No. 7-ranked Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton used its defense to shift momentum Thursday night at the Fargodome. Rebels senior Alex Matthews nabbed a third-quarter interception that set up the game’s lone score. That critical sequence vaulted D-G-F to a 6-0 victory against No. 9-ranked Pequot Lakes for the Minnesota Class 3A, Section 8 football championship. “What that interception did is it completely flipped the field for us,” Rebels head coach Tony Soderberg said. “(Matthews) did his job, and he’s a tremendous football player. He’s a smart football player.” The Rebels (8-2) won their second consecutive section championship. This is the first time any part of the co-op has won back-to-back section titles since the 1980s. Dilworth won section crowns in 1988 and 1989. “It means a lot for the program,” said Matthews, who also rushed for 83 yards on 12 attempts. “It means a lot to us, too.”
Pequot Lakes (7-3) forced a fumble and recovered the ball at the D-G-F 41-yard line with less than five minutes to play in the third quarter. The Patriots appeared to have momentum on their side. Until the next play. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Matthews stepped in front of a pass from Patriots quarterback C.J. Borleis. Matthews returned the interception 49 yards to the Pequot Lakes 14. “I just read it right and the ball was right there,” Matthews said. Five plays later, the Rebels found the end zone. Senior running back Joe Flatt powered into the end zone from 1 yard out to give D-G-F a 6-0 lead with 2 minutes, 26 seconds to play in the third quarter. That proved to be all the points the Rebels would need. Their defense limited Pequot Lakes to 149 yards. The Patriots had their final possession of the game start at their own 3-yard line with 1:35 remaining in the fourth quarter. Matthews ended that drive quickly, forcing a fumble after a short completion. “I focus on stripping the ball every day in practice,” Matthews said. The Rebels recovered that loose ball at the Pequot Lakes 4 with 1:26 remaining. D-G-F ran out the clock to secure the section championship. “I know the seniors are happy … I know what the feeling is now that we’ve won the game,” Soderberg said of the back-to-back section championships. “History is history, but it’s a feather in the cap to these players.” D-G-F used another turnover to thwart a Pequot Lakes scoring threat late in the first quarter. The Patriots faced a second-and-8 at the D-G-F 15. Rebels senior defensive back Jordan Olson intercepted a pass at the 5 and returned it to the Pequot Lakes 46. Olson has nine interceptions this season. The Rebels finished plus-2 in turnover margin against the Patriots. “That’s what it is about in playoff games,” Soderberg said. “If you play defense and win the turnover battle, you have a good chance to win. … As a whole and as a group those 11 kids out there on defense played (hard) today and that’s why we won this game.” Pequot Lakes 0 0 0 0– 0Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 0 0 6 0– 6 DGF-Flatt 1 run (kick failed) INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING: PL, Elsenpeter 14-69, Zeidler 10-27, Borleis 9-9, Christianson 1-(-1), Ebnet 1-(-3). DGF, Wayne 17-91, Matthews 12-83, Flatt 16-43, Pemelton 1-3, Kragnes 3-(-10), Team 3-(-6)PASSING: PL, Borleis 4-14-2 48 yards. DGF, Kragnes 4-5-0 14RECEIVING: PL, Tangen 2-36, Zeidler 1-7, Ebnet 1-5. DGF, Oberg 2-8, Flatt 1-5, Matthews 1-1. Tweets by @DLNewspapersNo. 7-ranked Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton used its defense to shift momentum Thursday night at the Fargodome.Rebels senior Alex Matthews nabbed a third-quarter interception that set up the game’s lone score. That critical sequence vaulted D-G-F to a 6-0 victory against No. 9-ranked Pequot Lakes for the Minnesota Class 3A, Section 8 football championship.“What that interception did is it completely flipped the field for us,” Rebels head coach Tony Soderberg said. “(Matthews) did his job, and he’s a tremendous football player. He’s a smart football player.”The Rebels (8-2) won their second consecutive section championship. This is the first time any part of the co-op has won back-to-back section titles since the 1980s. Dilworth won section crowns in 1988 and 1989.“It means a lot for the program,” said Matthews, who also rushed for 83 yards on 12 attempts. “It means a lot to us, too.”
Pequot Lakes (7-3) forced a fumble and recovered the ball at the D-G-F 41-yard line with less than five minutes to play in the third quarter. The Patriots appeared to have momentum on their side. Until the next play. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Matthews stepped in front of a pass from Patriots quarterback C.J. Borleis. Matthews returned the interception 49 yards to the Pequot Lakes 14.“I just read it right and the ball was right there,” Matthews said.Five plays later, the Rebels found the end zone. Senior running back Joe Flatt powered into the end zone from 1 yard out to give D-G-F a 6-0 lead with 2 minutes, 26 seconds to play in the third quarter.That proved to be all the points the Rebels would need. Their defense limited Pequot Lakes to 149 yards. The Patriots had their final possession of the game start at their own 3-yard line with 1:35 remaining in the fourth quarter. Matthews ended that drive quickly, forcing a fumble after a short completion.“I focus on stripping the ball every day in practice,” Matthews said.The Rebels recovered that loose ball at the Pequot Lakes 4 with 1:26 remaining. D-G-F ran out the clock to secure the section championship.“I know the seniors are happy … I know what the feeling is now that we’ve won the game,” Soderberg said of the back-to-back section championships. “History is history, but it’s a feather in the cap to these players.”D-G-F used another turnover to thwart a Pequot Lakes scoring threat late in the first quarter. The Patriots faced a second-and-8 at the D-G-F 15. Rebels senior defensive back Jordan Olson intercepted a pass at the 5 and returned it to the Pequot Lakes 46. Olson has nine interceptions this season.The Rebels finished plus-2 in turnover margin against the Patriots.“That’s what it is about in playoff games,” Soderberg said. “If you play defense and win the turnover battle, you have a good chance to win. … As a whole and as a group those 11 kids out there on defense played (hard) today and that’s why we won this game.”Pequot Lakes 0 0 0 0– 0Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 0 0 6 0– 6DGF-Flatt 1 run (kick failed)INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: PL, Elsenpeter 14-69, Zeidler 10-27, Borleis 9-9, Christianson 1-(-1), Ebnet 1-(-3). DGF, Wayne 17-91, Matthews 12-83, Flatt 16-43, Pemelton 1-3, Kragnes 3-(-10), Team 3-(-6)PASSING: PL, Borleis 4-14-2 48 yards. DGF, Kragnes 4-5-0 14RECEIVING: PL, Tangen 2-36, Zeidler 1-7, Ebnet 1-5. DGF, Oberg 2-8, Flatt 1-5, Matthews 1-1.Tweets by @DLNewspapers
