Down fourteen - Rangers storm back to shock the Raptors

When the East Ridge Raptors punched in their third touchdown of the first half with thirty seconds left, they took a 21-7 lead into the locker room. After a poor first possession, the Raptors scored three straight touchdowns to seemingly take control of the game.   The Forest Lake Rangers came out in the second half a new team. They scored the next twenty-eight points en route to a come-from-behind, road 35-29 win.   The Rangers' offense moved the ball in the first half, but turnovers and a turnover on downs put the offense on the bench and set the Raptors' offense up with some short fields. The Raptors took advantage behind the arm of quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='105379' first='Tanner' last='Zolnosky'].   "We had a couple of mistakes in the first half," Forest Lake running back [player_tooltip player_id='348771' first='Leyton' last='Patzer'] said, "but then we found our grove and figured out our game."   Forest Lake finally got their offense rolling late in the first half. It was a pre-curser to what would allow the offense to dominate in the second half. They ran the ball between the tackles. Even with the running game, the Rangers still needed a big play to keep the drive alive. Facing a fourth and eight at East Ridge's 38 with three minutes to go, quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='105409' first='Cole' last='Gerrell'] – who was more effective with his legs than his arm, hit Ethan Lashinski on a quick-hitting ball over the middle to move the chains. Gerrell would use his legs to move the chains and then hand the ball to Patzer for his first touchdown of the game.   It looked like they would go into the locker room with momentum, but the Raptors' offense would score with ten seconds to play in the half. It would be the last time the Raptors would score until late.   With the team down two scores, the Rangers' defense set the tone – forcing a three and out – coming out of the locker room.   "Our players and coaches are so good at making adjustments," Forest Lake head coach Brad Beeskow said. "It is always a chess match, and our guys do such a great job. At the end of the day, they continued to finish plays. It all snowballs. They got that first big stop; if they didn't, things could have gone the other way."   Faced with a third and long, Patzer took an option pitch and found the corner to keep the Rangers' first second half drive going. Patzer and Gerrell would then return to the inside running game – topped off by Gerrell's 26-yard touchdown run.   The Raptors' offense had some chances to make some big plays, but they just missed two long pass plays. After a Raptors' punt, Patzer ripped off a long run inside behind Mason Stebleton, [player_tooltip player_id='1583291' first='Stefan' last='Laszczak'], and Cody Huston. A scramble by Gerrell would pick up a first down, and Patzer would score a few plays later to tie the game.   "All of our offensive linemen are dawgs," Patzer said. "They work hard in the off-season. They come out here and fight through injuries and are balling out. I couldn't ask for anyone better."   Forest Lake's defense – which played nearly perfectly in the second half – gave the Rangers the lead a few plays later. Defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='1140806' first='Reid' last='Olson'] scooped up a Raptors' fumble and sprinted thirty yards for the go-ahead touchdown.   After forcing a punt, the Rangers' offense continued to pound the middle of the Raptors' defense.   "That is who we are," Patzer said. "When you come to play us, we are tough. We are physical. We play smash-mouth ball. We are going to run it up the middle. That is how we are going to play."   "We started doing our job a little bit more," Beeskow explained. "We took care of the football. When you give teams short fields, you will not do well. The word of our week was finish. We didn't finish things well last game. Tonight, we finished blocks and runs better than we have all year."   However, a run bounced to the outside by Patzer was the biggest play of the drive. With all the success in the middle, the Rangers' running game took advantage of the Raptors looking inside with some effective runs to the outside. One of those outside runs set them up with a first and goal. Patzer would give the Rangers a two-score lead with a one-yard touchdown run – his third trip into the end zone.   The Raptors would punch in a late touchdown, but the Rangers would recover the onside kick. But after a penalty and a negative play, Forest Lake was going to need nineteen yards to get the first down they needed behind – who else, the interior of the offensive line and Patzer would rip off one more big run, pick up the first down and run out the clock and preserve a 35-29 win.

When the East Ridge Raptors punched in their third touchdown of the first half with thirty seconds left, they took a 21-7 lead into the locker room. After a poor first possession, the Raptors scored three straight touchdowns to seemingly take control of the game.