A good time was had by everyone involved.
That seemed to be the consensus Friday night as the NRHEG football team made a long road trip to Lester Prairie and returned with win No. 1, 39-31.
The Panthers, 1-1, led 20-0 at halftime and 32-15 after three periods and held off an exciting fourth-quarter comeback attempt by the home team.
“We gave up some big plays and let them back in the game,” said NRHEG coach Dan Stork.
But it was never really in doubt for the Panthers, intent on improvement after an opening-night loss to Mayer Lutheran.
Perry Peterson and Brady Agrimson scored two touchdowns each, with Cole Staloch adding a touchdown reception and Lucas Bailey scoring on a 49-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Peterson ran for 146 yards on 37 carries and caught four passes for 101 yards. Agrimson had four receptions for 74 yards.
Quarterback Sam Prigge was 10-for-16 for 187 yards and no interceptions.
“Sam made some great throws tonight and his decision making was awesome,” said Stork. “He is looking very comfortable in the pocket.”
NRHEG had no turnovers and outgained the opposition 450-304.
Senior Jack Schultz had a big night on defense, with a strip sack that led to the Panthers’ first score and another sack to end the game.
“He is on a mission,” said Stork.
Staloch made six tackles. Agrimson had four stops and an interception. Alex Buckmeier had a sack.
The Panthers are home this Friday to face arch rival WEM.
NNRHEG 39, Lester
Prairie/Holy Trinity 31
NRHEG 6 14 12 7 — 39
LP/HT 0 0 15 16 — 31
First Quarter
NRHEG — Peterson 3 run (kick failed)
Second Quarter
NRHEG — Staloch 1 pass from Prigge (B. Agrimson pass from Prigge)
NRHEG — B.Agrimson 8 pass from Prigge (pass failed)
Third Quarter
LP/HT — Heigl 60 run (Buhr pass from Ziermann)
NRHEG — Peterson 5 run (pass failed)
LP/HT — Buhr 2 pass from Ziermann (Amaya kick)
NRHEG — B.Agrimson 5 pass from Prigge (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
LP/HT — Schwantes 25 pass from Ziermann (Scheevel run)
NRHEG — Bailey 49 run (Prigge kick)
LP/HT — Heigl 1 run (Scheevel run)
NRHEG LP/HT
First Downs 21 16
Rushing attempts 34 46
Yds. Rushing 243 156
Passing 11-17-0 12-30-1
Yds. Passing 207 148
Total plays 69 57
Total Yds. 450 304
Penalties 7-55 4-27
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Third down 6-17 6-14
Fourth down 3-5 3-3
Punts-Avg. 3-33.3 3-27.7
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — NRHEG: Peterson 37-146; Bailey 5-52; Prigge 4-29; Sletten 6-16; LP/HT: Heigl 12-111; Scheevel 9-54; Fiecke 1-2; Ziermann 5 —11
Passing — NRHEG: Prigge 10-16-0—187; Peterson 1-1-0—20; LP/HT Ziermann 12-30-1—148
Receiving — NRHEG: Peterson 4-101; B.Agrimson 4-74; Bailey 2-31; Staloch 1-1; LP/HT — Schwantes 3-52; Fiecke 2-41; Heigl 2-25; Scheevel 3-21; Engelke 1-7; Buhr 1-2
Punt returns — NRHEG: Peterson 2 —4; LP/HT: Scheevel 1-0; Buhr 2-0
Kickoff returns — NRHEG: Peterson 3-25; B.Agrimson 1-3; Staloch 1-9; LP/HT: Heigl 4-60; Buhr 2-45; Hecksel 1-11
NRHEG DEFENSE (tackles)
Schultz 7, 2 sacks; Staloch 6; B.Agrimson 4, 1 interception; VanMaldeghem 3.5; Fischer 3; Prigge 2; Sletten 2, 1 sack; Buckmeier 2, 1 sack; Peterson 2; Bailey 1; Liebeg 1; Knutson .5