Photo by Jake Przytarski RTR’s Carter Hansen carries the ball upfield during their game against Edgerton/Ellsworth on Friday. The Knights fell to the Dutchmen 26-20.

TYLER – An uncharacteristically sloppy start for the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights proved costly in their home finale against Edgerton/Ellsworth and provided a glimpse of what was to come as the Dutchmen played opportunistic football and escaped with a 26-20 win on Friday.

A turnover-ridden first half plagued both sides in Friday night’s matchup but proved to be especially damaging for the Knights. On the very first play from scrimmage, backed up at their own 26-yard line, the Dutchmen pounced on a fumble to take possession near the red zone. Taking full advantage, Edgerton/Ellsworth converted the turnover into points to take an early 6-0 lead.

Mixing things up after the bobbled handoff to start the first drive, the Knights went to the air with quarterback Cooper Hansen finding his brother Carter Hansen on a short bubble screen that Carter Hansen would take to the house for RTR’s first score of the game. After the two connected on a quick slant pattern on the two-point attempt that followed, the Knights carried an 8-6 lead late in the first quarter.

The turnover bug that nagged RTR and set the Dutchmen’s first touchdown drive in motion came full circle following the touchdown and gave possession right back to the Knights. However, unlike Edgerton/Ellsworth, the Knights could not convert the fumble into points and were forced to punt early in the second quarter. Moments later on the ensuing drive, the Dutchmen found success of their own in the passing game with a deep shot converted into a touchdown to take the lead once more.

After going cold on offense with consecutive stalled drives, the Knights found new life late in the first half with a razzle-dazzle play that put the ball in the hands of the running back who found a wide-open Carter Hansen for his second touchdown, giving RTR the lead and momentum back as the clock ticked down for halftime with the score 14-12 in favor of the home team.

Unfortunately, the Knights would not be able to carry over the momentum into the second half as the two teams traded touchdowns out of the gate, but a fourth quarter Dutchmen touchdown would end up being the difference. RTR would have one more shot to tie the game up late in the fourth quarter and put together a promising drive that had Edgerton/Ellsworth on their heels. In the end, however, the Knights came up empty on a fourth down heave that fell incomplete, marking the end of the game.

With less than a week to regroup after the hard-fought loss, the RTR Knights will be back in action on Wednesday in their final regular season game when they hit the road to take on Hills-Beaver Creek looking to improve to 6-2 before the start of sections.