The Faribault Falcons have never been known for doing anything fancy.

Sunday, September 05, 1999

The Faribault Falcons have never been known for doing anything fancy. It’s just old-fashioned, straight-ahead, fundamentally-sound football. They line up and dare you to stop them. The Albert Lea Tigers couldn’t do it Friday night.

The Tigers traveled to Faribault’s Bruce Smith Field for the season opener and were handed a 55-3 defeat.

Albert Lea coach Steve Cunningham said there’s no use in sugar-coating it. While the Tigers had a few bright spots, they were simply outplayed by the perennially strong Falcons.

&uot;It’s a typical Faribault team,&uot; said Cunningham. &uot;They execute well. They’re disciplined. You know what they’re going to do. Even when you call things to try and stop them, they still gain yards because they execute so well.&uot;

It was a all too typical victory for Faribault, coached by former Tiger quarterback Rich Oliphant. The Falcons ran for 367 of their 380 total yards, registering 19 first downs to the Tigers’ four while taking advantage of four Albert Lea turnovers.

An interception set up the Falcons’ first score, an 18-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. The Falcons then drove 83 yards in 14 plays, scoring on a 1-yard run early in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead.

Faribault added two more touchdowns in the first half, going 47 yards in seven plays and returning a fumble 13 yards for a score. It was 28-0 at halftime.

The Tigers played some of their best football early in the third quarter, forcing a punt on Faribault’s first possession. Scott Tuchtenhagen blocked it, giving the Tigers the ball on the Falcons’ 49. They gain 15 yards on the first play but were stopped on fourth down at the 27.

The Tigers got another opportunity when Brody Page recovered a Faribault fumble, and it resulted in the only points of the night for Albert Lea – on a 41-yard field goal by Paul Olsen.

It was all Faribault after that.

The Falcons drove 69 yards in nine plays for a touchdown and returned a punt 60 yards for a score. Then the reserves drove for a pair of scores.

The Tigers had 121 total yards, 88 rushing.

Bryce Williams was the leading ball carrier for Albert Lea, rushing for 37 on nine attempts. Dusty Wangen had 33 yards on seven carries.

Quarterback Nick Cunningham was 3-for-16 for 33 yards, with one interception. Jeremy Jacobson, Dan Stoa and Beau Zuehl caught one pass apiece.

Nick Cunningham sustained Albert Lea’s m ost serious injury of the night – a dislocated big toe. His status is unknown for this week’s game.

Coach Cunningham said the bright spots for the Tigers were their play early in the game and, at times, their running game.

&uot;We played tough the first quarter,&uot; said the coach. &uot;We gave them a free one with the interception. The second quarter we kind of fell apart. The wheels just came completely off in the fourth quarter. There were some very disappointing things in the fourth quarter – some things that we need to correct as a team.&uot;

One thing Cunningham would definitely like corrected is pass protection.

&uot;The basis of our offense is ball-control passing,&uot; he said. &uot;When we can’t protect the quarterback and we don’t catch the ball, it makes it pretty tough to control the ball in the air.&uot;

The Tigers are home this Friday to face Owatonna.