Chatfield runs to a one-point win in quarter-final thriller

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Chatfield Gophers led the Triton Cobras for almost the entire second half. But with six minutes to play, the Cobras regained the lead 22-16. Facing a touchdown drive or the end of their season, the Gophers powered through the Cobras' defense for sixty yards and a short touchdown run by quarterback <strong>Carson Rowland</strong>. The touchdown and extra point gave the Gophers a thrilling 23-22 state quarter-final victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The game could not have started much better for the Gophers. A fumbled kickoff by Triton forced the Cobras to start deep in their own territory. After a three-and-out, Chatfield's first offensive possession started near mid-field.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rowland worked between the tackles and to the outside, putting the Gophers in scoring position. However, the Cobras defense made a couple of stops in a row, forcing the Gophers into a fourth and five. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1581544' first='Ben' last='Carrier']</strong> powered his way just past the sticks to keep the drive alive. Another fourth-down run would put the Gophers on the board with a two-yard touchdown run by Rowland.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a contrast in styles, the Cobras were going to move the ball behind the arm of quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1255902' first='Pierce' last='Petersohn']. Even when faced with a fourth down and three yards to go, they still dialed up a deep ball from Petersohn. His pass down the sidelines to <strong>Christian Valdez Miranda Jr.</strong> not only picked up a first down but gave the Cobras a first and goal inside the five-yard line. Valdez Miranda Jr. took an end-a-round to the corner for a short touchdown run. The extra point gave the Cobras a 7-6 lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Those two drives were all either offense could do for most of the first half. The defenses and Chatfield punter <strong>Sean Kirchner</strong>—who pinned the Cobras back at the one-yard line—controlled much of the first half. The Cobras' special teams would not be outdone, as Petersohn flipped the field with a 47-yard punt.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It didn't seem like it at the time, but the final two minutes of the first half turned out to be a huge swing in the game. With the Gophers trailing by a point, they punted the ball back to Triton. The Cobras could not pick up a first down and did not run much time off the clock. When they punted back to Chatfield, a punt catch interference penalty against the Cobras set the Gophers up with a first down at Triton's 38-yard line with 36 seconds to play. Carrier picked up eight on a run up the middle, and then a pass interference penalty on Triton put the Gophers in field goal position. Rowland got out of bounds with one second on the clock, allowing <strong>Ross Stoehr</strong> to try a 28-yard field goal. The field goal allowed Chatfield to go into the locker room with a two-point lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chatfield rolled the dice early in the third quarter. Near mid-field, Carrier broke several tackles on a fourth and short to pick up fifteen yards. Rowland used his legs to pick up ten more yards and added fifteen more yards because of a facemask penalty. Two plays later, Carrier went off right tackle for a five-yard touchdown run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Down 16-7, Triton – who had just missed on two or three deep balls, finally hit on one. Petersohn found <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1633438' first='Graden' last='Thomas']</strong> down the sidelines for a 42-yard completion. Petersohn then used his legs to set up first and goal. Then he flipped a pass to Thomas in the end zone to cut the Gophers lead to 16-14.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With points hard to come by and the Chatfield offense able to take time off the clock, Triton gambled in the fourth quarter. On their own thirty-yard line, the Cobras faced a fourth and ten. Petersohn threw a pass short of the sticks to <strong>Hunter Garness</strong>, who immediately pitched the ball back to <strong>Brody Munnikhuysen</strong> for a twenty-yard gain. Chatfield looked like they were going to get off the field again, but on fourth and ten, the Gophers were called for pass interference. Near the red zone, Petersohn threw a fade to <strong>Garet Jensen</strong> in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown pass and a 22-16 lead with 6:30 to play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carrier's nice kickoff return gave the Gophers excellent field position. Triton had Rowland pinned in the backfield, but he broke a tackle and picked up a first down. Another broken tackle by Carrier picked up another first down. The Cobra's defense was backed up inside the five-yard line with time running out. It was first in goal inside the five-yard line. Rowland would dive into the endzone to tie the game. The extra point gave the Gophers a one-point lead with 1:14 to play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Triton worked the ball out near mid-field, but then they tried for a chunk play down the sidelines. Chatfield's <strong>Tobin McMahon</strong> had perfect coverage and picked off the pass, sealing the 23-22 victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->