NYM to travel to WCA in Section 6A opener

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

For the third straight week the New York Mills Eagles squared off against one of the top teams in the district as they hosted Pillager on Wednesday night. The combined record of the final three opponents of the Eagles was 17-7, including an impressive 7-1 record by the Huskies. 

Unfortunately, the Huskies were able to take a 26-0 lead at halftime and never looked back as they handed NY Mills its third straight loss to end the regular season.

“A great night for football and honoring our players and parents,” said head coach Matt Radniecki. “Pillager is a good team and they came out and took it to us from the start. We had a great drive going in the first quarter, but then fumbled leading to a scoop and touchdown run recovery, which seemed to take the wind out of our sails.”

Pillager opened the scoring with a 64-yard fumble recover for a touchdown in the first quarter and added a 6-yard touchdown run to take a 14-0 lead.

The Huskies added a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter on a 54-yard touchdown run and a 6-yard run to take a 26-0 lead at halftime. 

The Eagles got on the scoreboard in the third quarter when Teagan Lausten scored on a 7-yard run and DaShaun Robinson kicked the extra point to make the score 26-7. Radniecki said he was pleased with how the Eagles came out of the locker room after halftime. 

“The kids played hard and we challenged them at halftime to not give us and we came out and played a very good second half for our players.  I was proud of their effort in their final regular season game at home,” said Radniecki.  

The Huskies matched the score with a 16-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and converted the extra point to end the game with a score of 33-7.

Not only was Wednesday’s game the final regular season home game for the Eagles, but it was also the final regular season game for seniors Lausten, Robinson, Sam Kopveiler, Bode Roberts, William Seim and Carter Hudalla.

“We have six seniors who have worked their tails off and also stuck it out in good and bad times. I would like to thank them and all the parents this year of players,” said Radniecki. “We appreciate your sacrifice and help in all phases of our program.”

The Eagles will open the Section 6A playoffs on Tuesday night when they travel to third seeded West Central Area. The Knights come into the game with a record of 3-5 overall and Radniecki said the game is one the Eagles could have a chance to come away with a win.

“We just need to execute and do the fundamentals well,” he said. 

The Knights come into the game averaging 27.4 points per game on offense and give up 24.7 points per game on defense. 

The Eagles come into the game averaging 10.2 points per game on offense and surrender 22.4 points per game on defense. 

The winner of the game will take on either second seeded Breckenridge or seventh seeded Pine River-Backus on Saturday at the high seed. The kick off on Saturday will be at 2 p.m.