Raptors race through first round of playoffs

After going undefeated during the regular season the Carlton-Wrenshall Raptors football team had to hit the road and play as the No. 5 seed in the Section 7A football tournament against the No. 4 seeded North Woods Grizzlies.

The reason? The Raptors played a nine-man schedule and had to bump up to 11-man after combining their two programs earlier this year. In the end, the Raptors came away with a solid 33-18 win on the road.

“We felt as a team that we have not received the respect that we deserve for going 8-0 during the regular season,” said Raptors co-coach Jeremy Zywicki. “We emphasized to the guys that this was their opportunity to prove the doubters wrong.”

The Raptors scored in the first quarter when Matt Santkuyl darted in from 22 yards out and Ryan Gray booted the extra point for a 7-0 lead, but the Grizzlies answered a few minutes later to cut the lead to 7-6 after the missed conversion run.

Carlton-Wrenshall picked up back-to-back scores in the second quarter on a 29-yard pass from Kaden Crane to Isaiah Johnson and a 4-yard run by Gray. Gray also added the extra point kick on the Johnson touchdown making the score 20-6 at halftime, which proved to be huge in the second half.

“It's always nice to play with a lead than from behind, and that's what we preach to our team,” Zywicki said. “We want to force opponents to play from behind and force them into situations that they're not comfortable with. Things were working well, and it was nice to have a lead going into the half.”

The Grizzlies added an 11-yard run by T.J. Chiabotti in the third quarter and an early fourth-quarter 9-yard touchdown run by Chiabottie to cut the lead to 20-18, but the Raptors answered in kind, with a Justin Swanson 4-yard touchdown run and a Crane 2-yard touchdown run as well as a Gray extra point kick for the final of 33-18.

Santkuyl had a big night with 15 carries for 196 yards. Justin Swanson also had a nice evening with 13 carries for 136 yards and Crane threw for a score and ran for a score in the win.

“Kaden has done a great job for us moving from tight end to guard. We were one offensive lineman short and he volunteered to move to the interior,” Zywicki said of Crane. “He's a heck of a player, and he plays many roles for our football team including playing quarterback. He threw a key touchdown pass for us near the end of the second quarter, giving us that 20-6 halftime lead.”

The Raptors play Saturday afternoon at Deer River against the Section 7A No. 1 seeded Warriors.

“Deer River is going to be tough: they are a very physical football team and they have some great athletes,” Zywicki said. “They play a similar style of football that we do. They love to pound the football with their running game, but they can also go to the air. This will be one of our toughest opponents of the year and we are looking forward to the challenge.”