Coming off a win at Sibley East in its season opener, the NRHEG football team fell to 1-1 with a 14-8 loss Friday at Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial.

The Knights had 15 first downs, and the Panthers had 14. NRHEG had 204 rushing yards and LCWM had 212. The Knights won the total yardage count 301-276.

The stats were similar across the board. However, the turnover battle was lopsided in the Knights’ favor.

“We lost three fumbles, had three interceptions and a muffed punt,” said Panthers head coach Dan Stork. “It’s hard to win when you give it back to them seven times.”

NRHEG’s Jason Jongbloedt posted a game-high 150 rushing yards on 23 carries, and teammate Nick Bartness averaged a game-high 6.6 yards per rush with eight carries for 53 yards.

Jongbloedt, John Cole and Jet Wayne each had one reception.

The Panthers’ defense was led by Bartness, who had 14 tackles, and Matt Jensen added 11. Zeke Erickson had one fumble recovery.

NRHEG (1-1 overall, 0-1 Gopher Conference) will look to get back on track at 7 p.m. Friday at Bethlehem Academy.

The Cardinals (1-1 overall, 1-1 Gopher Conference) are coming off a 28-8 win at St. Clair after losing 23-14 at Mankato Loyola.