Forest Lake scored four second-half touchdowns to rally past host East Ridge 35-29 on Thursday night. Reid Olson returned a fumble 35 yards with 1 minute, 38 seconds left in the third quarter to put the Rangers ahead for good.
Leyton Patzer ran for two of his three touchdowns in the second half as the Rangers wore down the Raptors. The senior running back scored on runs of 18, 4 and 1 yard. He sealed the victory with a first-down run on second-and-19 with 2:26 left in the game.
"We're all tough dudes. That's our brand of football," Patzer said. "We like to run it up the middle. We like to dominate the other team by showing them that they can't stop us."
Cole Gerrell started the Rangers' rally with a 26-yard touchdown run 5:04 into the third quarter. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct that set the Raptors up with the ball at their own 40-yard line with a chance to end any momentum the Rangers got from the touchdown. However, a quick three-and-out gave the ball right back to Forest Lake.
"We all knew that [penalty] wasn't a big deal," Patzer said. "Just like the first half, [we're] down. But that's where we thrive. We're ready to come back and we know that we can."
The Raptors took a 21-7 lead into halftime on big plays from the offense and defense. The Raptors defense forced three fumbles and stopped a fourth-down attempt to hold the Rangers offense.
"Our word all week has been just finish. Finish blocks. Finish tackles. Finish runs. Finish throws. Finish catches. Finish everything," Rangers coach Brad Beeskow said about his halftime message. "We just told them if you go out there and do your job and finish and stop beating yourselves, you're going to win this football game."
Tanner Zolnosky threw three touchdown passes, including two to Kyle Frendt. Charlie Bern had a touchdown catch and touchdown run for the Raptors.
