Small-town football in the big city -- it exists at Park Christian School in Moorhead.
The Falcons, in just their second year as an independent program after breaking off a co-op with another private school, Oak Grove across the river in Fargo, play in the smallest division of Minnesota high school football.
Playing mostly against co-ops from Minnesota's small towns, the Falcons play nine-man football, an adaptation of the 11-man game that has five players on the line of scrimmage instead of seven.
I'm no stranger to nine-man -- my hometown, Midwest, Wyo., had nine-man football when I moved there in 1993, but the state eliminated the nine-man division after the 1994 season.
And since then, I've covered eight-man and six-man football games.
But it took a minute to get used to the nine-man version again.
Especially in a place I never expected to find it.
Want a front-row seat? Just stop by any time....
If not for the site of the occasional large passenger plane in the distance to the west, heading for the Fargo airport, the Park Christian field could be mistaken for being in any small town in the Midwest.
Its placement belies its place. Large trees block downtown Moorhead and the train tracks; the school itself blocks the view to the west and Fargo. Conversely, from the field, you see only the neighborhood in which Park Christian is situated.
Other factors give the new facility a small-town feel: no lights, no track, no chalk on the yard lines ending in 5 (only every 10th yard is chalked all the way across the field).
Those bits and pieces combine to make Park Christian an oasis of small-town football in the 200,000-person metro area of Fargo-Moorhead.
But, on the afternoon I watched the Falcons, small-town football belonged to the team that was actually from a small town. Er, three small towns: Goodridge, Grygla and Gatzke.
The GGG Chargers were the better team on this day, as senior running back Daniel Polansky ran up and down the field seemingly at will. His first touch of the afternoon was a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Even so, after falling behind 26-0, the Falcons mounted a drive right before halftime, and Matt Moberg snagged a high, looping pass in the back of the end zone for a touchdown to cut the lead to 26-7 at the break.
Celebrating the touchdown.
Then, on Park Christian's first drive of the second half, the Falcons sustained a drive down the field and inched close to the goal line. But on fourth and goal from the seven, quarterback Simeon Reiswig was stopped at the 1-yard line.
GGG put together a 99-yard drive on its subsequent possession to go up 34-7, Park shanked a punt after a three-and-out on its next drive, and GGG's Daniel Polansky scooted about 50 yards on the first play after the punt.
Just like that, instead of 26-14, it was 41-7.
That's when I went home.
I missed the fourth quarter -- another GGG score made the final 47-7 -- but I didn't miss the things that made Park Christian unique in Fargo-area football.
Random observations: Another thing that gave away the big-city setting: three television cameras. When you play a 5 p.m. game on a Thursday, it makes for a little bit bigger than usual media contingent. ... One of the coolest things about the stadium were the end zone seats -- two small risers of metal bleachers right behind each goal post. ... A lot of small-town football has to do with what you hear. When someone boos, everyone is quick to turn and give the stink-eye; there's no anonymity in this crowd. You can also hear the players, coaches and officials talking. That's an insight into the game you don't get with larger schools.
Next week: Another intra-city Fargo rivalry game: North vs. South.
--patrick
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