Hawks dash Lumberjacks hopes for a three-peat to state

The Cloquet Lumberjacks were seeking a third consecutive trip to the state football tournament Friday night at Public Schools Stadium in West Duluth, and the 'Jacks were confident coming off a 14-0 shutout win over Hermantown 16 days earlier.

But, as the mantra goes, anything can happen in playoffs.

Although the Lumberjacks came into the game with four consecutive victories over the Hawks, a determined Hermantown squad ended those hopes as the Hawks bested Cloquet 20-14 to return to the state tournament for the first time since 2015.

"The first time we played them, we left chances to score on the field and this time we were able to score when we needed to," said Hermantown Coach Mike Zagelmeyer.

The Hawks did just that on the first drive of the game. David Cornelius scored the game's first touchdown with a 5-yard scamper into the end zone. Hermantown's extra point try was no good, giving them a 6-0 lead.

"We knew that Cloquet and Coach [Jeff] Ojanen would mix up the defense after we scored the first touchdown of the game, so it was very important to score after failing to do so the first time we met," Zagelmeyer said.

Cloquet responded by scoring the next two touchdowns of the game, the first coming on the very first play of the second quarter when Andre Peters scored on an 8-yard touchdown run. Following a Noah Niemi extra point, Cloquet led by one at 7-6.

Following a great defensive stance deep in the Hermantown end, it was Ryan Badger scoring next, from 9 yards out. Add another Niemi kick, and it was 14-6 with 3:39 remaining in the first half.

In what both teams would say was a momentum builder for the Hawks, Hermantown connected on two long pass plays to Elliott Peterson from Tate Hansen. Then, with just 24 seconds remaining in the half, Cornelius scored his second touchdown of the game from 1 yard out, which narrowed the gap to 14-12 at the break.

Markus Pokornowski - the leading rusher for the Lumberjacks and also a key on the 'Jacks defense - got a blow earlier in the day when trainers determined he was not going to be able to play due to a shoulder injury from the previous game, making the Lumberjacks find players to fill that void.

"It was a blow for us," head coach Tom Lenarz said, "but I don't feel it was the difference in the game." Without Pokornowski's rushing attack, the Lumberjacks still averaged over 4 yards per carry as a team. Still, even with others doing a good job stepping up, it was Hermantown's 371 yards of total offense which controlled the contest.

Hermantown took the lead for good when Hansen connected with Noah Torgerson on a 22-yard touchdown pass. When Cornelius scored on the two-point conversion, the Hawks led 20-14 with 7:52 remaining in the third quarter.

"We had our chances in the second half," said defensive coordinator and assistant coach Ojanen. "We were confident we would score again and win the game, but give Hermantown credit - they are a good team, well-coached and just beat us on that night."

The Lumberjacks final drive came up short on a fourth down late in the fourth quarter and Hermantown was able to run out the clock and move on to the state quarterfinals next Friday night against Wilmar.

"It's a disappointing way to end the season" Ojanen said, "This is such a great group of kids who work hard and do things the right way - I feel bad for them and wished we could have been continuing to practice come next week."

Lumberjack quarterback Riley Leslie finished 5-13 passing for 53 yards through the air. With Pokornowski sidelined, the 'Jacks' leading rusher was Ryan Badger, who finished with 58 yards on 15 carries.

Elijah Benson was key on the defensive side of the ball with 10 tackles, including nine solo tackles. Andre Peters was another bright spot, returning kickoffs as he returned four for 136 yards on the evening.

The Lumberjacks - who finished the season 8-2 overall - will have a number of key players returning next season and will have a good nucleus to work with next fall and will, once again, be one of the teams to watch in Section 7AAAA.