FBU Team of the Week Nominees: Week 1

Pipestone Area – W, 14-7 over New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva

Pipestone Area got the better of New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva in a matchup of two of the best Class AA teams in the South Central District.

The Arrows defense was stellar in its season opening win over NRHEG. Pipestone recorded an early safety, held the Panthers to around 200 yards of total offense and kept them out of the end zone until the final minute of the game.

J.T. Tinklenberg and Tyl Woelber provided all the offense in the win. The duo connected on touchdown passes of 74 and 40 yards in the second half to lead the Arrows to the Week 1 victory.

Wayzata – W, 28-27 over Rosemount

Wayzata rallied from a 13-point, third-quarter deficit to defeat Rosemount in its first game under new head coach Lambert Brown.

Down 27-14 midway through the third quarter, junior Billy Riviere punched in a two-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal to cut the deficit to six.  Deshawn Cockrell scored the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter to give the Trojans the lead for good. He finished with 154 yards rushing and the touchdown.

Quarterback Keaton Heide finished the game with 149 yards and a touchdown through the air, leading the Trojans to the season-opening win.

Spring Grove – W, 52-51 (OT) over No. 2 (9M) Cleveland/Immanuel Lutheran

The matchup between two of the best teams in 9-Man lived up to its billing as No. 5 Spring Grove outlasted No. 2 Cleveland/Immanuel Lutheran at home.

Trailing by as many as 23 points, Spring Grove mounted a furious fourth-quarter rally to force overtime.

The Lions tied the score late in the game after a blocked punt.  After a Cleveland touchdown with less than a minute remaining gave the Clippers the lead, Noah Elton snatched a deflected pass for a 66-yard touchdown to send the game into overtime.

Spring Grove’s Alex Folz, who accounted for seven total touchdowns, connected with tight end Sam Sanness in overtime for the 52-45 lead. Cleveland elected to go for the 2-pt. conversion in after its touchdown and the attempt failed, giving the Lions the thrilling win.

Barnesville – W, 27-14 over No. 3 (3A) Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton

Barnesville pushed its regular-season home winning streak to 37 games with an impressive victory over rival Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton.

Playing without injured running back Brady Tweeton, the Trojans controlled the line of scrimmage the entire night. Senior Brady Martz was the main beneficiary, rushing for 195 yards and four touchdowns. Martz’s final touchdown came on the first play of the fourth quarter to give the Trojans a 27-7 lead.

It was the second-consecutive win for Barnesville over DGF, which won 22-21 last season. Bryan Strand’s group is off next week and hosts West Central Area in Week 3.

Winona Cotter – W, 31-22 over Medford

Winona Cotter ended its 23-game losing streak -- one of Minnesota’s longest -- with a season-opening victory over Medford at home.

Trailing 6-0 just a few minutes into the game, Cotter scored 28-straight points, capped by Josiah Sandcork’s short touchdown run, to take a commanding lead early in the third quarter.

Austin Griffin scored three touchdowns and finished with 195 yards rushing to lead the Ramblers, which won for the first time since September 2014. The Ramblers defense picked off a pair of Tigers passes in the win.