Agates Football Team Ends the Season Strong

The Two Harbors Football Team knew the challenge ahead of them, going up against Pequot Lakes in the 7AAA championship game on the UMD football field. It was Halloween evening, but the players were much more excited than they were scared to take on the only team that had beaten them all season.

“I think our guys were ready,” said Coach Tom Nelson. In fact, he advised the team that if there was an option for an addi­tional practice before the big game, he would have forgone it.

Unfortunately, the Agates were not able to advance further in the playoffs. Their fi­nal game ended in a 36-15 loss, a score reminiscent of their matchup in September, which ended 35-14.

“We knew we had our hands full,” said the coach. “I thought we played well in many areas. We did some good things, but we also did a couple things that probably hurt us a little bit.”

The two touchdowns came from senior Ja­cob Carpenter in the first and Zack Libal in the fourth. Zach Johnson, also a senior, kicked the extra point in the fourth quarter.

Pequot Lakes was top-seeded and un­defeated all year. According to Nel­son, “They’re tough, they’re good, and they’ve been one of the favorites to go pretty far in the playoffs.”

Their football pro­gram has over one hundred kids from 9-12th grade. The Ag­ates, despite being a multiple school team, had forty-three this year. Fourteen of those athletes are seniors this year. Their depar­ture will definitely be felt.

“We had some really talented kids that we lost between our run­ning backs, quarter­back, and our lineman and defense leads,” Nelson said. “When you lose fourteen se­niors, that’s going to take a little bit of a bite out of your roster.”

Nelson described this year’s crop of se­niors as, “Good kids, good young men, good students.” He added, “That’ll be the biggest thing. That’s what I miss every year when you see that group leave.”

Multiple seniors are looking to extend their football careers. Tate Nelson has accepted a scholarship to play football for UMD. Zack Libal may be playing for St. John’s, while Jacob Carpen­ter, Josh Johnson, and Ethan Meeks are also planning on playing football in college.

“At times through­out the year we’ll say, ‘Think about it. This group of people, coaches, and players – this will be the last time ever that we will all be together,’” the coach recalled. “We always tell them to enjoy the journey. En­joy all the experienc­es, even the bad ones sometimes.”

Despite the recent loss that ended the sea­son, the Agates have a lot to celebrate. Ac­cording to Nelson, the balance of the team this year was a real highlight of the sea­son, with a nice line all the way across.

The volunteerism that the team displayed this year is also some­thing that the players, coaches, and commu­nity take great pride in. The initiative to get the kids out there help­ing the local area start­ed over twenty years ago. At first, the play­ers were seen outside picking up garbage proudly wearing their jerseys. These days, they have expanded their volunteerism, helping in many ways all over the communi­ty.

“One of the big rea­sons we did it was to try to instill something in the kids to serve their community but also tie them into the community,” said Nel­son. “People are really appreciative of it, and I think it’s really pulled the team and the com­munity together.”

The community also steps up for the team, helping by providing donations and funds to help with the costs of equipment, vol­unteering their time, and coming out to the games.

“We just thank all of our supporters,” said the coach. “Wheth­er that be cheering in the stands on a Friday night or whether that is helping us with fund­raisers. All of that stuff is really important to us.”

As the team looks to next season, Nelson stresses the impor­tance of keeping up in the weight room. “It’s the one thing you can absolutely control. Get yourselves dedicated to the weight room because it’s going to make you healthier and make you better for all your sports,” he tells the kids.

Playing winter and spring sports is also encouraged. “We look at that as training for football,” Nelson said. “You are being put in different athletic situ­ations and competitive experiences. It’s work­ing your mind and body.”

Looking back on the season, Nelson high­lighted the team’s ac­complishments: “8-2 overall is something to be very proud of,” he said. “Getting to the section championship game was a great ac­complishment.”

Congratulations to the Agates for the in­credible season! We can’t wait to see what you accomplish in 2025!