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Greenway/N-K edges Proctor for Class 3A, Section 7 title

By Jimmy Gilligan, SportsEngine , 11/03/16, 7:30AM CDT

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The Raiders scored with seven seconds left in the fourth quarter to defeat the Rails.



Class 3A Section 7 Champions - Greenway Nashwauk Keewatin

The Class 3A Section 7 Champions - Greenway Nashwauk Keewatin. Photo by Matthew Moses, SportsEngine



Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin refuses to quit.

Trailing 6-0 with little offensive production to show for the previous 30-minutes of play, the Titans capitalized on excellent field position at the 16-yard line to tie the game at six in the fourth quarter.

After Proctor turned the ball over on downs at the 8-yard line with under three minutes to play, GNK could have run out the clock and waited for overtime.

Instead, the Titans embarked on their longest drive of the night, a 92-yard march that culminated in a game-winning touchdown with seven seconds left.

“We just said going into this game that we can’t give up, we’re going to take what they give us and keep going,” said senior running back Spencer Potter, who had several key carries early on in the decisive drive.

Benjamin Steel, who caught the game-winning touchdown pass from fellow senior Michael Churupida, had to shake off two Proctor defenders to reach the goal line.

The score gave a happy-ending to a game that at one point appeared like it was going to be a disaster for Steel. The wide receiver threw a third-quarter pass on a trick play that Proctor’s John Aase intercepted and returned for the first touchdown of the game.

Aase had been terrorizing the Nashwauk-Keewatin offense all night, seemingly all over the field, although he was out for the final drive, having injured his knee playing on the offensive side for Proctor.

“He is our best player and when you take your best player off of the field, there is no replacing him,” said Proctor head coach Derek Parendo.

Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin head coach Bob Schwartz agreed that losing Aase had a big impact.

“He (Aase) was single handedly stopping us,” said Schwartz.

Even so, Steel shook off the passing mistake and kept fighting, making several receptions on the game-winning drive.

“We have heart, we just keep battling,” he said after the game.

The game-winning drive seems to provide a microcosm of Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin’s season -- that is, since the Titans were beaten by Proctor on a last-second touchdown at home in the season-opener on Sept. 2.

“We lost to these guys on the last play of the first game, and I’ve never seen this before but our kids wouldn’t leave the field until they got together and said ‘guys, we won’t ever lose in the last seconds again,’ said Schwartz. “We have 18 seniors, and all year they wouldn’t be denied.”

The Titans’ loss was the difference for the Class 3A, Section 7 seeding, as the Rails received the top seed and Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin was awarded the second.

But the defeat inspired the Titans, who went on to beat Grand Rapids 28-26 the very next week with a late fourth quarter touchdown and two-point conversion.

That was the first of four-straight wins, though none were as sweet as Thursday night’s 12-6 victory in the Section 7 championship.

The win under the lights at James S. Malosky Stadium both avenges the earlier loss to Proctor and gives the Titans their first state tournament berth since 2011 -- another chance to keep fighting.

Greenway's Spencer Potter (28) runs the ball in to make the score 6-6 in the fourth quarter. (Photo by Matthew Moses)

Greenway's Spencer Potter (28) runs the ball into the end zone to make the score 6-6 in the fourth quarter. Photo by Matthew Moses, SportsEngine

First Report

Senior quarterback Michael Chupurdia led Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin on a 92-yard drive that finished with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ben Steel with seven seconds left to give the Titans a 12-6 win over Proctor in the Class 3A, Section 7 championship game.

It's the first state tournament berth for the Titans since 2011.

Spencer Potter had 77 yards rushing on 22 carries for Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin, including a few gritty first-down rushes that kicked off the game-winning drive.

The first half featured a field position battle that neither team won. The teams combined for 11 punts, and John Aase’s 18-yard catch from John Piorio was the longest offensive play for Proctor.

Aase gave the Rails a 6-0 lead in the third quarter after returning an interception 34 yards to the end zone.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Rails gave the Titans possession at their own 16-yard line, after the Proctor punter took a knee while fielding a punt. Several plays later Potter scored from a yard out to tie the game.

On the ensuing possession, Proctor quarterback John Piorio completed a pair of long passes, including a 27-yard strike to Dakota Ellis-Ciacco to the Titans’ 3-yard line with four minutes to play.

But after the Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin defense backed up Proctor to the 8-yard line on third down, the Rails were forced to go for it, as their kicker, Aase, left the game earlier in the drive with a knee injury.

Chupurdia broke up Piorio’s pass before leading the Titans down the field to avenge a season-opening 17-14 loss to the Rails.

 

Proctor's John Aase (9) with an interception return for a touchdown late in the 3rd quarter. Photo by Matthew Moses, SportsEngine

Proctor's John Aase (9) with an interception return for a touchdown late in the 3rd quarter. Photo by Matthew Moses, SportsEngine

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