‘Friday Night Lights’ back on as KM beats Faribault
Friday night lights (finally) came back on this past Friday. Initially, at the August 4 Minnesota State High School League meeting, high school football was pushed to the spring. The vote was brought back to the table on September 21, where the vote passed to hold a shorter season this fall. The season is to consist of six regular season games and two post-season section games. At this time, there will be no state tournament.
Head Coach, Joel Swanson's motto is, "Adjust and adapt."
The KoMets had to cancel their opening game that was to be held on October 10 due to a positive COVID-19 case within the team. Following the Minnesota Department of Health COVID-19 guidelines, the team had to quarantine at home for 14 days.
This gave the KoMets three days of organized practice before Friday night's opening game against the Faribault Falcons.
The KoMets took the field at home in front of a quiet, restricted crowd, of no more than 250 spectators. Faribault was coming off of a big double overtime win over Northfield from the week before.
The first half had a slow start to it. The KoMets won the toss and deferred to the second half. Faribault turned their opening drive over on downs. The KoMets would march the ball downfield during their opening drive, where senior kicker, Aaron Winkle, would put it through the uprights to put the KoMets on the board 3-0.
Faribault would answer back with a touchdown. They were unable to score on their 2-point conversion attempt. The Falcons took the lead, 6-3.
With 5:44 remaining in the first half, quarterback Matt Donovan handed the ball off to junior Anthony Moe-Tucker to run it in for a touchdown. Extra point was good.
The KoMets would head into halftime up 10-6.
Coach Swanson ignited the team over the half. Junior Logan Vaughan would receive the kick off, where he ran it back for an 86-yard touchdown.
The KoMets continued to push full steam ahead in the second half. Anthony Moe-Tucker punched in another touchdown, followed by Matt Donovan, and finally Aiden Smith.
The KoMets rushed for a total of 264 yards, lead by quarterback Matt Donovan, for 91 yards, averaging 7.6 yards per carry. Donovan also completed 3/9 attempts for a total of 79 passing yards. Donovan found senior Jace Bigelow, for two of those completed passes.
The defense put heavy pressure on the Falcons throughout the night. Jakob Aarsvold was able to get to their quarterback for a QB sack and loss of yards.
Jackson Kennedy came up with a big stop with an interception when the Falcons decided to go for it on the fourth down. Jace Bigelow once again used his height and his vertical on defense to get a tip on a pass, which resulted in an interception by Brooks Buchanan.
The KoMets closed out the night with a 37-6 victory over the Faribault Falcons. The KoMets will travel to new Prague tomorrow (Friday) night.
Offensive stats:
Passing:
#4 Matt Donovan: 3/9 completed passes. 79 yards. 0 interceptions, 0 TDs
Rushing:
#4 Matt Donovan: Att: 12, Yds: 91, Avg: 7.6, TD 1
#5 Anthony Moe-Tucker: Att 8, Yds: 74, Avg: 9.3, TD 2
#25 Jakob Aarsvold: Att: 6, Yds: 26, Avg: 4.3
#39: Broc Barwald: Att: 2, Yds: 22, Avg: 11
#27: Brooks Buchanan: Att: 7, Yds: 20, Avg: 2.9
#42: Jackson Kennedy: Att: 3, Yds: 20, Avg: 6.7
#7: Logan Vaughan: Att: 3, Yds: 14, Avg: 4.7
Receiving:
#1: Jace Bigelow: Rec: 2, Yds: 79, Avg: 29.5
Defensive stats:The defense put heavy pressure on the Falcons throughout the night. KM's defensive line made their presence known and was able to get to their quarterback for a total of three QB sacks, forcing a loss of yards. Jakob Aarsvold accounted for two of those sacks and Gavin Giesler was able to reach their quarterback once. Jackson Kennedy came up with a big stop with an interception when the Falcons decided to go for it on the fourth down. Jace Bigelow once again used his height and his vertical on defense to get a tip on a pass, which resulted in an interception by Brooks Buchanan. Jackson Kennedy lead the defense with 9 tackles and 7 assists.