By John George
The Eagle passing attack had their best game of the season, but it was the defense's inability to stop the running game of United North Central that resulted in the 18-16 loss for New York Mills last Friday.
The Warriors Charlie Hrdlicka ran the ball 30 times for 282 yards and one touchdown against the NY Mills defense.
"It was a very tight yet very physical football game from start to finish," Eagles head coach Jon Kotaska said. "His (Hrdlicka's) offensive output was the major difference in the game."
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Hrdlicka opened the scoring on UNC's opening drive with a 49-yard TD run. The Eagles responded on their next drive, as they tied the game after a three-yard scoring pass from Mike Baune to Joe Hendrickx.
Early in the second quarter, Mills took a 9-6 lead on a 33-yard field goal by Andrew Frost. UNC regained control before halftime on a two-yard run by Tyler Ahlf, giving the Warriors a 12-9 lead.
The Eagles had a chance to tie the game early in the third quarter, but Frost missed a 37-yard field goal attempt.
UNC increased their lead in the fourth when Brady Yrjo hit Alex Brockpahler on a six-yard touchdown pass with 9:04 left in the game.
Mills came back once again, this time Baune hit Shaun Van Dyke on an 11-yard scoring play with 3:26 to play, making the score 18-15. The extra-point put the Eagles within two.
Mills got the ball back wit h1:41 to play, but the UNC defense came up with a pair of sacks to stop the Eagles and seal the victory.
"We had our chances and opportunities in the game," Kotaska said. "We missed a field goal in the third quarter that could have changed the outcome."
Baune finished the game 11-for-20 passing for 157 yards and the two TD's. He hit five different receivers, Jordan Vaughan, Hendrickx and Jordan Novak each caught three passes.
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The Eagles managed just 139 yards on the ground, led by Jake Johnson's 44 yards on six carries.
Johnson later left the game after rolling an ankle and didn;t return. Alex Helmeke left the game with an elbow injury.
The win put UNC (6-1) in position to take the Prairie North championship when they host Otter Tail Central (6-1) on Oct. 17.
Mills (1-6) will travel to Royalton on Oct. 17. Royalton started the season 5-0, but have lost two straight after a 43-29 loss to Osakis on Oct. 12.
Section 6A playoffs will start Oct. 23 at the higher seeds. Mills will likely have to travel to Mahnomen or Browerville in the first round.
UNC 18, New York Mills 16
UNC 6-6-6-0--18
NYM 6-3-0-7--16
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First Quarter
UNC--Hrdkicka 49 run (PAT failed)
NYM--Joe Hendrickx 3 pass from Baune (PAT failed)
Second Quarter
NYM--Andrew Frost 33 FG
UNC--Ahlf 2 run (PAT failed)
Fourth Quarter
UNC--Brockpahler 6 pass from Yrjo (PAT Failed)
NYM--Shaun VanDyke 10 pass from Baune (A. Frost kick)
NYM UNC
1st Downs 13 17
Rush--yds 35-139 40-308
Pass yds 157 55
Return yds 18 49
Comp--Att-In 11-20-1 5-12-1
FG 1/2 0/1
Fbles-lost 0-0 2-2
Pen-yds 7-35 2-10
Individual Statistics
Rushing--Brendan Frost 13-35; Jake Johnson 6-44; Alex Helmeke 1-27; Mike Baune 9-18; Jordan Novak 6-15.
Passing--Baune 11-20-1, 157 yds, 2 TD
Receiving--Novak 3-86; Hendrickx 3-27-1; Van Dyke 1-10-1; Jordan Vaughan 3-27; B. Frost 1-7.
Defense--
Prairie Conference
North Conf. All
Otter Tail Central 3-0 6-1
United North Central 3-0 6-1
Parkers Prairie 2-2 2-5
Pillager 1-3 1-6
New York Mills 0-4 1-6
South Conf. All
#6-A K-M-S 3-0 7-0
Royalton 2-2 5-2
Browerville 2-2 3-4
Upsala/Swanville 1-2 2-5
Osakis 1-3 2-5
Section 6A Section All
LP-A 1-0 5-2
Mahnomen 0-0 5-2
Browerville 2-0 3-4
Osakis 1-1 2-5
Parkers Prairie 2-1 2-5
Pillager 1-1 1-6
New York Mills 0-3 1-6
Cass Lake-Bena 0-1 0-7
