Second quarter at Fargo...

On third and eight the Mainstreeters threw a long bomb but it fell incomplete.

After the punt, the Pioneers started from their own 39 yard line. They gained 7 yards on the first carry of the series. Josh Lanners then ran four yards for a first down at the Sauk Centre 49.

On the first down play, Michael Knoblauch came up with a tackle for a two-yard loss. So on second and 12, the Pioneers ran a sweep to the right, flags flew everywhere, and the Mainstreeters appeared to make a nice stop on the play. The flag was an illegal block in the back on Pierz, which brought up a second down and a big mark off of yardage. Pierz lost 10 yards from the spot of the foul to bring 2nd and 20 from their own 40.

On the second and long play, Pierz dropped back to pass to the left flats, and Preston Weber found Logan Meyer, one of the Pioneers' leading receivers, for a big gain. Pierz advanced to the 33-yard line of Sauk Centre with a fresh set of downs. It was the Pioneers' first big gain of the half on a pass play.

On first down, Lanners ran for five yards. On second down, Lanners ran again and picked up four yards to bring third and one...Ellis and M. Knoblauch made the stop for Sauk Centre. On third and one, Lanners ran once again and picked up the first down on the right sideline at the Mainstreeters' 21-yard line.

On first and 10 at the Sauk Centre 21, Lanners ran seven yards up the gut to bring 2nd-and-2. On the next play, Pierz ran in a touchdown (Lanners, again) but a flag flew in from the right side of the field. The touchdown stood (at the 7:13 mark of the 2nd quarter) and a facemask penalty on Sauk Centre was applied to the following kickoff. With 7:13 left, Pierz holds a 14-0 lead.

After the kickoff, Sauk Centre started from their own 19-yard line. On 1st and 10, Ellis ran for 3 yards. On second down, Pierz committed an encroachment penalty to bring 2nd and 2. Sauk Centre could not gain the first down on a carry by Michael Knoblauch, but he did get one yard of forward progress.

On a crucial third and one play inside the 6:00 mark, the Mainstreeters had Patrick Knoblauch run up the middle for a first down to the 30-yard line.

With a fresh set of downs at their own 30, the Mainstreeters had Cody Bartkowicz gain two yards on a sweep around the left side. On second and 8, Knoblauch was sacked for a 10-yard loss to bring third and long. On the next play, Sauk Centre's Derek Holm caught a pass from Knoblauch to get past the 30-yard line. A flag flew to the ground on the play, and Pierz was assessed a 5-yard facemask penalty. The down was repeated with third-and-three to go.

On this crucial 3rd-and-3 play, a timeout was called by Pierz. The clock read 3:07. Out of the timeout, Michael Knoblauch carried around right tackle for a first down. The Mainstreeters were out to their own 40 with 2:42 left.

On first and 10 from their 40, #32 for Pierz hauled down a tipped pass for an interception (Tyler Milner) and got about 10 yards on the return. The clock read 2:27 after Milner was stopped cold in his tracks by Roosevelt Austin at the Pierz 44.

From their 44 on first and 10, Pierz was met on the running back's handoff by Sauk Centre's Zach Wolbeck with a three yard loss. On second and 13, Pierz dropped back to pass, and the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage and flew like a dead duck high in the air. Austin hauled it in for an interception at around the 35-yard line.

Sauk Centre had first down on the Pierz with about 1:30 left. They had a big loss on the play on a QB sack, and on 2nd-and-21, Austin carried for a big gain to the Mainstreeters' 49-yard line.

On 3rd-and-10 with 37 seconds left in the first half, Knoblauch dropped back to pass but the ball flew incomplete through the hands of Derek Holm. On fourth-and-10, the Mainstreeters elected to punt.

Austin's punt sailed down near the goal line, and Dylan Kohorst was Johnny-on-the-spot to down the ball at the Pierz one-yard line with 20 seconds left.

As expected, the Pioneers ran the ball twice and got zero yards. The end of the first half arrived. Pierz 14, Sauk Centre 0.

...and here's a clip from right after we got on the field...