FARMINGTON &045; All season, the second quarter has been brutal for the Albert Lea High School football team.

It was the difference in the playoffs as well.

The Tigers allowed 21 second-quarter points and lost 48-20 at Farmington in a Section 1AAA quarterfinal game Tuesday night.

Albert Lea, seeded last among seven teams in the section, finished 0-9 for a fourth consecutive year. Second-seeded Farmington improved to 7-2 and will host Northfield &045; which upset Faribault Tuesday &045; in Saturday’s semifinal round.

In many ways the Tigers’ last game was their best. Their 20 points came in the second half, but it was against Farmington’s starters, unlike previous games when they scored against reserves. And their 304 yards and 14 first downs were season bests.

Jason Kuipers finished his Tiger career with perhaps his best game, gaining 132 yards on 36 carries, catching two passes for 26 yards and scoring all three Albert Lea touchdowns.

The Tigers’ offense came to life when Derek Goodnature took over at quarterback for Tony Tolbers, who replaced Goodnature at tight end. Goodnature completed three of six passes for 57 yards, two to Tolbers for 35.

The downside for Albert Lea was defense. The Tigers continued to have trouble stopping the run and were victimized by a number of big plays. They also had six turnovers, five on interceptions.

The Tigers recovered three fumbles, one each by Josh Wilkie, Brandon Tlamka and Scott Stolaas.

AL

&045;

0

0

7

13

&045;

20

F

&045;

7

21

6

14

&045;

48

First Quarter

F &045; Boyer 5 run (Carroll kick)

Second Quarter

F &045; Interception return (Carroll kick)

F &045; Olson 3 run (Carroll kick)

F &045; Simon 72 pass from Rasmussen (Carroll kick)

Third Quarter

F &045; Simon 44 pass from Rasmussen (kick wide)

AL &045; Kuipers 4 run (Habben kick)

Fourth Quarter

AL &045; Kuipers 10 run (Habben kick)

F &045; Boyer 2 run (Carroll kick)

F &045; Stulz 68 run (Carroll kick)

AL &045; Kuipers 10 run (kick blocked)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING&045;AL, Kuipers 36-132; Habben 8-18; Tolbers 6-17; Goodnature 1-10; Klukow 4-7; McClaskey 1-5.

PASSING&045;AL, Tolbers 3-7-5, 58; Goodnature 3-6-0, 57.

RECEIVING&045;AL, Tolbers 2-35; Kuipers 2-26; Klukow 1-28; Thorn 1-11.