FARIBAULT — Austin senior quarterback Eli Johnson may have absorbed seven sacks and countless hits that left him limping at times, but he was walking proud after the Packers opened their season with a 19-12 win over Faribault Friday night.

Johnson threw for 148 yards and a pair of TDs and just one interception against an aggressive Faribault defense to give Austin (1-0 overall) just enough of a punch to win.

“They were bringing pressure almost every play, but you can’t rush things and make a bad play. Those hits were worth it. The scoreboard shows it,” Johnson said. “We have a new program, new coaching staff, new offense, new everything. We came out and executed for the most part and got the W. It was huge to start this season off and this coaching staff with a win under their belt.”

Austin’s defense limited the Falcons to just 250 yards of offense and it came up with a huge stop when Samuel Misoi was in on a hit that kept Faribault’s Dylan Lippert just one yard short of a first down on fourth down at Austin’s 17-yard line with 42 seconds left in the game.

Austin head coach Ed Schmitt was quick to credit his team’s defense, which added three sacks in the win.

“Jess Dunlap did a phenomenal job scheming for them. Faribault hasn’t run spread ever and for Jess to get things broken down in one week’s time, they bailed us out. It was all defense tonight,” Schmitt said. “The kids did well when we needed them to and overall I’m very pleased. It’s a great day to be a Packer and it’s nice to get that monkey off our back a little bit. Now we can just focus on getting better.”

After making the big tackle on fourth down, Misoi went out and launched a 48-yard net punt that all but ended Faribault’s chances. Misoi said he spent much of his summer working on kicking and watching YouTube videos.

“I knew I had to get it back there and I just sent it,” Misoi said of his punt. “On defense, we just had to go to work every play and repeat what we were doing. We just had to stop them.”

Austin seized momentum right before halftime when Moses Idris hauled in a 47-yard TD pass on third and 26 with 27.4 seconds left in the half. Idris ran past the Falcons secondary and jogged into the end zone on a dart from Johnson.

The Falcons had taken a 12-7 lead with 3:27 left in the second quarter on a 68-yard drive, that saw them convert two fourth down plays.

SCORING SUMMARY

Austin 7  6  6  0  –  19

Faribault 0 12  0  0  –  12

First quarter

(A) Ethan Owens 16 pass from Eli Johnson (Joe Ewing kick) (5 plays, 36 yards) 4:24

Second quarter

(F) Alex Gardner 6 run (kick blocked) (5 plays, 40 yards) 9:47

(F) Gardner 12 run (pass failed) (11 plays, 68 yards) 3:37

(A) Moses Idris 47 pass from Johnson (kick blocked) (7 plays, 57 yards) :27.4

Third quarter

(A) Chesak 33 run (kick failed) (2 plays, 45 yards) 11:09

Fourth quarter

No scoring

AUSTIN STATS

Rushing: Andy Chesak, 13-for-83, TD; Teran Olvera, 5-for-13; Mason O’Connor, 1-for-3; Eli Johnson, 9-for-(-14)

Passing: Eli Johnson, 10-for-16, 148, 2 TD, INT

Receiving: Moses Idris, 2-for-56, TD; Ethan Owens, 3-for-48, TD; Chawich Nywesh, 1-for-28; Olvera, 2-for-13; Chesak, 3-for-(-1)

FARIBAULT STATS

Rushing: 119

Passing: 131

Penalties: 10-for-50