Pirates win big on Senior Night
The Prairie football team won 76-28 over Troy on Senior Night Friday, Oct. 17 at Cottonwood.
Seniors Levi Gehring, Max Rehder, Chris Schumacher, Levi McElroy, Ben Secrest and Oliver Kauffman-Van Houten were all honored with their families prior to the game.
Prairie received the opening kickoff and started at their own 45. After a false start penalty on their first play, quarterback Kade Quintal tossed a short pass to the left to Schumacher, who went 51 yards to set up first and goal at the 9.
After an incomplete pass, Schumacher took the ball up the middle for 9 yards and the game’s first touchdown. Gehring ran in the 2-pointer.
Troy’s first possession was 3 incomplete passes and a punt. Prairie took over on their own 20 after the punt went into the end zone for a touchback.
Gehring had a pair of runs totaling 16 yards for a first down at the 36. Quintal then passed down the left side to McElroy for a 44 yard gain to the Troy 20.
On second and 8 at the 18, Quintal passed to McElroy for 13 yards but the play ended with a fumble that was recovered by Troy.
The Trojans were again forced to punt with Ashton Martin blocking Troy’s punt. Payton Stamper picked up the ball at the 8 and returned it to the 3. On the next play Quintal ran a sneak for the touchdown. Gehring added the 2-pointer for a 16-0 lead.
The Trojan s started their next possession at their own 45. An 11 yard run with a late hit penalty moved the ball to the Prairie 29. Troy quarterback Payton Christensen was sacked for an 8 yard loss but 2 plays later connected with Lincoln Marone for 37 yards and Troy’s first touchdown of the game. Troy tried to kick the extra point but Secrest blocked the attempt leaving the score at 16-6.
Troy’s onside kick attempt went out of bounds at the Troy 49 and Prairie took over at the Troy 44. On second and 10, Gehring picked up 23 yards on a run to the right. Schumacher picked up 6 on a reverse. Gehring picked up 10 up the middle to set up first and goal at the 5. Gehring then took the ball around left end for the touchdown. Quintal ran in the 2-pointer for a 24-6 lead.
Troy started on their own 37 and wound up punting on fourth and 17. Prairie took over at their own 34.
Quintal passed to Schumacher for 20 yards. On the next play Quintal kept the ball and gained 24 yards to the Troy 22. Schumacher ran the ball into the end zone on the next play. Quintal passed to Stamper for the 2-pointer to make it 32-6 with 1:25 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, Prairie was called for a  15 yard penalty that set the Trojans up at their own 48.  They converted a fourth and 4 with a 26 yard pass to the Prairie 20. On third and 11, they completed another passed from Christensen to Jayden Mason for 21 yards and a touchdown. The 2-point run was stopped short and Prairie now led 32-12.
Troy recovered their onside kick at the 50. On second and 10, Martin sacked Christensen for a 14 yard loss. After an incompletion Troy punted with Gehring catching the punt and going right then handing off to McElroy coming the other way for a 12 yard return to the Troy 46.
On the next play Gehring went up the middle then cut to the right and went 46 yards for the touchdown. The 2-point run came up short leaving the Pirates with a 38-12 lead.
Lane Mader’s kickoff checked up at the Troy 4 yard line and was returned to the 7. An encroachment penalty moved it to the 12. Martin then sacked Christensen for a 10 yard loss. On the next play Stamper tackled the Troy runner in the end zone for a safety to make it 40-12.
Troy kicked off from their 20 following the safety and Gehring returned the kick 26 yards to the Troy 20.
Troy was called for encroachment but Quintal was then sacked twice for 24 yards in losses back to the 39. He ran a keeper and gained 15 but a holding penalty cost the Pirates 10 of those 15 yards. Facing third and 24 from the 34 yard line, Quintal passed to McElroy down the left side. McElroy juked a couple of defenders and carried the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. Gehring ran in the 2-pointer to make it 48-12.
Troy’s next possession started at their own 30. A chop block penalty set them back to the 15. Christensen lost 7 yards after a fumble on the next play but Prairie was called for a 15 yard penalty to moved the ball out to the 23. After 2 incomplete passes, Troy was called for a penalty that set them back to their own 12. On the next play Christensen passed downfield to Marone who broke free from a couple of would-be tacklers and went 88 yards for a touchdown. Troy added the 2-poiinter to make it 48-20.
They tried another onside kick but Secrest recovered the ball at the Prairie 44.
Quintal gained 13 yards on a keeper to the left. After a false start penalty, Quintal passed deep down the left side to McElroy who went 48 yards for a touchdown. The 2-point pass fell incomplete as Prairie now led 54-20.
Troy’s next possession started at their 35. Trajan Elven sacked Christensen for an 8 yard loss. After 2 incomplete passes they punted. The punt went straight up and wound up going just 13 yards as Prairie took over at the Troy 40.
A false start penalty set them back to the 45. On the next play Quintal passed to a wide open Schumacher for a 45 yard scoring play. Quintal ran in the 2-pointer to make it 62-20.
Troy was able to move the ball to the Prairie 36 before time ran out in the half.
The entire second half was played with a running clock.
Prairie kicked off to start the second half and Troy took over on their own 23. On the first play Christensen fumbled with Martin recovering the ball at the Troy 13 yard line.
An illegal block on the Pirates first play set them back to the 15. Quintal then passed to Gehring for the touchdown on the next play. Prairie tried a kicked extrapoint but it was blocked leaving Prairie with a 68-20 lead.
Troy took over at their own 30 after the kickoff return. After 2 incompletepassed, Gehring intercepted Troy’s third down pass at the Prairie 40.
On the first play after the turnover, Prairie ran a special “Max” play as Quintal passed to senior lineman Max Rehder on a guard eligible play for 17 yards. Stamper then ran for 14 and Schumacher picked up 23 to set up first and goal at the 6.
Stamper ran 3 yards up the middle and on the next play he scored on a 3 yard sweep to the left. Another senior lineman got the chance to carry the ball as Secrest ran in the 2-pointer to make it 76-20.
The kickoff turned out to be the final play of the third quarter. Troy took over at their own 43 and moved the ball downfield against Prairie’s backup defenders. They scored on an 18 yard pass from Christensen to Jayden Mason. They added the 2-pointer to make it 76-28 with 6:35 to play.
Prairie sent their JV offense out for the next series and Sam Rehder’s fourth down pass to John Seubert came up 4 yards short of a first down giving Troy back the ball with less than a minute to play.
Troy ran 1 play before time ran out.
Prairie gained 203 yards rushing on 23 attempts. Gehring had 108 yards on 7 carries with 2 touchdowns. Schumacher added 52 yards on 5 carries with 2 touchdowns.
Quintal completed 9 of 12 passes for 287 yards and 4 touchdowns. Sam Rehder completed 1 of 2 passes for 14 yards. McElroy caught 4 passes for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns. Schumacher caught 3 for 116 yards and a touchdown. Max Rehder caught 1 for 17 yards. Gehring caught 1 for 15 yards and a touchdown. Seubert caught 1 pass for 14 yards.
Troy was held to -47 yards rushing on 20 attempts. Christensen completed 11 of 28 passes with 1 interception for 230 yards. Marone caught 3 passes for 129 yards and Mason caught 7 for 90 yards.
Defensively Stamper had 8 solo tackles and 1 assist. Martin had 3 solo tackles, 1 assist, 2 sacks and 1 blocked punt. Gehring had 3 solo tackles, 2 assists a sack and a fumble recovery. Elven had 4 solo tackles and 2 sacks. Secrest had 1 solo tackle, 1 assist and 1 blocked extra point. Mader and Sam Rehder each had 2 solo tackles. Schumacher and Seubert each had 1 solo tackle and 1 assist. Cooper Riener, Max Rehder and Carson Lockart each had 1 assist.
Prairie is now 6-2 on the season and 4-2 in league play. They close out the regular season this Friday, Oct. 24, at unbeaten Kendrick at 7 p.m.
Prairie 32 30 14 0 -76
Troy     6  14   0 8 -28
P-Schumacher 9 run (Gehring run) 11:20 1st
P-Quintal 3 run (Gehring run) 6:56 1st
T-Marone 37 pass from Christensen (kick blocked) 5:33 1st
P-Gehring 5 run (Quintal run) 4:01 1st
P-Schumacher 22 run (Stamper pass from Quintal) 1:25 1st
T-Mason 21 pass from Christensen (run failed) 9:16 2nd
P-Gehring 46 run (run failed) 7:34
P-Safety, Stamper tackled Hurst in end zone, 7:05 2nd
P-McElroy 34 pass from Quintal (Gehring run) 4:45 1st
T-Marone 88 pass from Christensen (Mason pass from Christensen) 3:22 2nd
P-McElroy 48 pass from Quintal (pass failed) 2:25 1st
P-Schumacher 45 pass from Quintal (Quintal run) 1:06 2nd
P-Gehring 15 pass from Quintal (kick blocked) 9:09 3rd
P-Stamper 3 run (Secrest run) 2:09 3rd
T-Mason 18 pass from Christensen (Bohman pass from Christensen) 6:35 4th