Esko Drops Home Opener To Braham 26-14

Wes Vork-NSO

Sept 11

Wes Vork-NSO

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Just a week after looking great in their season opening win against Hinckley-Finlayson, The Esko Eskomos stumbled against Braham Friday night with a loss of 26-14 at home.

Esko started the game deep in their own territory at the 11 yard line. On the second play of the game, Tyler Vaughan stepped in front of an Esko pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown, putting Braham up 6-0.

The ensuing kickoff provided a bit of entertainment when Braham kicked the ball out of bounds on three straight tries, each time having the ball moved back five yards on a penalty. After a nice kick return by Richard Jubie, the Eskomos set up shop with good field position on their own 36 yard line. Unfortunately, after three straight runs Esko was forced to punt, pinning Braham deep in their own territory at the 15 yard line.

On their second possession, the Bombers put together an 85 yard, 17-play drive capped off with a seven yard pass from quarterback Mike Strelow to Eric Linn-Molin. Strelow finished the drive by running for the two point conversion, putting Braham up 14-0. The run would prove costly however, as Strelow hyper extended his left knee and had to leave the game. Strelow finished the night with 6 rushes for 21 yards and 4-6 passing for 60 yards and a touchdown.

Things would work out better for the Eskomos on their third drive of the night. Starting on the Esko 45 yard line, the Eskomos ran the ball six straight times. Phil Wirtz got the Eskomos on the board when he broke loose on a run from 23 yards out. After a Jake Stainbrook extra point, Esko had cut the lead to 14-7. Unfortunately for the Eskomos, that would be as close as they would get as the Bombers added their third score of the night. On 4th and six, wide receiver Erik Vavra took a pitch and ran it in from the 12 yard line. After the two point run failed, Braham extended the lead to 20-7.

The Eskomos did get another chance before halftime when they had the Bombers pinned deep in their own territory. A great punt by Jubie forced Braham to start on the 16 yard line. After a bad snap, Braham found themselves facing third and 25 from the 5 yard line. However, wide receiver A.J. Fealy caught a pass for a 29 yard gain, getting the Bombers out of a deep hole. Although they did not score on the drive, Braham had run most of the time off the clock and took a 20-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Passing stats for both teams at the end of the first half told the story. While Braham was 9-17 for 114 yards and two touchdowns, Esko was 0-3 for zero passing yards and an interception returned for a Bomber touchdown. Esko did, however, lead Braham in rushing at the half 91 yards to 32 for the Bombers.

The third quarter brought with it a downpour that made for some sloppy conditions and a scoreless third quarter.

Esko tried to work their way back into the ballgame in the fourth quarter when Max Reinertson hit Cody Townsend for a 47 yard scoring pass. Braham would have none of it, however, as Vaughan rushed in from 23 yards out to put the game out of reach.

For the game, Esko had 127 yards rushing on 24 attempts, but only 3-13 passing for 70 yards, 47 of which came on the touchdown pass to Townsend. Leading the Eskomos in rushing was Phil Wirtz with 31 yards. Townsend was the leading receiver with two catches for 59 yards and a touchdown.

Even in the win, Braham’s stats were not eye popping. They gained 209 total yards, 88 on the ground and 121 in the air. Vaughan and Christian Towery each had 40 yards rushing while Vaughan was 7-15 for 46 yard passing in relief of Strelow.

The Eskomos will try to get back on the right side of .500 next Friday when they host the Two Harbors. The Agates come in with a 1-1 record after beating Hinckley-Finlayson 41-0.

Wes Vork can be reached at wes@northlandsportsonline.com