TD With 0:16.2 Propels #1 RP Past FC

The last time they met, Rushford-Peterson downed Fillmore Central 22-21.  It was last year’s epic Class A Section title game, a contest decided on the last drive.  The week three rematch in Harmony, saw the deciding points scored in the final 20 seconds.  R-P came out of the gates getting the ball to their best play-maker.  Landon Skalet dropped a 46-yard TD dime to Jake Paulson on the game’s fourth play for a 7-0 lead.  The Falcons replied with a good kick-return and a red zone trip, but a fumble ended the threat.  They made the red zone again early in the second quarter but came up empty.  Finally, the Falcons got on the board later in the quarter.  A 24-yard Logan Corson to Colten Kraling pass play on 2nd and 13 set up a Josh Peters 2-yard TD run, capping a 96-yard drive.  The PAT made it a 7-7 game with 0:44.7 left in the half.  But Paulson returned the kickoff to near midfield.  An Ethan Sense 37-yard run put the ball at the 12 with 12.6 ticks left.  Three incompletions ended the threat.  The teams stayed tied at intermission.  The next good scoring opportunity came early in the fourth.  FC made the Trojan 10 only to be hindered by a 4th and 1 false start penalty.  They fell short on downs.   R-P then marched, scoring the would-be go-ahead TD on a 27-yard Ethan Hermanson run.  But a hold annulled the play.  The Trojans wound up punting.  After a Falcon three-and-out, R-P took over at their 31.  Right after nearly losing a fumble, on 2nd and 13, Skalet hit Paulson on a 29-yard improbable between-two-defenders pass play to the FC 33 (1:29).  A pass interference call a few plays later (ball to Paulson) gave R-P a first and goal at the ten (0:33.4).  Skalet, on his only carry of the game, scrambled to the two.  Two plays later Sense plowed in from one-yard out with 0:16.4 left.  The Trojans, 45 minutes and 49 game seconds between scores, went back ahead 14-7.  FC got one 33-yard hook and lateral with the game’s final play, but they needed 50 more yards.  In a defensive battle, #1 in Class A R-P stayed unbeaten (3-0) over FC (1-2).  Both of FC’s losses are by a single score that came late in the fourth quarter. Paulson was the difference.  The senior WR caught all six of R-P’s completions for 122 yards and a TD.  Sense was a workhorse for a third straight game (20-100 yards, TD rushing).  Skalet was 6 for 19 for 122 yards and a TD.  Dawson Dahl had 10 tackles for R-P, Carter Weidemann three TFLs.  FC was led by Logan Corson (10-20, 116 yards passing; 9-30 rushing), Nate Haugerud (6-62 receiving; 3-18 rushing; FF/FR), and Peters (2-yard TD run).  RP had more yards (278 to 224) and first downs (14 to 12), one less turnover (1 to 2).  FC went 1-for-4 in the red zone.