Pine City made their way up to Two Harbors on Friday night to battle against the Agates.
The Dragons looked to capture their second straight victory on Friday night. The Agates started the game with the ball on offense. They would march all the way down field and score on a 4th down and goal play. They were unable to convert the extra point and took a 6-0 lead. With their first offensive drive Two Harbors took close to nine minutes off the clock. The Dragons would benefit from the kickoff going out of bounds and started with the ball on the 35 yard line. Two plays later on a Timmy Johnson run, he would have the ball ripped away and the Agates recovered and put their offense back on the field. The 1st quarter ended and the Agates we marching down the field. Two Harbors was able to punch it int0o the endzone again taking a 12-0 lead, with seven and a half minutes left. Pine City's offense had a tough first half as they only had 10 plays on offense, one was a kneel down. Despite only having the ball a short time on offense in the first half, the Dragons offense was finding room to run behind the O-line.
As the second half began the Dragons looked like a completely different team. Their offensive line was making room for the backs to run, the backs were patient as they burst through the gaps. The defense stepped up and took away the runs up the middle the Agates were using all game. With this turn around, Pine City was able to find the endzone on a QB keeper from Jimmy Lindblom. Johnson would convert the two and Pine City was down 12-8. Late in the 4th, Pine City forced a turnover and brought their offense back out on Two Harbors side of the field. The Dragons faced a fourth and short, but a fumbled snap would prevent them from finding a new set of downs. Their defense had to come back on the field and needed another huge stop. The Agates gained one first down, but Pine City would hold them to a 4th and 3. Two Harbors was going to use a fake punt to try and gain a first down and end the game. A penalty would prevent the play from running and the Agates had to punt. The Dragons would start with the ball on their own 14, and had two minutes to drive the entire field. Lindblom and the offense started to march down field. The O-line provided a clean pocket and Lindblom took full advantage as he found his targets downfield. Catches by Jacob Lindahl and Riley Cummings helped the Dragons get to the eight yard line with 16 seconds left. An incomplete pass on first down play left only four seconds left for Pine City to find a way to score. As Lindblom rolled to his right he had three receivers who were pretty well covered. He fired it to a receiver but the ball was knocked incomplete. The Dragons fell in an excited game 12-8.
The Dragons fall to 2-4 on the season and will be on the road again this Friday. They will be in Cloquet to face the Lumberjacks, this will be the third 4A school Pine City faces this season.
