WINONA – The turning point was not difficult to pinpoint for the Albert Lea Tigers.

Thursday, October 18, 2001

WINONA – The turning point was not difficult to pinpoint for the Albert Lea Tigers.

It came late in the first half, with the Tigers trailing 7-0 but hoping to tie it before halftime. A muffed punt gave the Winhawks the ball back and they took advantage. Albert Lea never recovered.

Winona added a late second-quarter touchdown, then scored 15 points in a four-minute span to start the third to hand the Tigers a 36-6 loss in Big Nine football at Paul Giel Field Wednesday night.

&uot;That was a real big emotional turning point for us,&uot; said Tigers coach Jeff Marty. &uot;We had played a pretty good first half. We were pretty confident, even after they scored that second touchdown. That combination of events just kind of took the wind out of our sails.&uot;

The Tigers were hopeful of snapping their long losing streak, which reached 27 games, but the 2-6 Winhawks got the bulk of the breaks. In addition to the muffed punt, Winona also blocked a punt for a safety.

The story of the night, though, was the minute before and four minutes after halftime.

Winona needed only two plays to score after recovering the punt. The Winhawks intercepted on the Tigers’ second play of the third quarter and scored three plays later. Then came the blocked punt for a safety. The Winhawks scored on their first play, a 42-yard run, after the free kick by the Tigers.

The Tigers were held to 13 yards rushing on 26 carries. Tony Tolbers was 10-for-22 passing for 138 yards and one interception. Five receivers caught passes, led by Jake McClaskey with six receptions for 95 yards.

&uot;We saw some positive things for sure,&uot; said Marty. &uot;We’re focusing right now on the playoffs, going after it and ending the streak.&uot;

The Tigers, 0-8, begin the section playoffs Tuesday against an opponent to be determined.

AL 0 0 0 6 – 6

WIN 7 7 15 7 – 36

First Quarter

WIN-Prigge 3 run (Pattee kick)

Second Quarter

WIN-Lawson 5 run (Pattee kick)

Third Quarter

WIN-Lawson 5 run (Pattee kick)

WIN-Safety, punt blocked out of end zone

WIN-Prigge 42 run (kick failed)

Fourth Quarter

AL-McClaskey 20 pass from Tolbers (pass failed)

WIN-Madison 4 run (Pattee kick)

AL WIN

First downs 9 12

Rushes-yards 26-13 48-99

Passing 11-23-1 3-8-1

Passing yards 183 56

Total yards 196 255

Penalties 2-10 6-55

Turnovers 3 0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-AL, Kuipers 13-26; Babastro 6-11; Jerdee 1-1; Tolbers 6 -25.

PASSING-AL, Tolbers 10-22-1, 138; Kuipers 1-1-0, 45.

RECEIVING-AL, McClaskey 6-95, Young 1-37, Babastro 2-32, Goodnature 1-8, Skophammer 1-6.