Prairie completes comeback at Briggsdale 35-32

There was a marquee 6-man football played Monday night between the Briggsdale Falcons and the Prairie Mustangs. The game, which was moved in the unorthodox 2020 season with the COVID-19 pandemic, featured two playoff teams from the strong North league facing off. Both teams got a chance to face each other in the Colorado Rural Football League just before the high school season was brought back for the fall, with Prairie getting a win over Briggsdale. The first game was a shootout, but defense carried both teams in the Week 2 game that was decided in the final seconds. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em><strong>Game recap</strong></em></span> Prairie outscored Briggsdale 19-6 in the fourth quarter and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 31 seconds remaining to get the 35-32 win on the road to improve to 2-0 on the season. Arek Wulf started off strong breaking a 50-yard touchdown run on Prairie’s second offensive play of the game to strike first. Briggsdale would respond but missed the two-point conversion kick and trailed 8-6 after the first quarter. In the second, the Falcons dominated defensively and got after Prairie quarterback Andy Long to get a number of stops. They would then capitalize with a pair of touchdown receptions by Malik Carlson and Shane Dohono to take a 20-8 lead into the halftime break. Briggsdale got a huge interception in the red zone from Isiah Nava that halted Prairie’s opening drive in the second half, only to see Landon Carroll return the favor with his own interception. Wulf followed the Prairie interception with his second rushing touchdown, and Briggsdale got a touchdown reception from Tanner Fiscus and led 26-16 going into the fourth. Long, who struggled at times early, stepped up in the fourth quarter for Prairie with three touchdown passes. The first two went to Isaac Doll that kept Prairie within four points of Briggsdale. The final touchdown throw of the quarter was a 13-yard pass to David Speicher to get the win and improve to 2-0 on the season. Here are some game balls we are giving out after Monday's exciting game. <strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Arek Wulf, 2021, 6’0, 160, RB/DB, Prairie</span></strong> Over the last couple of seasons under head coach Justin Kerns, Prairie has had a superstar player who excels on both sides of the ball and leads the team. Wulf appears to be that guy in 2020. He had two rushing touchdowns and showed the speed he has when he broke a number of big runs, and he was finding his way to the football on defense. His veteran leadership is especially helpful with many underclassmen and first-year varsity starters in the mix for the Mustangs this season. <strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">David Speicher, 2022, 6’4, 160, OL/TE/DL/K, Prairie</span></strong> Speicher caught the game-winning touchdown in the final minute for Prairie to win, showing great footwork to sneak in the end zone. Another big factor for Prairie was that Speicher was able to convert some of his two-point kick conversions with his leg and pin Briggsdale deep with his kickoffs. And to complete a dominant final minute of the game, he batted down the Hail Mary attempt on the final play of the game to secure the win. It was a complete game in all three phases that helped Prairie get the win. <strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Landon Carroll, 2023, 6’2, 185, TE/DE, Prairie </span></strong> When it looked like the game was going to get out of reach for Prairie, Carroll turned the momentum of the game with his interception in the third quarter. That play helped turn the tide and get Prairie back into it. And on a night where Briggsdale was not hitting the big yardage plays consistently, Carroll had a big tackle on the final kickoff of the game that pinned Briggsdale deep and forced them to go a long way for a chance to win in the final seconds. While young, he has the size and awareness to be an impact player defensively. <strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">John Krise, 2023, 6’0, 155, OL/LB, Briggsdale</span></strong> Krise is an anchor on the offensive line for Briggsdale. With every player being an eligible receiver in 6-man football, teams still look for a good blocker to get out in the open field and lead running backs in space. Krise is that guy and shows he can block and open up lanes. Because of his blocking prowess, many teams sleep on him in the passing game, but he can hurt you there as well, and he did catch a touchdown pass versus Prairie. When Briggsdale looks to run, you can usually find them following Krise to find some big plays. <strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Tanner Fiscus, 2024, 5’10, 145, RB/LB, Briggsdale</span></strong> Fiscus is proving to be valuable in his freshman season through two games. He flies all over the field on both sides of the ball. He made some plays, scored with the ball in his hands and shows he can be a solid athlete in the open field, a key in the 6-man game. His speed will also make him a good defender who can find his way to the football. The future looks bright for Fiscus and he should be an important player for a young Falcons team to improve. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><em>Upcoming schedule</em></strong></span> Prairie improves to 2-0 and will now prepare for its biggest game of the regular season on a short week. The Mustangs will host the Fleming Wildcats, the defending state champions, in a game that may determine the A-6 North title in the process as well. Fleming dominated Arickaree/Woodlin and North Park so far through its first two games. As for Briggsdale, they will look to return to the win column when it travels to Peetz this Friday. Peetz is 2-0 and sat just behind Briggsdale in the top 10 polls this week.