(photo by Jim Lindquist)
Alex Chadwick (27) makes one of his six tackles
(photo by Jim Lindquist)
Farmington scored first but in the end Shakopee played the role of the defending Missota Conference champions in a 42-10 win Friday night, Sept. 23, at Tiger Stadium.
The teams played to a scoreless first quarter with the Tigers denting the scoreboard first in the second period on Darren Beenken's eighth touchdown of the season, a seven-yard toss to Nathan Graham.
But from there until the halftime break the Sabers began controlling the line of scrimmage on the the way to two scores and a 14-7 halftime lead. Shakopee rolled up 169 yards on the ground in the second quarter.
"They started pounding it at us us a little in the second," defensive coordinator Gary Burr said. "They put a lot people at the point of attack."
The Tigers went three-and-out on their first possession of the second half and the Sabers revved up their ground attack again to push their lead to 21-7. A Farmington turnover on the next series gave the visitors a three-touchdown lead.
The Tigers moved the ball on occasion in the second half, mostly through the air, but three pass interceptions helped keep them off the scoreboard until Reid Taubenheim booted his second field goal of the season, a 28-yarder, in the final quarter to lcsoe the scoring.
All in all, the Sabers ground out 388 rushing yards and 53 more through the air for a game total of 441. Farmington finished with 202 passing and 103 running for 305 total yards.
Beenken completed 14 of 27 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown but suffered four interceptions along the way.
Dillon Jones had five catches for 52 yards to lead the six-man receiving corps. Graham hauled in three for 28. Johnny Dittman, MacKinley Bassett and Ather Ashton each had a pair of receptions.
Ashton carried the ball 19 times for a team-high 64 yards; Beenken picked up 33 in six tries.
The tackle stat sheet showed how much time the Tiger defense spent on the field. Linebacker Drew Hegseth had a busy night, finishing with a team-high 12 tackles. Godfrey Mpetey and Andrew Peterson each totaled eight and Bret Hoffman added seven. Alex Chadwick and Blake Weinand had six apiece.
This Friday the Tigers (1-3) go from the frying pan into the fire when they travel to Richfield to play Holy Angels. The Stars (4-0) and Shakopee are the only remaining unbeaten teams in the Missota Conference.
