Brainerd scores 21 consecutive as Sartell drops to 1-3 on the season

SARTELL, Minn. — With 5:53 left in the third quarter, junior quarterback Daylon Holter muscled his way into the endzone from a few yards out to give the Sabres a commanding two-score lead over Brainerd, capping off a six-minute and seven second drive to start the second half.

The Sartell defense forced a Warrior punt to give the ball right back to Holter and the offense with a chance to all but seal the win to go up 21 points heading into the fourth quarter, but the Sabres would relinquish the opportunity and punt it right back to sophomore quarterback Malik Lauer and the Brainerd offense.

Not that there was any debate to be had, but that would end up being a poor decision.

Lauer connected with Luke Merseth from 40 yards out to set up a Kyle Syrdal score, then he took it himself from 34 yards a few minutes later. Now tied at 28, Lauer called his own number one more time and found paydirt again, this time from 14 yards for the go-ahead score with 2:35 left in the game. Twenty-one unanswered points orchestrated by a 5-foot-10 sophomore to drop Sartell's record to 1-3 on the season and seal a 35-28 victory for Brainerd in a competitive Central Lakes showdown.

"I just trusted my team," Lauer said. "I haven't been able to run like that all season. It was amazing. I felt like I was playing eighth grade football again, just running all the time. Our defense just needed momentum, but once they got the stop and we scored, they knew what they had to do and converted."

The sophomore gunslinger totaled 94 rushing yards and two touchdowns to pair with 161 yards and two touchdowns through the air.

The loss marks the third time this season that Sartell has lost by single digit points.

"I'm proud of how our kids played, but we made some mistakes in all phases of the game," Sartell coach Scott Henges said. "Brainerd's a talented-enough team that when you do that and give them chances, they have a chance to convert. We'll watch the tape, see what things we can fix and [then] fix them. It's just a matter of getting some conversions and first downs or stopping a team on third down or fourth down; we can do that."

Despite the mistakes, the Sabres were able to establish the run game for the third week in a row as senior running back Jonah Ambrosier put up 200 yards and two touchdowns for the third week in a row.

Of course, the gaudy numbers do not mean much without the record to back it up.

Henges knows his team will not tuck its tail as it approaches the midway point of the season.

"I have spent all year with these guys," Henges said. "We have good leadership; the guys aren't going to quit. They're frustrated, as am I, but they'll be back and they'll be ready to go. That is the expectation, it's nothing I have to tell them. They do it, so I don't have any question about that."

The Sabres host St. Francis (1-3) on Oct. 2 for their homecoming game. Brainerd hosts Bemidji (0-4) the same day.

You can reach St. Cloud Times sports reporter David Jacobs and send story ideas and tips to djacobs@gannett.com . Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @davidrjacobs10 and on Instagram @ByDavidJacobs .