The Dragons traveled up to Mountain Iron on Friday for their game against Hibbing.
Pine City traveled over two hours north to play against the Hibbing Bluejackets. This game was called the "Howard Bowl", due to Pine City's coach Dennis Howard was going up against his son Shaun Howard, who's the head coach of Hibbing.
Pine City started the game with the ball but would wind up punting. Hibbing took over at their own 39. A few plays later they were into Dragon territory. They would score on a 28 yard receiving touchdown and convert the extra point, giving them an early 7-0 lead. Pine City's next drive brought them to midfield but a fumble would give the Bluejackets the ball in good field position. It wouldn't take long for Hibbing to score as on their second play, they threw a short pass that broke big for a 49 yard score and lead 14-0. This time when the Dragons got the ball, their offense started to get hot. They marched the ball near the 50 before the 1st quarter ended. They would face a 4th and 4 to begin the 2nd, and Timmy Johnson would pick up 8 yards to continue the drive. The Dragons converted another 4th down on the drive and would soon find themselves inside the 10. On 2nd down Jimmy Lindblom took a quarterback sweep off the left side and scored, a successful two point conversion brought the Dragons within 6. Late in the 1st half, Hibbing drove inside the Dragons 50 and would score another passing touchdown to push them ahead 21-8. And that score would hold as both teams went to half.
The 2nd half was very much a different story. Hibbing started the ball in the 3rd quarter, but went three and out and would line up to punt. On the punt, Hibbing bobbled the snap and Pine City would take the punter down at their own 30 yard line. It took one play for the Dragons to score. Timmy Johnson took the ball, weaved his way through traffic and found the endzone. After the successful two point try the Dragons only trailed by 5. A few drives later, Hibbing would turn the ball over on a fumble, this would give the Dragons the ball at the 37 yard line. A penalty set the Dragons back a bit, but Brody Clark would help lead them inside the 10. Johnson would finish off the drive with a 7 yard rushing touchdown, his second on the night. The Dragons now lead 24-21. Pine City held Hibbing scoreless up to this point, but a good kick return help put the Bluejackets at the Dragon 35. Hibbing brought the ball all the way to the 11. On 4th and inches, Hibbing would attempt a pass into the endzone but it fell incomplete. Pine City took over on their own 11. The Dragons took over 7 minutes as they marched the ball deep into the redzone. On 3rd down Ryan Plasek would add a touchdown for himself, except there was a flag that set them back. On 4th down Brody Clark would break through tackles and find the endzone. With the added two point conversion Pine City lead 32-21 with just over three minutes to go. Hibbing looked to mount a scoring drive after quickly gaining a first down. On the next play Pine City would force a fumble of the Hibbing QB and take over. The Dragons would run out the rest of the clock, and claim their first victory of the season.
With the win the Dragons improve to 1-2. They will host Esko this Friday at 7pm
Photo Credit: Four Seasons Photography
