Football Roundup

Football

Cloquet-50

Hibbing-14

At halftime the Cloquet Lumberjacks led Hibbing by a 20-14 score but seemed to be struggling against the over-matched Bluejackets. Enter Marshall Hayes, a sophomore running back, who seemed to spark the ’Jacks offense in the second half. While star running back Cole Ketola handled most of the first-half running chores and churned up big yardage, it was Hayes who handled the bulk of the carries on the first drive of the second half that started a scoring onslaught for Cloquet. Ketola finished with 126 yards on the ground and Hayes picked up 122 yards in just two quarters of play. Ketola, Hayes and Derek Rengo each ran for two touchdowns in the game. Rengo also had an interception. Cloquet totaled 365 rushing yards. Deeken Fjeld also added a late score on a two-yard touchdown plunge in the late going and his brother, Griffin, tacked on the two-point conversion run.

Moose Lake/Willow River-20

Aitkin-0

In a battle of Section 7AA undefeated teams, the Rebels defense carried the day. Blake Juhl ran for a pair of touchdowns, including the only score of the first half, which came in the first quarter on a two-yard touchdown run. Juhl also added the conversion run for an 8-0 halftime lead. Eli Warner ran in from three yards out in the third quarter and Juhl slipped in for a 15-yard touchdown gallop in the fourth quarter for the final of 20-0. Juhl finished with 76 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Rebels held the Gobblers to only 71 yards rushing and 12 yards passing. ML/WR is ranked No. 5 in the state.

Mora-44

Esko-36

The game resembled a track meet as big plays were abundant and defense was tough to be found for both the Mustangs and the Eskomos as the teams racked up plenty of offense with a total of 80 points scored.

Esko got on the board first in the first quarter when Dylan Vinje ducked in from the one-yard line, but the extra point kick was no good. Mora answered with a Kobe Swanson 90-yard dash for a touchdown, tying the score at 6-6 after a failed conversion run. Esko’s Preston Lowe answered quickly with a 51-yard touchdown dash to make it 12-6 as the first quarter ended. Mora answered with a three-yard run to tie the score in the second quarter. Before the first half ended, the Eskomos added a Brock House eight-yard score and a 22-yard touchdown pass from Vinje to Vinje Eli Blue to go ahead 24-12. Just prior to halftime, the Mustangs added another score and a two-point conversion to cut the gap to 24-20. Early in the third quarter Mora added a score of five yards on a run and the conversion run to go up 28-24, but again Esko bounced back on a Lowe-six-yard rumble for a score. The Eskomos could not convert on a conversion run and led it 30-28. Mora hopped on the chance and scored on back-to-back possessions and both times added the two-point conversion runs to go ahead 44-30 before Esko ended the scoring on a Vinje to Lowe 36-yard pass and catch.

Carlton/Wrenshall-27

Isle-8

The Raptors are proving to be a formidable opponent in their first season as a cooperative football team. On Friday night they dispatched Isle in a game that was called with 11:46 remaining in the fourth quarter at the request of Isle because of injuries. Ryan Gray had a big night as he threw for 194 yards from his quarterback position and got the Raptors on the board with a two-yard touchdown plunge in the first quarter and he then proceeded to knock through the extra point kick for a 7-0 lead. The second quarter saw Isaiah Johnson score on a one-yard run and Justin Swanson on a 25 yard touchdown run, Gray kicked the extra point on the score by Johnson as the Raptors built a 20-0 halftime lead. The third quarter saw Gray find Matt Santkuyl on a 74-yard touchdown pass and catch and after Gray tacked on the extra point kick it was 27-0 for the Raptors. The Huskies scored the final touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter. Shortly after that the game was called, giving the Bulldogs a 4-0 record. Santkuyl ran for 80 yards and also had the long touchdown catch and Justin Swanson piled up 97 rushing yards for the Raptors.

North Woods-30

Barnum-12

Two teams seeking their first win of the season did battle on Friday with North Woods coming out on top of the Bombers in the Northeast Silver Division game. “Northwoods presented us with problems up front,” said Bomber coach Mike Klyve. “We couldn’t get much push on the line of scrimmage and defensively we struggled to make stops. Our young team is learning, but some of the lessons are hard.”

McGregor-16

Cromwell-Wright- 13

The Cards suffered their third loss of the season Friday against the neighboring McGregor team. Both teams scored a pair of touchdowns with the Mercs putting up scores in the first and third quarter and the Cards scoring once in the second and once in the fourth quarter. Jaeger Goranson hit Achille Pommier on a 62-yard touchdown pass for Cromwell-Wright’s first score and the Cards second touchdown was a two-yard run from Goranson in the fourth quarter. Ethan Shelton booted the extra point for Cromwell after the second score to pull Cromwell-Wright within a field goal of tying the game, but that was they could muster against the staunch defense of the Mercs.

South Ridge-52

Northeast Range-0

The Panthers were on the prowl in Culver on Friday night. South Ridge ran for an amazing 365 yards and threw just one pass in picking up the win. South Ridge was led by Connor Bushbaum’s 134 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Nick Larson also had a pair of touchdown runs and a total of 86 yards rushing. South Ridge is now 3-1 on the season after losing the opening game of the season to Carlton-Wrenshall in a tight game.