Early touchdowns propel Fargo North to football victory

Fargo North had a fitting start to senior night with seniors Adam Amundson and Brandon Lee making two big plays early.

An Amundson blocked punt and Lee interception led to two first-quarter touchdowns for North.

The Spartans rode that fast start to an 18-15 home win vs. Grand Forks Red River in Eastern Dakota Conference football Friday.

"All the seniors stepped up big," said Amundson, who also caught one pass for 18 yards. "This was a great night. We are going to remember this for the rest of our lives as our last game on this field."

The Spartans (4-3, 3-2 EDC) bounced back from a two-point loss at No. 1 West Fargo last week. For a second straight week, Red River (4-4, 2-2) had a slow start. The Roughriders fell behind 16-0 after one quarter last weekend vs. Detroit Lakes. Red River trailed

12-0 after one quarter against North.

"This is the second week in a row now we came out and haven't done anything in the first quarter," Red River coach Vyrn Muir said.

Red River punted from its own 25-yard line on the game's first drive. That's when Amundson broke through the line and blocked the kick. North recovered the ball at the Red River 1-yard line.

Amundson said he came free after two Red River blockers went to block another North rusher.

"It just opened up a window and I went on through," Amundson said. "It ended up working out."

One play later, North running back Peter Saintal scored on a 1-yard run with 8 minutes, 56 seconds to play in the first quarter.

On the next possession, Lee intercepted Red River quarterback Matt Hanson and returned the ball to the Roughriders 20. North senior quarterback Brady Bergeron scored on a 2-yard run eight plays later. That staked North to a 12-0 lead with 4:41 to play in the first quarter.

"That gives us a big momentum swing right away ... and it just kind of holds them back a little bit," North coach Kelly Kalina said.

"It was huge," added Amundson. "We were talking about how we needed to come out here and take it to them right away. With those two big plays, we just got rolling. It was great."

Red River rallied late in the fourth quarter, cutting the North lead to 18-15 with 16 seconds to play after Jeff Dennison caught an 8-yard TD pass from Hanson.

Red River was able to cover the ensuing onside kick at the North 43-yard line. The Roughriders had a pass attempt broken up inside the 5-yard line on the next play. North sacked Hanson on the game's final play.

Saintal finished with a game-high 206 rushing yards and one touchdown on 33 attempts. The sophomore had 148 of those yards in the second half to help North protect the lead.

"When he gets in a rhythm, the line gets excited and he's slippery," Amundson said. "He just slides off of guys and keeps on going. It's insane."

Red River 0 7 0 8-15

North 12 0 0 6-18

FN-Saintal 1 run (run failed)

FN-Bergeron 2 run (pass failed)

RR-Berg 31 pass from Hanson (Moser kick)

FN-Bergeron 1 run (run failed)

RR-Dennison 8 pass from Hanson (Lillemoen pass from Hanson)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: RR, Johnstone 23-76, Bernhardson 1-5, Hanson 2-(minus-16). FN, Saintal 33-206, Bergeron 17-45, Wise 1-3, Draeger 1-3.

PASSING: RR, Hanson 19-35-2 160 yards. FN, Bergeron 5-15-1 43.

RECEIVING: RR, Berg 11-90, Lillemoen 4-48, Bernhardson 2-13, Dennison 1-9, Johnstone 1-1. FN, Amundson 1-18, Connelly 1-13, Saintal 1-6, Garrett 1-3, Wise 1-3.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Eric Peterson at (701) 241-5513.

Peterson's blogs can be found at www.areavoices.com