Third quarter begins...

Sauk Centre started at their own 37-yard line. Ellis gained one yard on first down, and on second down the Mainstreeters picked up three yards. On third and six from their own 41, Michael Knoblauch carried up the middle for two yards to bring fourth down.

After the 4th-down punt, Pierz received Austin's high punt with 9:56 on the clock at their own 36-yard line after a small return of a couple yards.

On first and 10 from their 36, Pierz was called for a false start penalty to make it 1st-and-15. Josh Lanners was held to a three-yard gain on the play. A timeout was called by Sauk Centre.

Out of the timeout, Lanners busted loose and was stopped by Ellis after picking up a first down at the Sauk Centre 49-yard line. On the first down play, Lanners was met by Sam Fischer and Zach Wolbeck at the line of scrimmage. A personal foul was called against Sauk Centre of illegal contact (helmet to helmet hit).

Pierz then had first down on the Sauk Centre 31 after the penalty. The clock read 8:44. Pierz ran a dive play by Lanners to gain six yards. On 2nd-and-4, the Pioneers gained another first down. From the Sauk Centre 16, Pierz was held to a three-yard gain by Cody Bartkowicz. On second and seven, Lanners bolted around left tackle for 10 yards.

With first and goal at the Sauk Centre three, Pierz ran another dive play by Lanners for a touchdown with 6:36 on the clock.

On Sauk Centre's next series that began at their own 22-yard line with under 6:30 to go in the third quarter, they gained no yards on the first play. On 2nd-and-10, Knoblauch dropped back to pass, moved around in the pocket for a few seconds, and ultimately was dropped for a 7-yard loss in a sack.

On 3rd-and-17, Sauk Centre lined up with three wideouts. On a long bomb deep down field, Preston Weber jumped up on the ball and grabbed it before Sauk Centre's guy had a chance to catch it. He proceeded to run the ball back for about a 40-yard return to the Sauk Centre six-yard line. The clock read 4:44.

On first and goal from the six, Pierz ran for four yards. On second and two, Pierz ran for another yard. On third and one, the Pioneers ran in a quarterback keeper by Preston Weber for a touchdown with 3:38 left in the third quarter. Not good.

After the PAT kick, the score read Pierz 28, Sauk Centre 0.

On the next series, Sauk Centre started on their own 38-yard line. On first down, Roosevelt Austin carried for a nice seven-yard gain. On 2nd-and-3, Austin carried for a first down good for three yards on the nose.

With first down near midfield at their own 48, Sauk Centre ran a sweep around the left side by Austin. Flags flew to the ground. Austin ran to about the 45-yard line of Pierz. The penalty was on Pierz, a big one, of a facemask kind that gave the Mainstreeters first down at the Pierz 30-yard line.

On first down from the 30 with two minutes to go in the third quarter, Knoblauch dropped back to pass, scrambled out of the pocket, and bolted past the line of scrimmage for a nice four-yard gain. On second and six, Austin got the ball on a sweep and picked up three yards. On third and three, Austin ran again but was stopped short of the first down by two Pierz defenders after a one-yard gain. That ended the third quarter action.

After three quarters, Pierz 28, Sauk Centre 0.

On fourth and one to start the fourth quarter, Austin gained the first down by carrying it forward for one yard before getting shoved back by a host of Pierz defenders. On first and 10 from the Pierz 20, a pass was thrown incomplete. On second down, Austin gained two yards. On third down, Bartkowicz lost three yards. On fourth and 11, Knoblauch's bomb into the end zone was knocked down by Preston Weber. The ball was turned over on downs at the Pierz 21 with 9:56 left in the game.

With Pierz taking over, they carried for a four-yard gain on first down. On second down, Tyler Milner carried a sweep for a first down and was brought down by Devan Fischer at their own 36-yard line. On the next play, Michael Knoblauch held the Pierz ball carrier to a three-yard gain. On 2nd-and-7, the Pioneers gained five yards. On 3rd-and-2, Pierz picked up a big gain up the middle to the Mainstreeters' 45-yard line. He was stopped by Derek Holm on the tackle.

On first and 10 on the Sauk Centre, Pierz picked up five yards. On 2nd and 5, Roosevelt Austin flew past some would-be tacklers and stopped Pierz for a three-yard gain. Pierz had 3rd-and-2 with the clock running under 6 minutes to go in the game. From the 38, Pierz ran for 14 yards to the Sauk Centre 24-yard line. Pierz ran for three yards on 1st-and-10 with Trent Berscheit making the stop. Pierz then ran for a six-yard gain to get 3rd-and-1. They got the first down on the 3rd-down play and had possession at the Sauk Centre 13. The Pioneers picked up one yard and then two yards, with Holm making the stop on the second-down play. Pierz had third-and-seven at the Sauk Centre 10-yard line. Michael Knoblauch earned a tackle-for-a-loss and helped push the Pioneers back to the 11-yard line. On fourth-and-8, the ball carrier was pushed back by Cody Bartcowicz and Sam Fischer to the 15-yard line.

The clock read 1:12. Pierz called a timeout.

Final score: Pierz 28, Sauk Centre 0.