By: The Sports Guy
Proctor Journal

Terry Egerdahl’s spirit is almost certainly smiling broadly these days. Egerdahl’s alma mater Proctor defeated Hibbing 34-12 on Fri., Sept. 29, at the football field that bears his name. The win keeps the Rails unbeaten in 2006 with a 5-0 overall record and 3-0 in the Lake Superior Conference. Ashland and International Falls trail Proctor in the LSC, both with 3-1 records.

But win #5 for PHS head coach Dave Hylla’s gridmen didn’t come easy at first, as the Bluejackets broke the ice and took a 6-0 lead with 4:04 left in the first quarter. Hibbing quarterback Trevor Schiltz connected with two long passes to his receivers on the drive, the second finding his man in the end zone. The point-after kick attempt failed.

But the momentum shift didn’t last long, as Proctor returned the ensuing kickoff to the Bluejackets’ 45-yard line and began a drive that culminated with Deke Crandall going 4 yards around the end for a Rails’ touchdown with 36 seconds left in the quarter. Caleb Maki, who had earlier hauled down a beautifully thrown pass by Rails’ quarterback Justin Filzen, made the kick and Proctor led 7-6.

Hibbing came right back and drove to midfield on their next possession. But Schiltz got sloppy, throwing into a crowd and Trent Johnson showed off both his jumping ability and receiver’s hands to nail the interception and put Proctor back in great field position in the Hibbing end. Fittingly, Johnson used those sure hands to score the next Rails’ TD off a 30-yard pass from Filzen that came down inside the five-yard line with Johnson pulling it across at the goal line marker. Maki’s kick made it 14-6 with 7:34 left in the first half.

But turnabout is fair play and the Bluejackets intercepted Filzen on the Rails’ next possession with 3:04 to go in the half. Nine seconds later, Hibbing fans were dancing as Schiltz threw another long bomb that ended in an 84-yard TD. The Hibbing conversion pass failed, leaving the score 14-12 favoring Proctor at the break.

Hibbing began the second half threatening with a drive that brought them deep into Proctor territory. But the Rails’ defense stiffened inside the red zone and stopped the Bluejackets on downs to take over inside their own 20-yard line. Then Crandall went to work with a series of rushes en route to the 133 yards he would amass on the ground this night off 19 carries. Reeling, Hibbing gave ground and Filzen scooted across the line with 3:11 left in the third quarter. Maki’s kick gave the Rails a 21-12 cushion.

A Hibbing fumble recovered by Proctor led to Johnson, obviously fired up from seeing his picture in the Journal last week, hauling down another TD reception on a 15-yard pass from Filzen to make it 27-12 with 9:34 left in the fourth quarter. Crandall barreled across on a 3-yard run for his second TD of the night (Maki kick) to give the Rails their final score of 34-12.

The Rails travel to International Falls tomorrow (Fri.). The Broncos are 3-2 in the LSC, one game behind Proctor.