Armstrong starts strong, hangs on to stay undefeated

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Even though Robbinsdale Armstrong quarterback<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='112064' first='Jamen' last='Malone']</strong> felt the Falcons were not firing on all cylinders in the first quarter, things couldn't have gone much better for the undefeated Armstrong team. They built a 21-0 lead over fellow undefeated program Chanhassen. The Falcons were dominating in all three phases of the game. Then the rest of the game happened . . .</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chanhassen stormed back – taking a one point lead late in the fourth quarter. Malone and the Falcons needed one more drive to make homecoming a success. When Malone found <strong>Cade Berg</strong> near the goal line, Berg broke a tackle and put his team back in the lead – with under thirty seconds to play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Me rolling out, I thought, would give us the best chance. Cade Berg ran a great route," Malone said. "That is one of our best routes in the red zone. I saw him out of the break, and the corner wasn't with him, so I took a chance and threw it. He made a great catch, and that was that."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Storm was not done, however. They drove the ball into the red zone, and everyone held their breath as a throw into the end zone fell harmlessly to the ground as the clock read triple zeros – securing Armstrong's 34-29 victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Armstong's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='312934' first='Marquan' last='Tucker']</strong> took the opening kickoff to the house to get the home crowd on its feet before the packed house could even settle in. Tucker started up the middle, cut to the outside, and raced down the Chanhassen sideline for a touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":463549,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none","className":"is-style-default"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-style-default"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/10/Arm-team-scaled-crop-1405x923-1664601219.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-463549"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After the Storm picked up a pair of first downs, the Falcons' secondary deflected a pass into the air, and Falcons' defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='312932' first='Drew' last='Kuempel']</strong> came down with the ball. Two plays later, <strong>Reggie Carter</strong> cut to the outside and scored from 28 yards out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Leading 14-0, the Falcons got the ball back, and although the offense could not put any points on the board, they were able to flip field position. Armstrong downed a punt inside the Storm's one yard line. A three and out combined with a poor punt allowed the Falcons to start their next drive in the red zone. One play after the punt, Carter cut to the outside, turned on the speed, and scored his second touchdown of the quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Behind stud running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='105374' first='Maxwell' last='Woods']</strong>, the Chanhassen offense woke up. Woods was breaking tackles and spinning off tacklers. Faced with a fourth and two, the Storm needed points, and Jayden Talamantes powered his way to the first down. The Storm offense found something they liked attacking the flat with wide receiver and running back screens and throws into the flat. Woods caught a ball in the flat, got down the sidelines, and got his team on the board.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One play later, the Storm had the ball back when <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='242399' first='Brayden' last='Windschitl']</strong> picked off a deep pass down the middle of the field. Storm quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='213249' first='Grant' last='Muffenbier']</strong> did a little bit of everything off the interception to cut into the Falcons' lead. He completed passes to pick up first downs and then tucked the ball away and picked up the last 19 yards. His touchdown cut the lead to 21-14.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Storm would come out in the second half and keep the offense rolling. Woods broke free and tied the game with a 42 yard touchdown run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both defenses would control the next few possessions until Malone started rolling. He was doing a great job working the read option – pulling the ball out of the backs' belly and picking up yards on his own while mixing in a short passing game. Carter finished the drive with a short touchdown run – his third of the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Falcons' lead would be short-lived. Moving the ball on the ground, the Storm moved into Armstrong territory before Woods – not to be outdone by Carter – found the edge, and sprinted down the sidelines to pull the Storm to within one point. The Storm rolled the dice and decided to go for two and the lead. Who would the Storm go to for the conversion – Woods, of course. He pushed the ball over the goal line to give his team its first lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Malone and the Falcons' offense efficiently moved the ball down the field. The senior quarterback hit Kuempel over the middle to pick up a big chunk – setting up the game-winning throw to Berg. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->