A tough second quarter doomed the Worthington Trojans Friday night in their home opener of the fall 2021 football season, as visiting Jordan scored four touchdowns on its way to a 41-14 victory over WHS at Trojan Field.
Noah Millhouse threw two touchdown passes to Alex Mizsak and Jake Olson tossed a TD to Nate Kes on a halfback option play. That 58-yard TD put the Trojans down 20-0 at the point, and the Hubmen led Worthington 27-0 at the half.
The Trojans, however, stayed resilient and hung with Jordan the remainder of the game. Quarterback Jake Brandner scored on a quarterback sneak moments after a 84-yard interception return by Abagotte Apiew to cut the deficit to 27-6. Later, Worthington answered a Hubmen TD drive with a score of its own, as Nasim Zeidi capped the possession with a 4-yard TD run. The subsequent two-point conversion was run in by junior offensive lineman/running back Anthony Linder.
Statistically for WHS, Brandner ran for 94 yards and was 4-of-13 passing for 75 yards. Anthony Dorcey led the Trojan rushing game with 53 yards. Luke Gordon had a pair of receptions for 66 yards.
Worthington will travel to Pipestone next Friday to face the Arrows. We’ll have pre-game at 6:45 p.m. and the kickoff at 7 p.m. on 104.3, The Bridge.
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Playing in their home opener Saturday afternoon at Trojan Field, the Minnesota West Bluejays struggled to move the ball offensively and were hampered by special teams mistakes as they dropped a 21-0 decision to North Dakota State College of Science.
After much of the first half stayed scoreless, it was the Wildcats who broke the deadlock on a 1-yard TD pass with 3:54 remaining in the second quarter. It was 6-0 NDSCS at halftime, and the Wildcats scored a 1-yard quarterback keeper with 10:43 left in the third quarter, with a successful two-point conversion making it 14-0.
The Bluejays’ defense simply wound up spending too much time on the field, and Minnesota West was also victimized by a pair of very short punts as well as snap on a punt that was dropped and ended with an incomplete pass that put NDSCS deep in Jays’ territory. The offense was limited to just 61 total yards; 96 passing and a negative-35-yard rushing total.
The Bluejays, now 0-2 on the season, will be back home next week for an 11 a.m. game against Mesabi Range. That game will also be broadcast live on 104.3 The Bridge.
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In high school football around the region Friday night, it was:
Edgerton 62, Madelia 8
Mountain Lake Area 24, Red Rock Central 0
Hills-Beaver Creek 56, Granada-Huntley-East Chain-Truman 0
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 38, Lac qui Parle Valley 13
Fairmont 27, Marshall 7
South O’Brien 34, Sheldon 28 (2 OT)
Okoboji 26, Sibley-Ocheyedan 7
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 44, Gehlen Catholic-LeMars 33
Spirit Lake 49, Forest City 0
Northwood Kensett 32, Harris-Lake Park 29
Sergeant Bluff-Luton 28, Central Lyon/George-Little Rock 21
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In high school volleyball action, it was Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 3, Murray County Central 0 on Friday. Spirit Lake, Iowa recorded three 2-0 victories Saturday over Storm Lake, Estherville/Lincoln Center and Algona in a seven-team volleyball tournament in Algona.
