Posted: 10/8/03

Ponies run all over Rangers

Joe Drennan
Sports Editor

The Forest Lake football team was hoping it could roll over Stillwater the same way they did Hastings, but the Ponies offense was too much in the first half.

As the Rangers waited to return the opening kickoff, fans continued to file into the standing room only homecoming crowd. Kyle Fuller was the deep return man for the Rangers, but he didnít have to do anything as Paul Fortman of the Ponies kicked the ball into the end zone for a touchback.

On the Rangers first play from scrimmage they lost five yards on a pass, and then were unable to make up any yardage before they had to punt on fourth down. Mark Moberg punted the ball 18 yards to the Rangers 33-yard line.

The Ponies did not waste any time capitalizing on their good field position. Running back Jay Higgins ran the ball nine yards on the first play to move the ball to the 24-yard line. Jon Ylinen moved the ball eight more yards to get the first down, then ran the ball into the end zone off a 16-yard run. Fortmanís extra point was good and the Ponies had an early 7-0 lead with 9:46 still remaining in the first quarter.

The Ponies scoring drive covered 33-yards in only three plays, and only took 1:12 off the game clock.
Fortman kicked the ball clear into the end zone to start the Rangers on their own 20-yard line once again.

John Schwietz was able to move the ball one yard. Schwietzís one yard gain was all the Rangers could manage on the drive and again had to punt. Moberg punted the ball 36-yards to the Ponies 43-yard line.
The Rangers defense pushed the ponies back five yards on the first play, but Higgins gained four of those yards back on the very next play. Andrew Johnson then passed the ball downfield to John Heinbigner for a 14-yard gain and Ponies first down. Higgins picked up seven more yards on the next two plays to move the ball to the Rangers 37-yard line. Johnson connected with Heinbigner for a nine yard gain to give the Ponies another first down, then Higgins muscled his way through the Rangers defense for another 11-yards.

Ylinen got into the drive for the Ponies when he ran the ball 15-yards to the Rangers two yard line. Johnson capped off the scoring drive when he ran the ball into the end zone. Fortmanís extra point was on target and the Ponies were up 14-0 with 4:25 left in the first quarter.

The Ponies scoring drive covered 57-yards in nine plays, while taking 3:49 off the game clock.

Fortman wasnít able to kick the ball into the end zone on the ensuing kickoff for a touchback, but he did get it to the Rangers one yard line. Fuller returned the ball 23-yards. Steve Carlisle got the ball on the first play and ran 13-yards to move the ball to the Rangers 37-yard line. Schwietz added three more yards on the next play, and Carlisle tacked on one more yard to bring up third down and six yards to go. Schwietz threw an incomplete pass and Moberg was called upon to punt the ball once again.

A high snap went over Mobergís head. In a scramble to recover the ball, the Rangers lost 20-yards on the play, and the Ponies took over on the Rangers 21-yard line. Four plays and 1:24 later the Ponies were in the end zone for the third time in the first quarter to go up 21-0.

The Ponies defense was again too much for the Rangers as the Rangers were unable to gain a first down. After a Moberg punt, the Ponies took over on their own 28-yard line.

The Ponies began working the clock as they moved the ball with gains of 15-yards in the air, and short yardage on the grownd. Taking a gamble, the Ponies went for it on fourth and five from the Rangers 25 yard line, but Carlisle intercepted the pass and returned it to the Rangers 28-yard line.

Carlisle moved the ball three yards on the first play, but a five and seven yard loss on the next two plays forced the Rangers to punt from their own 19-yard line.

The Ponies moved the ball 44-yards into the end zone to score again before half time with the help of a 29-yard pass to Heinbigner. Fortmanís extra point was good and the Rangers were down 28-0 with 2:18 left in the second quarter.

The Rangers tried to pick up some points before halftime as they started from their own 43-yard line after a Ponies 15-yard personal foul penalty. On third and six, Schwietz started to run the ball but fumbled. The ball was kicked by a Ponies player before Schwietz was able to fall on the ball to recover it for a 27-yard gain.

With time running out in the first half, the Rangers moved the ball with short gains down to the five yard line. On the last play of the half they chose to go for a touchdown instead of a field goal. The choice did not pay off as the Rangers only came up with a 12-yard loss.

At the end of the first half, the Rangers were only able to gain 51 yards of total offense compared to the Ponies 227.

ìWe didnít do things well early and they [Stillwater] are a good team and they took it to us,î head Forest Lake football coach Jim Herman said.

The Ponies started the second half with the ball. Wasting no time adding to their lead, the Ponies marched the ball 67-yards in 2:53 to make the score 35-0.

The Rangers looked as though they might break the Ponies shutout, despite starting from their own 16-yard line. Kevin Secore ran the ball 16-yards to give the Rangers a first down, then a pass to Joe Lindebarg added another eight yards to the Rangers drive. The next three plays Carlisle moved the ball a combined 14-yards to the Ponies 45-yard line.

The Ponies defense started getting stingy again and ended the Rangers drive on fourth and seven from the Ponies 45-yard line. Moberg punted the ball deep into Ponies territory and the Ponies started their drive from their own 24-yard line.

Neither team was able to do much on offense as the third quarter ended. With 10:36 left in the game, the Rangers got the ball on their own 20-yard line.

Tom Frericks ran the ball 25-yards on the first play to move the ball to the Rangers 45-yard line. Frericks picked up seven more yards, before losing four of them in back-to-back plays. To make up for the lost yardage, Schwietz found receiver Jake Brown down field for a ten yard gain. A few plays later, Schwietz saw Fuller down field in the end zone. Schwietz lofted the ball in the air to Schwietz and the Rangers had their first touchdown of the game. Mobergís extra point was good and the Rangers trailed 35-7.

The Rangers covered 80-yards in eight plays. It took the Rangers 3:11 to march the ball downfield for their score.

After returning the Rangers kick to their own 38-yard line, the Ponies tried to strike back. After a one yard loss and five yard false start penalty, the Ponies fumbled the ball and the Rangers recovered on the Ponies 32-yard line.

On the very first play, Schwietz started to run the ball down the sideline. 32-yards later he was in the end zone with a touchdown. Mobergís extra point was good and the Rangers were now behind 35-14 with 5:59 to play in the game.

After some back and forth play, the Ponies got the ball on the Rangers 34-yard line with 2:08 to play in the game. Andrew Larson ran the ball 15-yards for the Ponies, followed by a Tony Dickens four yard run. Larson added 11 more yards to move the ball to the four yard line. The next play, Larson scored the final touchdown of the game. Stephan Bjerkeís extra point was good and the score was 42-14 Ponies.

ìThe key is who is going to dominate up front,î Herman said. ìThey did.î

The Rangers top rusher was Schwietz with 46-yards, 32 of his yards were gained on a touchdown run. At gameís end, the Rangers had managed 212 total yards of offense off 49 plays and a time of possession of 21:33.

ìStillwater is an awful fine ball club and we need to play almost error free and we didnít,î Herman said.

1 2 3 4 F
Forest Lake 0 0 0 14 14
Stillwater 21 7 7 7 42

Top of Page