Photo by Kim Nelson Russell-Tyler-Ruthton defensive back and quarterback Blake Christianson prepares to defend a pass during the Knights’ 28-20 loss to Windom Area in Tyler on Friday night.

TYLER – It is Homecoming Week at Russell-Tyler-Ruthton this week and they entertained the Windom Area Eagles as their opponent. Both teams have had their struggles this season, with Windom (0-4) seeking their first win and RTR (1-3) coming off a disappointing shutout loss to Martin County West.

Windom has been scoring points behind Junior quarterback Quinton Tietz, but they have been giving up more points than they are scoring. RTR has had the opposite problem, with the defense playing pretty solid football but the offense has struggled to find any consistency. So both teams were looking to turn the corner and pick up a win. But in this game, it was the offense winning out as Windom Area took home the victory by a score of 28-20.

RTR received the opening kickoff, and Luke Schreurs returned the ball to the 37-yard line. Drew Chandler had two runs of nine and 12 yards, followed by a Colton Thomsen run of six yards, but a false start penalty moved the ball back. and Blake Christianson’s pass was intercepted by Tucker Renquist at the 28-yard line.

After a series of short gains by Stevie Meyer, the ball was on the RTR 46-yard line. Tietz gained seven yards, followed by a Meyer run of eight yards. Two more runs put the ball on the 35-yard line, and then Seth Cowell came up with a big sack for RTR.

A loss and two incompletions brought up a fourth-and-13 at the 27-yard line. Tietz then was able to get to the outside and, after avoiding a couple of tackles, tiptoed the sideline for a 27-yard touchdown. The PAT was no good, but Windom Area had a 6-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Eagles were backed up to their goal line with under two minutes remaining in the first half, but they were not content to just run the clock out. A 25-yard pass play was followed by a Renquist 11-yard gain and the Eagles had the ball on the 40-yard line. Tietz gained six yards on a quarterback keeper, and an additional late hit penalty put the ball on the 22-yard line. with just 12 seconds on the clock, Karson LaCanne hauled in a 22-yard pass from Tietz for a touchdown. The PAT was no good, but the Eagles had a 12-0 lead going into halftime.

Windom Area took the second-half kickoff and returned it to the 30-yard line. On second down, Tietz scrambled out of the pocket and ran 45 yards, putting the ball on the 29-yard line. Kevin Bleess then caught a 15-yard pass, and then Tietz found Karson LaCanne for a seven-yard touchdown reception. After a successful two-point conversion, the score was 20-0 in favor of the Eagles.

RTR took the kickoff to the 35-yard line, but they went three-and-out and punted the ball to the 14-yard line. RTR held defensively and forced a short punt to the 29-yard line, On their first play, Sean Griesse made a terrific catch, placing the ball on the two-yard line. From there, Blake Christianson took it in for a touchdown, and after a 2-point conversion, the score was 20-8. The Eagles got the kickoff on the 15-yard line, and they went three and out. RTR took the punt to the 46-yard line, but they were stopped, making it fourth and ten. RTR went for it, but Karson LaCanne picked it off and ran 50 yards for a touchdown. After a 2-point conversion, the score was now 28-8.

After the kickoff, Kai Drake had a seven-yard reception, but on the next play, RTR fumbled and it was recovered by Windom Area at the 41-yard line. The defense for RTR once again stopped the Eagles, and the punt put them at the 32-yard line. Blake Christianson then broke free for a 38-yard gain, followed by a Luke Schreurs reception. Drew Werkman hauled in a 15-yard pass, putting the ball on the nine-yard line. Sean Griesse then made another great catch for a touchdown, making the score 28-14 with 6:14 left to go in the game.

The onside kick was unsuccessful and Windom Area had the ball on the 41-yard line. But after a couple of completions, three incompletions turned the ball over on downs. With 3:16 to go, RTR took over, and Sean Griesse caught a long pass for a 62-yard gain, and then a facemask penalty put the ball on the 20-yard line. A pass interference call put the ball on the ten-yard line, and after a nine-yard reception by Drew Werkman, Christianson ran it in to make it a 28-20 game with 2:27 remaining.

Windom Area recovered the onside kick, and with two short runs, were able to run out the clock for their first victory of the season.

Knights Head Coach Darren Baartman said, “I want to give our kids credit for battling back tonight. We were a little down and out, but they kept playing hard and got back into the game.”

RTR and Windom are both now 1-4 on the season. The Knights will try to avoid their fourth straight loss when they head to Adrian for a matchup against the Adrian-Ellsworth Dragons on Friday.