The Albert Lea Tigers made some progress and gained some respect.

Victory will have to wait. For now, anyway.

The Tigers kept it close for more than three quarters but were visibly tired in the fourth as they fell 28-3 to Owatonna in their 2003 football home opener at Hammer Field Friday night.

&uot;We really felt it was a 14-3 ballgame,&uot; said Tigers coach Jeff Marty. &uot;We have a lot of guys, especially our bigger guys, going both ways, and it’s really tough on them. We just really feel we ran out of gas at the end there.&uot;

But, more importantly, the Tigers looked like a vastly different team than the one that lost its season opener 53-6 at Mankato West.

Trailing 7-0 in the third quarter, the Tigers had first-and-goal on the Owatonna 7-yard line. They had to settle for a field goal, but it stayed 7-3 until the Huskies scored with 9:35 remaining.

&uot;We saw a marked improvement,&uot; said Marty. &uot;We definitely made some strides. It was fun to be in that situation with those guys, 7-3 in the fourth quarter. We didn’t get the win, but we felt we played a lot better than last week. Now, we’ve got to keep getting better and improve more each week.&uot;

The game started on a positive note for the Tigers when the Huskies fumbled the opening snap from scrimmage, resulting in a 16-yard loss. They punted three plays later and the Tigers, taking over on the Owatonna 42, quickly picked up a first down before falling a yard short on fourth-and-2.

The Huskies, starting on their own 9, drove 17 plays into Albert Lea territory before Jake Christenson intercepted a Kyle McKay pass as the first quarter ended.

A 13-yard pass from Stephen Thorn to Travis Klatt got the Tigers another quick first down but, after three straight running plays, they again had to punt.

This time Owatonna took it 74 yards in seven plays, the big play a 49-yard run by fullback Aaron Grubisch, who then scored from the 1. Phil Lesniak kicked the PAT and it was 7-0 with 5:57 left until halftime.

The Tigers caught another break when an on-side kick attempt did not cover the required 10 yards, giving Albert Lea the ball on the Owatonna 42. An errant pitch on a running play lost 8 yards on second down, though, and the Tigers again punted.

Owatonna again drove the ball, but Jared Butler was there for an interception and about a 20-yard return thwart it.

On third down, Thorn connected with Klatt for 16 yards, but two plays later Billy Marka sacked Thorn for an 8-yard loss and it remained 7-0 at halftime.

A 30-yard kickoff return by Brandon Klukow gave the Tigers excellent starting position in the second half at the Owatonna 48, and they got a first down on a pass from Thorn to Ryan Moore before Thorn was intercepted three plays later by Eric Risberg.

A sack by the Tigers’ Trent Miller put the Huskies in a hole on their next drive, and they punted in the sixth play.

The Tigers got the ball on their own 35, where they started their first scoring drive of the season. After an incomplete pass, Thorn and Klatt connected for a first down, but three straight running plays lost 3 yards and the Tigers faced fourth and 13. Thorn rolled right, then threw back to Ryan Truesdell, who took the screen pass and raced 18 yards to the 7-yard line.

Three runs up the middle netted 3 yards and, on fourth down, Ross Habben split the uprights with a 21-yard field goal.

With 3:32 left in the third, Owatonna began a 14-play, 70-yard scoring drive that didn’t end until 9:43 remained in the game. The final 15 yards were covered by Nick Gill, who was hit in the backfield on a reverse play but broke free from the pack. Lesniak added the PAT.

After an Albert Lea punt, the Huskies went 64 yards in nine plays, with Gill scoring on a 9-yard run.

Owatonna scored again with 16 seconds left on a 43-yard run by Mark Krause.

The Tigers totaled 120 yards, 38 rushing and 82 passing as Thorn completed five of 12 attempts with two interceptions. Truesdell led Albert Lea in rushing with 19 yards on 11 carries.

Grubisch, a 5-foot-8, 206-pound senior fullback, gained 161 yards for Owatonna, which did not complete a pass.

Among the defensive leaders for the Tigers, according to Marty, were defensive ends Miller and Randy Larson.

Marty said the Tigers will prepare with optimism for this Friday’s game at Winona.

&uot;There’s the potential there for these guys to do very well,&uot; said Marty. &uot;They really want to get that first win of the season.&uot;

OW

0

7

0

21&045;28

AL

0

0

3

0&045;3

First Quarter

No scoring

Second Quarter

OW &045; Grubisch 1 run (Lesniak kick)

Third Quarter

AL &045; Habben 21 field goal

Fourth Quarter

OW &045; Gill 15 run (Lesniak kick)

OW &045; Gill 9 run (Lesniak kick)

OW &045; Krause 43 run (Lesniak kick)

OW

AL

First downs

20

8

Rushing yards

367

38

Passing yards

0

82

Total yards

367

120

Pen.-Yds.

1-5

3-15

Turnovers

2

2

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING&045;AL, Truesdell 11-19; Klukow 9-8; Thorn 6-8; Habben 1-3.

PASSING&045;AL, Thorn 5-12-2, 82.

RECEIVING&045;AL, Klatt 3-42; Truesdell 1-18; Moore 1-13.