JAMESTOWN – This time, the Blue Jays were on the wrong end of a last-minute thriller.
Mason Palmer’s one-yard run, his third touchdown run of the game, provided the winning points with 23 seconds remaining Friday as Devils Lake rallied from deficits of 14-0 and 20-7 to defeat Jamestown 27-23 at Rollie Greeno Field at Charlotte and Gordon Hansen Stadium.
That score ended a 72-yard drive, over half of which was consumed by a 48-yard pass on fourth and 17 from Palmer to Weston Nelson that placed the Firebirds (3-1) at the Jamestown 17.
Jamestown (2-1) moved from their 30 to their 46 on their last possession before Rylan Samuelson intercepted a Ryan Kallenbach pass with four seconds to go.
Palmer accounted for all four Devils Lake scores, throwing for 212 yards and a touchdown and running for 35 yards.
Jamestown scored first late in the opening quarter after Gradin Thorlakson blocked a punt and the Blue Jays recovered at the Devils Lake 2-yard line. Kelan Harstad ran for his fourth touchdown of the season two plays later with 31 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Max Rittenbach sacked Palmer to end the next Devils Lake possession, then Kallenbach hit Caleb Schiele for a seven-yard score to end a five-play drive and the Blue Jays led 14-0 with 7:05 left in the first half.
Devils Lake then took the next six minutes with an 80-yard drive, highlighted by a 43-yard pass from Palmer to Coby Dronen-Levitt to convert a third down. A Palmer one-yard keeper touchdown concluded the 12-play march and the Firebirds cut Jamestown’s lead to 14-7 at halftime.
Jamestown opened the second half with a 65-yard drive that included a 26-yard throw from Kallenbach to Harstad. Two plays later, Kallenbach found Schiele for a five-yard scoring pass and the Jays led 20-7 after a high snap on the conversion led to a failed two-point run.
The teams then exchanged punts before Devils Lake moved within 20-14 on a 34-yard touchdown strike from Palmer to Oliver Wirth with 1:45 remaining in the third quarter.
Devils Lake then forced a Jamestown punt and tied the game two minutes into the fourth quarter on a one-yard keeper by Palmer. He then missed the extra point and the score remained 20-20.
Kallenbach completed a 47-yard throw to Cephy Sayler on the Blue Jays’ next possession, but Devils Lake made a third-down stop and Jamestown settled for a 25-yard field goal by Brady Harty and a 23-20 lead with 8:54 left.
Devils Lake then stopped Jamestown on fourth down at the Firebirds’ 24 before the winning drive.
Palmer was 13-of-27 passing, with Wirth making five catches.
Kallenbach completed 17-of-29 for 200 yards for Jamestown with two touchdowns, but also with two interceptions, the Blue Jays’ first giveaways in three games. Schiele, taking up the slack for Nate Walz, who was held out due to injury, had nine catches for 78 yards.
On Friday, Jamestown will play Grand Forks Red River at Cushman Field in a rematch of a thrilling Jamestown overtime win in the first round of the 2023 playoffs. Coverage will begin Friday at 6:30 PM on The Voice of the Blue Jays, Jamestown 107.1.
| Devils Lake | 0 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
| Jamestown | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 23 |
FIRST QUARTER
Jamestown – Kelan Harstad 2-yard TD run 0:31 (Brady Harty XP) – 7-0 Jamestown – 1 play, 2 yds. 0:05
SECOND QUARTER
Jamestown – Ryan Kallenbach 7-yard TD pass to Caleb Schiele 7:05 (Harty XP) – 14-0 Jamestown – 5 plays, 56 yds, 2:19
Devils Lake – Mason Palmer 2-yard TD run 1:07 (Palmer XP) – 14-7 Jamestown – 12 plays, 80 yds, 5:58
THIRD QUARTER
Jamestown – Kallenbach 5-yard TD pass to Schiele 8:57 (2-point conversion failed) – 20-7 Jamestown – 7 plays, 65 yds, 3:03
Devils Lake – Palmer 34-yard TD pass to Oilver Wirth 1:45 (Palmer XP) – 20-14 Jamestown – 9 plays, 74 yds, 3:13
FOURTH QUARTER
Devils Lake – Palmer 1-yard TD run 9:59 (XP failed) – 20-20 – 6 plays, 44 yds, 2:50
Jamestown – Harty 25-yard FG 8:54 – 23-20 Jamestown – 6 plays, 53 yds, 1:05
Devils Lake – Palmer 1-yard TD run 0:23 (Palmer XP) – 27-23 Devils Lake – 9 plays, 72 yds, 4:05
Individual Statistics
RUSHING
Devils Lake – Will Heilman 19-58, Palmer 14-35-3 TD, Brody Forsberg 3-18, Wirth 1-13, Kade Fee 1-11, Weston Nelson 2-0, TEAM 1-(-1)
Jamestown – Kelan Harstad 9-30-1 TD, Max Rittenbach 1-15, Liam Frey 5-14, Schiele 1-7, Kallenbach 1-(-4)
PASSING
Devils Lake – Palmer 13-27-212-1 TD
Jamestown – Kallenbach 17-29-200-2 TD- 2 INT
RECEIVING
Devils Lake – Wirth 5-66-1 TD, Coby Dronen-Levitt 2-51, Fee 2-22, Heilman 2-10, Nelson 1-48, Riley Johanson 1-15
Jamestown – Schiele 9-78-2 TD, Sayler 5-88, Harstad 3-34
| Devils Lake | Jamestown | |
| First Downs | 18 | 11 |
| Rushing | 41/134 | 17/62 |
| Passing | 212 | 200 |
| Total Yds | 346 | 262 |
| Att/Comp/Int | 13/27/0 | 17/29/2 |
| Punts/avg | 5/27.6 | 3/29.3 |
| Fumbles/lost | 1/0 | 0/0 |
| Penalties/Yds | 2/17 | 5/29 |
| Time of possession | 30:25 | 17:35 |