Pine City hosted Esko on Wednesday night.
The last few years the Dragons football team has had to end the regular season on the road, but not this year. On a night where it felt like fall, which has been rare this season, the fans filled the seats knowing the Pine City football team had been getting better and better. Esko may not be the power house this year, that they have been the last 4-5 years but are still a formidable opponent.
The Dragons first drive ended on a pass that was initially completed to AJ Ostensen but was ripped away by an Esko defender for a turnover. Esko was able to score first giving them a 7-0 lead. The next couple drive for the Dragons didn't go the way they had hoped, one ending in a punt the other in a interception. But the Pine City defense came out in this game looking to prove a point. They played more physical than Esko and it even lead to a turnover. A Dragon defender made a hit that should be on all the highlight reels to jar the ball loose and give it back to their offense. The drive may not have ended with a touchdown but they were able to score a field goal cutting into the lead 7-3. The defense continued to shut down anything and everything the Esko offense tried to do, unfortunately the Pine City offense had some promising drives but couldn't convert on some of the third and longs. But they were certainly encouraged being down only 4 going into half.
The start of the 3rd quarter can sometimes be a let down, especially when its cool. But the Dragons defense looked like they hadn't left the field. forcing punt on Esko's first three drives of the 2nd half. And although the offense ran into some trouble with penalties and turnovers, they were still marching on Esko.
The first Dragons drive of the 4th quarter was a big one. Evan Doenz was dropping dimes to his receivers, they weren't just catching the ball, they were pilling up the YAC(yards after catch)! One of the instances was a pass to Ostensen which he torn off 56 yards! Another was on a second and long, where Doenz tossed up to Milliman who boxed out the defender and went up for it, like a rebound, and pulled it in. This catch put the Dragons at the 5 yard line. A few timeouts and a 3rd down later the Dragons punched it into the endzone on a Doenz keeper giving them a 9-7 lead.
Sadly, Esko was able to score in only a few plays to retake the lead 13-9. But that didn't phase the Dragons one bit, they came back out with the same energy looking to score. They were forced to punt giving it back to Esko. But once again their defense stopped the Esko offense giving the Dragons one last shot. It came to a fourth and short, Doenz had a designed QB keeper, which had been money all night, but this time it came up short. As Esko got the ball back they ran out the res of the clock ending the game 13-9.
For Pine City, they finish the regular season with a loss, but where this team has come in 8 weeks has been a turnaround that could change the cultural mindset of the team for years to come. They will be a dangerous team for anybody in playoffs.
They'll travel to St. Cloud Cathedral for round one of the playoffs next Tuesday.
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