Posted: 9/3/02

Orioles control Forest Lake in opener

Berk Brown
Sports Editor

Just when it appeared the Forest Lake football teamís fortune had changed Friday night, Osseo came up with all the riches.

Osseo answered Forest Lakeís only score of the night with 17 unanswered points, all of which came in the fourth quarter, as the Orioles beat the Rangers 31-6 in the season opener for both teams.

The major difference in the game came at the line of scrimmage where Osseo seemingly had its way with the Rangers most of the night. Forest Lake struggled with its pass protection the entire game and managed just 106 yards rushing while the Orioles ran for 215.

ìThey were more physical than us up front and it showed on both sides of the ball,î Forest Lake coach Jim Herman said.

Despite that, Forest Lake appeared poised to make a run at victory late in the third quarter thanks to a pair of big plays.

The first of which came when Osseo running back Ben Roff fumbled just inches before crossing the goal line with Osseo already leading 14-0. Tom Frericks fell on the loose ball in the end zone to give the Rangers possession with 3:04 left in the third quarter.

Three plays later, Forest Lake quarterback Lance Overson kept the ball on an option, broke into the Osseo secondary and sprinted down the left sideline for a 65-yard touchdown with 2:09 left in the third quarter.

Scooter Brandtís extra point missed as Forest Lake pulled within 14-6.

Osseo was able to eat up precious time and put points on the board in its next possession. Helped by pass interference and offsides penalties, the Orioles drove to the Forest Lake 26 before converting on a fourth-and-two with 10:10 to play.

The Oriolesí Jerry DíAlessandro later boomed a 40-yard field goal through the uprights to give Osseo a 17-6 lead with 9:10 left.

Forest Lake went three-and-out on its next possession. After a Ranger punt, Osseo scored on a four-play drive which started with a 42-yard run by the Oriolesí Fabian Garcia and ended with a 7-yard Garcia touchdown.

Garcia, a junior, led Osseoís rushing attack with 125 yards on 18 carries. Osseo coach Claud Allaire said Garciaís success can be attributed to the way his entire team played.

ìWe just kept going with what was working,î Allaire said. ìOur game plan was to be more balanced, but it seemed like we were getting five yards a crack...so we just kept going with what was working.î

Moments later, Shawn Fricke intercepted an Overson pass and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown, putting Osseo ahead 31-6 with 4:46 to play.

As poorly as the game ended for the Rangers, it started well with Forest Lake controlling the first quarter of play with the exception of a pivotal 30 seconds.

Forest Lake began the initial drive of the game at its own six and marched impressively down to the Osseo 27 thanks in large part to a 28-yard completion from Overson to Jake Brown and 27 yards on the ground from Steve Carlisle.

The drive ended, however, when Nate Johnson intercepted an Overson pass and returned it to the Forest Lake 47 with 4:26 left in the first quarter.

A 30-yard run by Osseo quarterback Paul Solberg and 17-yard scoring pass put the Orioles ahead 7-0 with 3:48 left in the opening quarter.

Osseo later went ahead 14-0 on a 4-yard Garcia touchdown run with 7:27 left in the second quarter.

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