Pine City was in Proctor on Friday night.
This game was a battle between two teams most people thought were very evenly matched. Both played a similar first four games and both came into the game with a 1-3 record.
Both offenses struggled in the first quarter. Pine City's offense couldn't cross the 50 and Proctor's couldn't get into the endzone due to the Dragons defense tightening up inside the 5. It wasn't until the 2nd quarter that Proctor scored the first points. They did not convert the two and lead 6-0. The Dragons continued to struggle on offense and once again were forced to punt the ball, or try to. The punt was blocked by Proctor and they'd once again take over on Pine City's side of the field. They would wind up scoring and pushed their lead to 14-0.
The second half was very different. Pine City came out and played with something to prove. Their defense much like most of the first half did not give an inch and held the Rails to very little offense. The Dragons offense finally started to click. The lanes started to open up for the backs and Bryce Erickson was able to connect with his receivers. The Dragons got their first points on the board on a 24 yard pass from Erickson to Mason Charles. Charles went up and over the defender to bring down the catch. Riley Cummings caught the two point conversion and they were in business. The defense fed off the momentum and made more stops. In the fourth quarter the defense yet again made a huge stop inside the 10 and gave the ball back to the offense. A few plays later Erickson found Charles on a deep route and he did the rest taking it 81 yards for a touchdown, tying the game at 14.
After this both teams buckled down and made no room to maneuver. With under 2 minutes left the Rails got the ball back and marched downfield. They were able to break a big play and move into Dragons territory. But the very next play pushed them back across the 50 due to a penalty. Then with under 30 seconds left Proctor heaved a pass deep downfield. The Dragon defender had good coverage but the receiver made a better play and took it to the house. The made the PAT and lead 21-14 with 15 seconds left. Pine City had one last chance but with so little time it wasn't enough.
This loss will certainly sting but they'll have to make a quick turnaround. They will have homecoming this week, and on Friday they host Two Harbors.
