Big plays broke it open for the Austin Packers.

Saturday, October 13, 2001

Big plays broke it open for the Austin Packers.

Brute force put it away.

The Packers turned Rivalry Week into Shutout Week at Albert Lea’s Hammer Field, blanking the Tigers 34-0 in Big Nine football Friday night.

It was a disappointing loss for first-year head coach Jeff Marty and the Tigers, who fell to 0-7 and saw their losing skid extended to 26 games.

&uot;We need to put this one behind us and realize it wasn’t our game,&uot; said Marty. &uot;It’s a short week with a game at Winona Wednesday, and the guys need to realize they’ve got another shot at winning. We’ve just got to go out and do what we need to get ready for Winona.&uot;

The Packers, who improved to 3-4 while rebounding from a 14-12 loss to Rochester Century a week earlier, took control of the game in the second quarter and never looked back.

&uot;From about the second quarter on, they just controlled the ballgame,&uot; said Marty. &uot;My hat’s off to Coach Knox and his staff. Their idea, obviously, was to keep the ball out of our hands. They did a good job controlling the line of scrimmage. When we did have it, they did a good job disrupting us with blitzes and things. They were very well prepared in doing what they needed to do.&uot;

The early momentum went the way of the Tigers, who forced a three-and-out on the game’s first possession and quickly picked up a first down with some nifty running by junior Jason Kuipers. A fumbled snap, though, left the Tigers with third-and-8 and a pass fell incomplete.

The Packers’ Ben Johnson blocked the ensuing punt, Gavin Henningsen gathered the bouncing ball at the 23 and took it in for a touchdown. Jim Knoebel’s PAT kick made it 7-0 with 6:51 left in the first quarter.

The Tigers, starting on their own 35, quickly took it the other way. On third-and-5, Tony Tolbers hit a wide open Tyler Young with a 45-yard pass to the Packers’ 19. A third-and-3 pass was just off Derek Goodnature’s hands in the end zone, and the drive stalled on fourth down at the 12.

The teams traded punts as the first quarter ended.

Then the Packers came up with their second big play. This time Henningsen took an inside handoff, broke a couple tackles and rumbled 66 yards down the sideline to paydirt. Knoebel added the PAT, making it 14-0 with 8:20 until halftime.

After a three-and-out and a short punt, Austin went 54 yards in six plays, with Mike Gravelle scoring on an 8-yard run. Shane Peterson kicked the PAT, putting the Packers up 21-0 at the intermission.

The Tigers’ offensive struggles worsened in the second half. Not only did they have trouble moving the ball when they had it, they didn’t get their hands on it much. The Packers went on a pair of time-consuming drives, culminated by scoring runs of 9 yards by Gravelle and 2 yards by Brad Wiechmann.

The Packers ran for 359 of their 366 yards and had 17 first downs to the Tigers’ three. That made the job much easier for sophomore quarterback Mark Cavanaugh, who completed one of six passes for 7 yards in his first varsity start. Henningsen ran for 97 yards on seven carries.

The Tigers totaled 96 yards, 81 of them in the first quarter. Tony Tolbers was 4-for-14 passing for 57 yards and two interceptions. Kuipers led Albert Lea in rushing with 35 yards on eight carries.

&160;

Marty was pleased with the fact his players never gave up regardless of the score or situation.

&uot;A nice thing for us to see was our fourth-quarter with goal-line stop,&uot; said Marty. &uot;The guys just kept fighting. I give them a lot of credit for sticking in there and playing their best.&uot;

AU 7 14 13 0 – 34

AL 0 0 0 0 – 0

First Quarter

AU-Henningsen 23 blocked punt return (Knoebel kick)

Second Quarter

AU-Henningsen 66 run (Knoebel kick)

AU-Gravelle 8 run (Peterson kick)

Third Quarter

AU-Gravelle 9 run (kick blocked)

AU-Wiechmann 2 run (Peterson kick)

Fourth Quarter

No scoring

AU AL

First downs 17 3

Rushes-yards 56-359 18-39

Passing 1-6-0 4-14-2

Passing yards 7 57

Total yards 366 96

Turnovers 1 4

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-AL, Kuipers 8-35, Babastro 4-13, Carr 1-3, Tolbers 5 -12; AU, Henningsen 7-97;

PASSING-AL, Tolbers 4-14-2, 57; AU, Cavanaugh 1-6-0, 7;

RECEIVING-AL, Young 1-45, McClaskey 4-12.