Falcons Close Regular Season with Loss in Austin

The Faribault Falcons suffered their most incomplete performance of the season in a 34-13 loss to the Austin Packers in Hormel country Wednesday night.

The loss was the third straight heading into the playoffs but by far the most disappointing.

The Falcons' previous losses were to unbeaten and state-ranked Winona and Mankato West.

During my pregame interview with Faribault head coach Ned Louis, I asked what the key would be for a Falcon victory and the first thing he said was, "A good start." He could not have been more prophetic because the opposite happened.

On the opening kickoff, Faribault didn't recover a kick and Winona took over on the 28 yard line of Faribault. A few plays later, their quarterback, senior Jakob Crouch, took it in from one yard out and after the extra point 2:22 into the game the Packers had a 7-0 lead.

Faribault would respond with a touchdown of their own on the next series -- a three-yard plunge by senior Felipe Ramirez with 11:39 to go in the first half and it was 7-7.

Austin's offense just ate up chunks of yardage running the ball with the spread offense and did not take a lot of time to score.

The Packers answered the Falcon tying score with a one-yard run by junior running back Tabarie Gunsallus with 7:39 to until the Faribault Foods Halftime Report.

Austin scored with :30 seconds to go in the half on a 24-yard hookup by Crouch to 6-foot-3 sophomore receiver Gavin Owens, who was wide open on a post route. The extra point was no good and the halftime score was Austin 20, Faribault 7.

Austin received the ball to start the second half and, after Falcon junior kicker Cade Kletschka kicked it out of the end zone, started on their own 20. Two plays and 19 seconds after the half started, Gunsallus scored on a 16-yard run.

Faribault had a hard time handling the quarterback on the option in the first half and the running back in the second half.

The Falcons did respond with their last touchdown of the game -- another Ramirez three-yard run. The extra point hit the upright and that was kind of fitting on a night when Faribault couldn't get much going on either side of the football.

They did have their chances to get back in the game in the second half. And moved the ball nicely a couple of times only to sputter in or near the red zone.

The final score by Austin was a 13-yard run by Gunsallus after taking over the ball on downs at the 13 of Faribault very late in the game. There was 1:38 left and the final was 34-13 Packers.

Austin finished the regular season with the same record as Faribault, 3-5.

The game left the Falcons scratching their heads after going 3-1 at home with wins over teams that at the time were state-ranked in Owatonna and Rochester John Marshall. The other home win came against Red Wing.

The Falcons finished the regular season 0-4 on the road and will hit the road next Tuesday when the playoffs begin. Section 2 Class 4A seeds by the QRF formula developed by Mn-Scores.com and unbeaten Hutchinson and Marshall will receive the top two seeds.

Faribault will go to Mankato East on Tuesday where they opened the playoffs last season and came home with a happy bus ride. The Cougars beat Faribault in Mankato earlier this season 20-12  even though the Falcons dominated in yardage and time of possession.

Faribault bounced back with an impressive homecoming win over Rochester John Marshall 34-14 before losing their last three games.

Mankato West captured the Big Southeast Blue District title by beating Winona on Wednesday night 42-39 in a battle of unbeatens in Mankato.

After losing to Faribault the third week of the season, the Owatonna Huskies ran the table in the Big Southeast Red to win that district crown.

Faribault Bethlehem Academy finished their season 4-4 and should be home for the playoffs next week. The section seeds by QRF and the Cardinals defeated St. Clair on Wednesday night in Faribault 35-0. Bethlehem Academy should host Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons on Tuesday.

Kenyon-Wanamingo has the best record in their section and will probably be seeded fourth because they go by QRF. They will probably host Waterville-Elysian-Morristown. The final QRF numbers should be out soon.

The Knights throttled Blooming Prairie in Awesome Blossom country Wednesday night 42-14 to finish the season 7-1, and Maple River, New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva and Blue Earth Area will all probably be seeded above them thanks to QRF.

Kenyon-Wanamingo plays primarily Class A teams, something they have no control over. The Knights do win their second straight Mid-Southeast District West Division title while going undefeated in the conference.

Maple River beat NRHEG in the season finale Wednesday in overtime 13-12 and so the Eagles will be the top seed and Panthers No. 2.

Zumbrota-Mazeppa's 26-22 win in Pine Island on Wednesday should give them the No. 2 seed in Section 1 Class 2A, but look out the Triton Cobras are on a roll. After going 1-2 to start the season, Don Henderson's Cobras have won their last four games and beat Dover-Eyota in their regular season final game 66-13 Wednesday night.