Football: Farmington overpowers the Wingers

Early in Friday’s Missota Conference game at Farmington, Red Wing managed to drive down to the red zone, before being forced into a 4th-and-five play.

The Wingers completed the pass, but were short of the 1st-down mark, giving the ball to the Tigers, who proceeded to move the ball 71 yards on an outside run, setting up a score.

“If we would have gotten the first down, we’d be two yards away from the touchdown,” said Red Wing head coach Matt Schultz. “Then in one run, they’re 20 yards away from a score.”

From there, Farmington (2-0 Missota, 3-0) had firm control of the conference contest, defeating the Wingers 35-14 for the home victory.

The Tigers hopped out to a 21-0 first half lead, with quarterback Darren Beenken scoring on the ground with a 4-yard scamper, and through the air for a 17-yard strike to junior John Dittman.

Beenken finished the game with four total touchdowns (2 rushing, 2 passing), and was 11 of 15 passing for 216 yards. Running back Athen Ashton ran the ball 12 times for 147 yards and a score.

Breaking the Wingers’ backs against the Tigers were big plays, which were demoralizing to Red Wing’s defense.

“We got another possession in their territory and we had to punt,” Schultz said, “Then they threw the deep ball for 60 yards. They had three big plays in the first half that decided that half. … Our defense got stops, but then they go for a 71-yard play and those plays steal a lot of your energy.”

Down 21-0, Michael Friedrich got the Wingers on the board in the third quarter with a 2-yard rushing touchdown. Red Wing (0-2 Missota, 1-3) wouldn’t find the end zone again until the fourth quarter, when Ricky Turcotte connected with Ben Miller for an 18-yard touchdown toss.

Turcotte threw for 127 yards on 7 of 15 passing with a touchdown and an interception. Andy Kalb had 103 receiving yards on seven catches, and backup quarterback Isaac Toivonen threw for 61 yards and had three catches for 29 yards.

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