Football: Failure to finish

Mason Gaylord set up the first Tiger TD on a fake punt (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington's failure to turn long drives into points proved to be the difference in Wednesday night's 21-14 Missota Conference loss to Shakopee at Tiger Stadium.

The regular season-ending defeat was the fourth straight for the Tigers after a 4-0 start. Farmington finished 3-4 in the Missota. Shakopee was 5-3 overall and 5-2 in conference play.

The home team didn't lack for opportunities, especially in the second half. Three times after intermission the Tigers moved the ball deep into Sabers territory only to turn the ball over on downs. The final drive ended at the Shakopee 22-yard line with less than a minute to play.

"We played some good football tonight," Farmington coach Mark Froehling said. "I thought our defense did a pretty good job of containing an offense that is difficult to stop. Shakopee is tough team to play on a short week because of all of the different things they do.

"We were able to run a little better tonight and the offense put us in position to score. We didn't finish off our drives like we wanted to but I thought the effort and execution were much better than last week."

The teams traded touchdowns in the first half with the Sabers converting a Tiger interception on the first play of the night into a seven-play scoring drive and a quick 7-0 lead.

Derek Klotter 13-yard TD pass (photo by J. Lindquist)

The Tigers bounced right back with a score on their next possession on a grinding 15-play, 81-yard march capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass from Tyler VanWinkle to Derek Klotter. The key play was a 15-yard run out of punt formation by Mason Gaylord.

Not to be outdone, Shakopee took the ensuing kickoff and headed the other way on a 69-yard drive to re-take the lead.

Late in the second period, Gaylord stepped into the spotlight again, scooping up a Saber fumble and returning to the Shakopee five-yard line. Three plays later VanWinkle hit tight end CJ Wynings for the score and the teams hit the halftime break tied at 14-14.

Nick Meyer's fumble recovery gave Farmington a chance to take the lead early in the third period but the drive sputtered and stalled at the Shakopee 31.

Seven-plays later the Sabers scored the winning points on a 41-yard bootleg that caught the Tiger defense completely by surprise.

In the fourth quarter, Farmington would end up twice turning the ball over on downs in the shadow of the Shakopee goal posts, once at the 14-yard line and the other at the 22 as the clock wound down.

"We didn't make the big play when we had the chance," Froehling said. "That was the difference."

The Sabers had 281 yards of total offense to 230 for the Tigers. 257 of the Shakopee total came on the ground. Farmington rushed for 85 yards and threw for 145.

Klotter led the Farmington rushers with 49 yards on 18 carries; Noah Kary picked up 29 on 11 tries.

VanWinkle was 17 of 25 through the air for 145 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Mac Bassett had five receptions for 55 yards and Wynings five for 25. Jordan DeCroock made three catches for 20 yards. Klotter and Tyler Johnson had two catches apiece.

Kevin Clifton was in on 12 tackles (photo by Jim Lindquist)

On the defensive side of the ball, Kevin Clifton was in on a dozen tackles, Mason Auge and Kade Kearney six apiece, and Michael Thompson five.

The Tigers drew the short straw for the Section 3AAAAAA tournament. They were seeded No. 8 in the section dominated by South Suburban Conference schools and will play at top-seeded Rosemount next Friday night.

Kickoff is 7:00 p.m. at Rosemount Stadium.