The Sabre football team fell to Alexandra 41-6 on Friday night in front of a large homecoming crowd at Riverview Stadium.
On the third play of the game, Alexandria quarterback, Chase Thompson, made his presence known, throwing a 66-yard pass, setting up the Cardinals for their first score of the game. The Sabres were able to respond on Alexandria’s next possession. This time, Thompson underthrew his receiver, and junior defensive back, Levi Frieler, intercepted the pass. Frieler almost ran it back for a pick-six, but was taken down at the four yard line. One play later, junior Andrew Tavale ran it in for a 4-yard touchdown, narrowing the margin to one.
Senior captain Will Brinkerhoff is pleased with how young players are helping, saying, “The underclassmen have been playing really well. Guys like Peyton Allen, Matthew Schreiner, and Levi Frieler,have been key contributors.”
The Sabre defense was able to force a Cardinal punt on the next possession, before Alexandria scored with seconds left in the first quarter to take a 14-6 lead. The Cardinals did not look back, taking a 24-6 lead into half time, and scoring 17 second half points to make the final score 41-6. Thompson, who has garnered division 1 interest in both basketball and football, threw for 209 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Despite the loss Friday, and 0-4 start to the season, the Sabres feel optimistic about the opportunity to turn it around in the second half. Their first four opponents, have a combined 16-0 record after week four. On the contrary, the final four opponents have a combined winning percentage of 31 percent (5-11).
The leaders of the Sartell football team aren’t unfamiliar with these circumstances. Just a year ago, the team started 1-4, but rebounded and ended the season with a section final appearance and fell just 3 points shy of a state tournament berth. Brinkerhoff said, “It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish.”
The second half of the season starts this Friday, as the Sabres travel to Bemidji to take on the Lumberjacks. The team is excited to welcome back runningback Will Mathiasen, who has missed the previous three games with injury. The Sabres beat Bemidji on two occasions last season and hope they can replicate that performance on Friday.
