A second quarter to forget and a second half of futility spelled the end of the West Fargo Packers' five-game winning streak, as the Wahpeton Huskies vaulted themselves back into the playoff picture with a 14-10 upset at Lodoen Field on Friday night.

West Fargo committed seven penalties and had two turnovers in the second quarter, after staking themselves to a 10-0 lead in the first 12 minutes, and the Huskies used the miscues to take control of the game.

Things started well for West Fargo, who forced Wahpeton into a turnover on downs on their first possession. The Packers were set up deep in Husky territory after punter Chris Wateland bobbled a low snap from center, and the Packers dropped him for a 17-yard loss.

The Packers started at the Wahpeton 15, and moved to the 10 on a defensive penalty. But the offense couldn't convert, as Gavin Schmidt lost a yard on his first carry, and Rob Gibson missed on two pass attempts in the endzone, setting up West Fargo with fourth down and long. Tom Bishoff converted on the 27-yard field goal attempt, and the Pack had a 3-0 lead.

West Fargo would stretch the lead out on their next possession, after the defense forced a Husky punt from midfield. Taking over at their own 33-yard line, West Fargo was set back by a holding call, and had to start from their own 20. But eight plays later, Schmidt capped off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, giving the Pack a 10-0 lead with just under two minutes left in the opening quarter. Schmidt had the key play of the drive, a 24-yard run that would prove to be West Fargo's longest gain from scrimmage on the night.

West Fargo's defense would force another Wahpeton punt, but the tide would turn on the next Packer possession. The offense looked like it would be in a good position to pad the lead again when Gibson hit Cole Horsager on a wide-receiver screen that moved West Fargo deep into Husky territory, but the play was called back on a holding penalty. On the next play, Gibson tried to pitch the ball on an option run to Ben Wolden, but the lateral was broken up by the Wahpeton defense, and the Huskies' Josh Fromancek jumped on the loose ball.

Though the Packer defense held, forcing Wahpeton to turn the ball over on downs at the Pack's 20-yard line, the offense never recovered. Gibson was intercepted on his next possession, and Wahpeton converted just one play from scrimmage later when Mike Casper, the Huskies' workhorse for the night, scampered around the left side of the offensive line for a 7-yard touchdown, cutting the lead to 10-7.

";That really was the turning point,"; Jay Gibson, head coach of the Packers, said. ";We felt like we made a play, and it comes back and on the next play we turn the ball over. The just wore us down after that.";

Wahpeton used its running game to set up the pass on its next possession. A run by Casper was followed by a screen from Wahpeton quarterback Tim Friskop to Dave Gulden, moving Wahpetoninside the Packer 30. On a key fourth-and-short, Casper pushed his way for three yards, keeping the drive alive. Then, Husky coach Mike McCall went back to the air, on four straight plays, with Friskop hitting Formancek on a pretty fade pattern that went for 11 yards and gave the Huskies a 14-10 lead.

In the second half, the Packer offense threatened only once, a nine-play drive that culminated in Tom Bishoff's first blocked field goal of the season. After that, Wahpeton's running game simply chipped away at the clock, with the team gaining 165 yards on 55 carries for the game. The bulk of the work went to Casper, who had a team-high 29 carries, and broke the century mark with 108 yards rushing.

";We played their game and got beat at it,"; Jay Gibson said. ";They're bigger up front, and when you try to play a smash-mouth game with 160-pound linemen, which is what we have, you're going to get beat. They had a great plan and they played a great game. Hats off to them. They were the better team.";

West Fargo will have to regroup this Friday on the road against the hottest team in the Eastern Dakota Conference, Grand Forks Central. The Knights, who beat West Fargo last year in West Fargo, pulled off an eyebrow-raising upset last week when they derailed then No. 1 Fargo South with a 15-14 victory by scoring in the final minute of the game.

";Our schedule isn't going to get any easier,"; Schmidt, who scored in his second straight game and has a touchdown in four of give games this year, said after last week's win over Shanley. ";The competition's getting tougher.";

After traveling to Grand Forks this Friday, the Packers host the aforementioned Bruins next week. They'll wrap up the season on Wednesday, Oct. 19, at Fargo North, another team on the rise.

But at 5-1, the Packers are assured of finishing above .500. Their 3-1 record in the EDC currently has them tied with Central and South for first.

";We had a rough week of practice, and that hurts. Now that one's over with, so we just have to work for next week. We'll look at this game and figure out what went wrong and see what we can't do and what we can do better,"; Gibson said. ";Central's an awfully good team and we'll start there.";