Football Game Preview: Thief River Falls Prowlers vs. Park Rapids Panthers + How To Watch

Thief River Falls and Park Rapids are an even 4-4 against one another since August of 2015, but not for long. The Prowlers will venture away from home to challenge the Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Thief River Falls has given up an average of 28.3 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

On Friday, Thief River Falls was beaten by East Grand Forks 41-14.

Meanwhile, Park Rapids waltzed into their game on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They walked away with a 27-14 victory over the Warriors. That looming 27-14 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Panthers yet this season.

A big part of Park Rapids' win came down to the chemistry between Carter Hirt and his top target Kaden Gartner. Hirt threw for 146 yards and a pair of TDs while completing 72.2% of his passes while Gartner picked up 72 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Gartner also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up 0.5 sacks, making three total tackles (1.0 for loss), and defending one pass.

Park Rapids' run defense was locked in: Warroad could only muster 2.6 yards per carry. The team can thank Parker Hunter for the heroic effort on defense: he. That's the most yards per carry they've posted since back in October of 2024.

The victory got Park Rapids back to even at 3-3. As for Thief River Falls, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-4.

Thief River Falls strolled past Park Rapids in their previous meeting back in October of 2022 by a score of 38-21. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was the Panthers' Luke Hartung, who picked up 147 receiving yards and one score. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for the Prowlers to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.