Detroit Lakes Football Holds On To Survive ROCORI In Season Opener

Cold Spring, Minn (KDLM) – The Detroit Lakes Laker football won a nail-biter against the rival ROCORI Spartans at Blattner Stadium in Cold Spring, seeing a 21-0 lead disappear in a 27-25 win. The Spartan offense exploded for 18 unanswered points in seven minutes in the fourth quarter.

The Laker offense started the 2023 season with a three-and-out with two holding penalties on their first possession of the game. On the second drive of the game, junior Easton Wahl broke out with a huge 38-yard run that set up senior Mason Carrier’s first touchdown of the game and a 7-0 Laker lead. Wahl, starting the season as the RB2 for the Lakers, finished the game as the team’s leading rusher with 13 carries for 153 yards and a touchdown.

The Lakers forced a Spartan turnover on downs at the Lakers’ seven-yard line when they sniffed out a tricky reverse play. Backed up deep in their own territory to start the next drive, junior quarterback Caeden Strand connected with senior wideout Cody Bartness for a big 35-yard gain. The Laker drive would ultimately end with a punt.

Both offenses were quiet until late in the second quarter. With under two minutes left in the game, Strand connected with senior fullback Will Martin on a wheel route for a 16-yard gain and a big third-down conversion. But, the Lakers would fumble on a bobbled exchange between Strand and Wahl at the 12-yard line. Each team had opportunities to pick up the loose ball as it rolled to the sideline. Bartness eventually fell on the ball out of bounds, but a late hit by a ROCORI defender diving for the loose ball got the Spartans flagged for a personal foul and moved the ball closer to the endzone. Carrier would punch it in from five yards out for his second touchdown of the game and a 14-0 lead at the half.

The Laker defense continued pitching a shutout of the defending 8AAAA champion Spartans in the second half as the defense forced their only takeaway of the game, with senior lineman Isaac Cariveau ripping the ball out of QB Will Steil’s hands in Spartan territory. Wahl would finish the ensuing drive with an explosive 57-yard touchdown run to increase the Laker lead to 21-0.

Things would turn quickly in ROCORI’s favor in the fourth quarter, however. After converting a 4th-and-five to keep the drive alive, the Spartans found the endzone for the first time courtesy of a Dylan Thompson one-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion fell incomplete, making the score 21-6 with just over ten minutes left in the game.

On the next Laker drive, Strand was sacked on third down to set up fourth-and-long. Junior punter Nick Buboltz’s punt was partially blocked, setting up the Spartans at midfield. Steil would cut into the Laker lead again with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Honer to make it 21-12. The two-point conversion, once again, was no good.

Following the touchdown, the Spartans executed a perfect onside kick, with the kick ricocheting off of one of the Laker frontmen back into a pile of Spartan players. A 36-yard hook-and-ladder play set up another Stiel passing touchdown, this time to Andy Soldner for a 12-yard score. The two-point conversion was knocked down at the line of scrimmage, keeping the score 21-18.

The Lakers finally snapped the ROCORI touchdown steak when Carrier broke free for a 62-yard touchdown run to give the Lakers a little breathing room. Buboltz had a rare extra-point miss as the Lakers led 27-18 with 2:38 left.

But the game was far from over. Rocori was knocking on the door in the Laker red zone again. Senior lineman Lawson Greene sacked Steil for an eleven-yard loss to force a long third down. But it didn’t matter: Steil connected with Andy Pedrozza for a 22-yard touchdown on a controversial play where the Lakers argued Stiel was across the line of scrimmage when he threw the pass. The Spartans, after going 0-3 on their two-point conversions, decided to kick the field goal. It split the uprights to make it a two-point game, 27-25.

The Spartans tried another onside kick, but the Lakers recovered and ran out the clock to win their second straight game against their 8AAAA rival.

In his first game under center after breaking his leg in Pequot Lakes last season, Strand completed 5-of-11 passes for 102 yards. Bartnes was the beneficiary of three of those receptions for 82 yards.

Mason Carrier finished 13 carries for 119 yards and three touchdowns.

The Lakers (1-0) will welcome the Perham Yellowjackets (1-0) to Mollberg Field for their home opener next Friday, September 8th. The Lakers beat Perham last season 49-6.

TEAM SCORING

DET LAKES: 7 7 7 6 – 27

ROCORI : 0 0 0 25 – 25

SCORING PLAYS:

Q1: DL – 5:15 1-yd TD run by Carrier, Buboltz XP good

Q2: DL – :33 5-yd TD run by Carrier, Buboltz XP good

Q3: DL – 8:31 57-yd TD run by Wahl, Buboltz XP good

Q4: ROCORI – 10:13 1-yd TD run by Thompson, 2-pt no good

ROCORI – 6:20 22-yd TD pass Steil to Honer, 2-pt no good

ROCORI – 3:41 12-yd TD pass Steil to Soldner, 2-pt no good

DL – 2:38 62-yd TD run by Carrier, Buboltz XP missed

ROCORI: 1:38 22-yd TD pass Steil to Pedrozza, XP good