By Terry Vandrovec
In blustery weather that seemed better suited for defense, Pelican Rapids put on an offensive showcase in a
28-20 victory against previously unbeaten Perham in Heart O' Lakes Conference football Friday.
The Vikings totaled 458 yards of offense, 22 first downs and 34 minutes of time of possession. Two of their backs ran for more than
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100 yards and, after getting the ball first to start each half, scored a pair of touchdowns to beat the No. 9-ranked team in Class 3A and muddy the waters in the HOL.
With one game left in the regular season, three teams are tied for first place with one loss, including defending champion Pelican Rapids (6-1, 5-1 HOL), which prevented Perham (6-1, 5-1 HOL) from clinching at least a share of the title.
"It is muddy," Vikings coach Dave Haugen said with a smile, "but we're in the middle of it and we're OK with that."
Despite the staggering offensive numbers, there was never more than an eight-point separation.
The game was tied at 14-all at halftime as Perham - which fumbled on three of its first four plays - scored on an 89-yard interception return by Eric Weller and a 96-yard touchdown drive in the final seconds of the first half.
Both teams scored on their first possessions of the third quarter.
But the Yellowjackets failed to convert a 2-point conversion attempt and Pelican Rapids scored the only points of the fourth quarter with 5:40 to play on a 5-yard run by Zach Lundquist, the HOL's leading rusher who had two touchdowns and 143 yards on the ground.
"The bottom line is we got out-blocked, out-tackled, out-kicked and out-coached," Perham coach Howie Kangas said. "That's about as solid as you can whooped. We were fortunate to be in that game at any point and time. It was a bewildering performance to say the least."
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One week after its first loss of the season, Pelican Rapids was stone-cold solid in every offensive aspect.
"It was just amazing," said Lage, who caught four passes for 126 and two touchdowns and rushed 21 times for 111 yards. "Our run game was good, our pass game was good, the weather didn't really affect us."
