The Packers couldn’t muster any last second magic in a 14-7 loss to Faribault at Art Hass Stadium Friday night.

Trailing by seven, Austin (1-1 overall, 0-1 Big Nine) couldn’t convert a fourth down and five from Faribault’s 22-yard line with under two minutes left in the game. Packers quarterback Nate Justice was hit as he threw to an open John Maxfield, who was about seven yards downfield, and the pass ended up short of its mark on the play.

“I’m not sure if it was a pass protection issue. It was probably more about getting the ball out quickly,” Austin head coach Tim Hermann said. “It was a combination of things.”

The tide of the game turned when Austin ended it’s first drive of the first half with a fumble at the Falcons’ 22-yard line on a handoff exchange between Justice and Jerrad Ryks — who finished with 132 rushing yards.

“We played pretty good football. We just didn’t play perfect and you have to play perfect to have success,” Hermann said. “That last fumble was part of a handoff problem and part of a back run through problem.”

The Packers had converted three third downs on the drive and looked to be heading to the end zone. Instead, Faribault used the momentum to vault an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive that was capped by a six-yard TD run by Alek Johnson that gave the Falcons a 14-7 lead with just under nine minutes left in the game.

The Falcons (2-0 overall, 1-0 Big Nine) started the first half with a 68-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 34-yard touchdown pass from Colin Anderson to Adam Jensen on fourth down and five. Anderson faked a handoff and rolled out, before hitting Jensen in the right corner of the end zone over the Austin secondary.

“We bite on a play fake when we probably should’ve been playing pass,” Hermann said. “That hurt us.”

The second half was a sharp contrast to the first half, where Austin dominated the line of scrimmage. After going four and out on drives that started on the Faribault 29-yard line and the Falcon, 50-yard line, the Packers hit paydirt on their fifth posession of the game, when Justice rolled out and found John Maxfield on a 19-yard scoring strike. The Packers had run on their first seven plays of the 53-yard drive before the scoring throw.

“We did a lot of things right tonight. Jerrad ran hard again and for the most part our offensive line did a good job,” Hermann said. “The defensive front did a good job against a real pounding. Overall, I think we can win with this team.”

The Packers got a huge first half from senior linebacker Adam Hemann, who had two sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery in the first 24 minutes.

“He’s one of those great stories you like to have,” Hermann said of Hemann. “He’s not especially physically gifted, but he works with what he has and he puts in a lot of work to be as good as he can be.”

Hemann snuffed out a screen pass on his interception.

“I thought he was rolling out the other way, but once he went my way I saw one of the backs and kind of read it,” he said.

Hemann added that the loss to Faribault feels a little different than last year, when the Falcons won by two scores.

“We know we can win, we just gotta keep working hard in practice,” he said. “We can play with these guys and it was frustrating to lose. We’re moving forward. We broke down, but we got Century (next Friday). It sucks when you play and well and come up a little short. We wanted this one and we were prepared as much as we could be.”

Austin’s punter Brad Stewart lost a snap and was tackled at the Austin 28-yard line on the Packer’s first possesion. The play gave the Falcons excellent field position, but Faribault fumbled the ball back to Austin at the 13-yard line on a botched handoff.

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

No scoring

Second quarter

2:13 (A) Nate Justice 19-yard TD pass to John Maxfield (Miguel Hernandez/Miller kick good) (7 plays, 53 yards)

Third quarter

7:39 (F) Colin Anderson 34-yard TD pass to Adam Jensen (conversion failed) (7 plays, 68 yards)

Fourth quarter

8:42 (F) Alek Johnson 6-yard TD run (Anderson to Stocker) (11 plays, 80 yards)

Austin statistics

Austin rushing: Jerrad Ryks, 26 for 132; Nate Justice, 9 for 25

Austin passing: Justice, 8-for-17, 47, TD

Austin receiving: John Maxfield, 3-for-30, TD; Marcus Gunderson, 2-for-9 yards; Ryks, 1-for-3; Jamaal Gibson, 2-for-3

Penalties: 3 for 25

Interceptions: Adam Hemann, T.J. Fritz

Sacks: Hemann (2), Hirsch

Fumble recoveries: Hemann

Faribault statistics

Rushing: Adam Hallet, 16-for-81; Alek Johnson, 16-for-71, TD; Jake Bass, 2-for-12; Colin Anderson, 4-for- – 25)

Passing: Anderson, 4-for-8, 73, 1 TD, 2 INT

Receiving: Adam Jensen, 1-for-34, 1 TD; Bass, 1-for-17; Jake Stocker, 1-for-17; Andy Hein, 1-for-5

Penalties: 2-for-15

Sacks: Stocker

Fumble recovery: Derek Glynn