 pass from Tyler Erzar (Benham kick)
DR — Wilson 3 run (Benham kick)
TH — Horgan 30 field goal
DR — Benham 60 run (run failed)
TH — Horgan 28 field goal
Game 5 - September 27, 2008 at
Halsted Field, Two Harbors PINE
CITY
- 39, TWO HARBORS - 13
Game
6 - October 3, 2008 at Moose Lake MOOSE
LAKE
- 68, TWO HARBORS - 6
Game
7 - October 9, 2008 at Coleraine
GREENWAY
- 28, TWO HARBORS - 7
Game
8 - October 15, 2008 at Halsted Field, Two Harbors TWO
HARBORS - 32, DULUTH MARSHALL - 6
Junior running back Ryan Guentzel ran for 202 yards and four touchdowns in the Agates’ Great Polar White victory over Duluth Marshall.
Duluth Marshall 0-6-0—6
Two Harbors 20-6-6-0—32
TH — Ryan Guentzel 25 run (Tim Horgan kick)
TH — Guentzel 15 run (Horgan kick)
TH — Scott Comrie 60 run (kick failed)
DM — Josh Serre 1 run (kick failed)
TH — Guentzel 62 run (kick failed)
TH — Gunetzel 18 run (kick failed)
Section
Playoffs, Round 1 - October 21, 2008 at Crosby TWO
HARBORS - 46, CROSBY-IRONTON - 35
The sixth-seed Agates (4-5) will host No. 7 seed International Falls, which upset No. 2 Eveleth-Gilbert 24-21, in a semifinal game at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Guentzel had rushing touchdowns of 46, 25, 31 and 55 yards, and took a kickoff 60 yards for another score.
Matthew Hudrlik rushed for 174 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries, and Nathan Hudrlik ran for 102 yards on eight carries and scored on a 67-yard fumble recovery for the Rangers (5-4).
Two Harbors 14-3-7-22—46
Crosby-Ironton 14-0-13-8—35
CI — Nathan Hudrlik 67 fumble recovery (Tyler Heinlin kick)
TH — Ryan Guentzel 60 kickoff return (Tim Horgen kick)
CI — Derik Midthun 21 run (Heinlin kick)
TH — Guentzel 46 run (Horgen kick)
TH — Horgen 35 field goal
CI — Reed Olander 5 run (kick failed)
TH — Guentzel 25 run (Horgen kick)
CI — Matthew Hudrlik 15 run (Heinlin kick)
TH — Scott Comrie 6 run (Horgen kick)
TH — Guentzel 31 run (Horgen kick)
CI — Mark Hoge 45 pass from M. Hudrlik (Hoge pass from Midthun)
TH — Guentzel 55 run (run good)
Section
Playoffs, Round 2 - October 25, 2008 at Halsted
Field, Two Harbors TWO
HARBORS - 42, INTERNATIONAL FALLS - 32
Junior running back Ryan Guentzel
rushed 27 times for 225 yards as Two Harbors rallied at home. Guentzel
has scored 10 touchdowns combined the past two playoff games and has
rushed for 1,234 yards this season.
International Falls (2-8), with three rushing touchdowns from quarterback Jacob Casareto, led 32-28 with less than three minutes to play, before Guentzel scored the final two touchdowns. He had a 1-yard run with 2:44 remaining and a 52-yard run with 52 seconds to go. Running back Scott Comrie had 10 rushes for 92 yards and one touchdown for Two Harbors (5-5). The Agates will face Proctor at 6pm Friday at Malosky Stadium for the section championship.
Casareto completed eight of 16 passes
for 128 yards for International Falls.
International Falls 6-8-12-6—32
Two Harbors 6-22-0-14—42
IF — Jacob Casareto 1 run (run failed)
TH — Ryan Guentzel 51 run (pass failed)
IF — Casareto 1 run (Tim Myles run)
TH — Scott Comrie 48 run (Tim Horgen kick)
TH — Guentzel 11 run (Horgen kick)
TH — Guentzel 13 run (Guentzel run)
IF — Casareto 1 run (run failed)
IF — Myles 1 run (run failed)
IF — Alex Bruess 8 run (pass failed)
TH — Guentzel 1 run (Horgen kick)
TH — Guentzel 52 run (Horgen kick)
Section
Championship Game - October 31, 2008 at Malosky
Stadium, UMD PROCTOR
- 28, TWO HARBORS - 6
Kash Ankarlo rushed for a pair of touchdowns, Jorde Carlson ran for another and Steve Nelson had one on a quarterback sneak as the top-seeded Rails defeated No. 6-seed Two Harbors 28-6 in the Section 7AAA finals on Friday night at Malosky Stadium to advance to their third consecutive state tournament.
Proctor (9-2), winner of nine games in a row, will face New London-Spicer (9-2) in a quarterfinal game at 8 p.m. next Friday at Husky Stadium in St. Cloud, Minn.
The site is fitting. It’s the place where late Rails coach Dave Hylla played his final college football game as a member of the St. Cloud State Huskies.
Hylla, who was Proctor’s head coach for 27 seasons, died from a heart attack on Aug. 5. This season was to be his final year as the Rails’ coach. Hylla is buried at St. Columbkille Cemetery in St. Wendel, Minn., about 18 miles from Husky Stadium. The team plans to visit the cemetery before the game.
“Our goal for the playoffs was to go see Coach,” said Proctor head coach Derek Parendo, who was an assistant under Hylla. “We’re going to make an extra stop on the way down to St. Cloud.”
On Friday, the Rails used a powerful running attack and a dominant defense to shut down the Agates (5-6). Proctor led 7-0 when a bad snap on a punt attempt deep in its territory led to Two Harbors’ lone touchdown, a 1-yard run by Ryan Guentzel to cut the lead to 7-6. Proctor held Guentzel, who had 10 touchdowns and rushed for more than 600 yards in the previous two playoff games, to 59 yards on 24 carries.
“They really beat us at the point of attack,” Two Harbors coach Tom Nelson said. “Offensive and defensively in the second half, I really felt like they took it to us at the point of attack. I give them a lot of credit for that.”
The Rails had what could’ve been two more touchdowns taken away late in the first half. The first came on an option play that even faked out the referees. The play was blown dead when a decoy was tackled, leaving the player with the ball, who headed up the left sideline untouched, to turn around in amazement at the sound of whistles.
On the next Two Harbors drive, Proctor’s Derek Solarz had his 75-yard interception return for a touchdown called back because of an illegal block to the back, leaving the teams separated by one point going into the third quarter.
Ankarlo had touchdown runs of 2 and 24 yards in the third and fourth quarters, respectively, and Carlson broke through several defenders on a 42-yard run up the middle for another fourth-quarter score.
Carlson finished with 128 yards on 11 carries and Ankarlo had 108 yards on
15 carries as the Rails outrushed the Agates 280-136. Scott Comrie led Two Harbors with 80 yards on 14 carries.
“The blocking really stepped up in this game,” Ankarlo said. “We just hit holes hard and did the same thing. The linemen stepped up; it was all the linemen.”
Parendo added: “This season, we relied on our defense a lot of times and our offensive line hasn’t come along for us. But this week we sat down and had a heart-to-heart with a lot of these kids. And it’s just awesome when you’re able to sit down with 16-, 17-year-old kids, they look you right in the eye and they say, ‘You’re right. We’re gonna do a better job.’ They had a great week of practice, and they took it personally.”
After starting the season 0-2, the Rails are back in the state tournament, and Hylla will have a part in their plans.
“That was it, and I think all the guys wanted that more than anything,” Parendo said. “This was a great example of putting something else first before themselves. They wanted to get there to see Coach. They wanted to make Coach proud. And this is what he would’ve wanted — tough defense and run the ball down your throat.”
Two Harbors 0-6-0-0—6
Proctor 0-7-7-14—28
P — Steve Nelson 5 run (Matt Holter kick)
TH — Ryan Guentzel 1 run (Tim Horgan kick failed)
P — Kash Ankarlo 2 run (Holter kick)
P — Jorde Carlson 42 run (Holter kick)
P — Ankarlo 24 run (Holter kick)