For a quarter, the Albert Lea Tigers played the Owatonna Huskies even.

Saturday, September 01, 2001

For a quarter, the Albert Lea Tigers played the Owatonna Huskies even.

It’s probably more than most people expected from the rebuilding Tigers. They hope it’s a sign of things to come.

The Tigers had several positive moments in their 2001 football opener – especially on defense – but fell 41-0 to an always-strong Owatonna squad at Hammer Field Friday night.

The loss was the 20th consecutive for the Tigers, but the first for new head coach Jeff Marty.

&uot;It’s a good start,&uot; said Marty. &uot;We need a little more depth, a little more conditioning, but it was a great effort. I’m very happy with our guys. They did not get down.&uot;

The highlights for the Tigers were on defense, especially in the first half with big plays by Tyler Young, Tony Tolbers and Adam Lares.

&uot;We had some big hits,&uot; said Marty. &uot;It was great to see the guys play physical, aggressive football like that. We had some real big positives as far as hitting. But we need to find a way to get a tempo going on offense.&uot;

That was a problem all night as the Tigers went their first 10 possessions without a first down and totaled 46 yards for the night. The Tigers almost scored on the opening kickoff, but Jason Kuipers was brought down after about a 35-yard return. A dropped pass on third down forced a punt.

The teams traded punts on their next possessions before Scott Hoeg ended an Owatonna drive with a fumble recovery. Again, the Tigers had to punt, and Owatonna needed only five plays to cover 29 yards and take a 7-0 lead midway through the second period.

Owatonna added two scores before halftime, going 37 yards in three plays and 50 yards in nine plays, to make it 21-0.

The Huskies picked up right where they left off in the third quarter, breaking a long run deep into Tiger territory on their first play. But the defense held and a field goal try failed.

After another Albert Lea punt, Owatonna drove 65 yards in nine plays to go up 28-0. An outstanding one-handed reception by T.J. Pechacek from McKernon resulted in a 26-yard touchdown, putting Owatonna up 34-0 after three quarters.

The Huskies added a 10-yard touchdown run midway through the final period.

The Tigers’ best scoring chance came when David Heijerman recovered a muffed punt. Robert Babastro Jr. ran for a first down and Derek Goodnature passed to Tyler Young for another, but the drive stalled on fourth down at the 20.

Owatonna outgained the Tigers 399-43.

Babastro was the Tigers’ rushing leader with 26 yards on six carries. Goodnature was 3-for-13 passing for 28 yards. Young caught two passes.

Marty said the Tigers’ play in the first quarter is an indication of their potential.

&uot;When it was 0-0 at the end of the first quarter, I was ecstatic for the guys,&uot; said Marty. &uot;We knew we could play with them. We just need to sustain it for four quarters.&uot;

Owatonna 0 21 13 7 – 41

Albert Lea 0 0 0 0 – 0

First Quarter

No scoring

Second Quarter

Owat-Boomgard 2 run (Connaker kick)

Owat-Pechacek 12 pass from McKernon (Connaker kick)

Owat-McKernon 11 run (Connaker kick)

Third quarter

Owat-Bramer 3 run (Connaker kick)

Owat-Pechacek 26 pass from McKernon (kick failed)

Fourth Quarter

Owat-Bramer 10 run (Olson kick)

AL Owat.

First downs 2 22

Rushes-yards 21-15 54-230

Passing yards 31 169

Total yards 46 399

Turnovers 1 3

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-Albert Lea, Babastro 6-26, Jerdee 6-13, Kuipers 1-4.

PASSING-Albert Lea, Goodnature 3-13-1, 28.

RECEIVING-Albert Lea, Young 2-20, Kuipers 1-11.