Rebels get in gear for section title game - again

The Moose Lake/Willow River football team overcame several first-half penalties and an 8-point deficit at halftime to defeat Royalton 20-8 in the Section 7AA semifinals Saturday in Willow River. The Rebels advance to the section title game for the 13th time in 14 years.

The Royals scored the game’s first touchdown late in the first quarter when Brady Conrad scored on a five-yard touchdown run; following a Dylan Skwira two-point conversion, the Royals led 8-0.

Both teams had chances in the second quarter to put points on the board but, again, penalties and mistakes did not allow either team to score.

“We told the kids we need to cut down on the mistakes and do the things we need to do to be successful,” Rebels head coach Dave Louzek said. “Royalton is a big strong team and very physical, but I knew if we stayed the course we would be OK.”

The Rebels responded quickly in the second half. Blake Juhl scored on a 65-yard touchdown run, which cut the Royals lead at 8-6 after ML/WR was unable to score on the two-point conversion.

The Rebels defense stepped it up a notch in the second half as well, holding Royalton to only 34 total yards compared to 166 in the first half.

Moose Lake/Willow River used its passing game in the second half and were rewarded when Mason Olson hit Eli Werner with a short 7-yard connection —giving the Rebels their first lead of the game at 12-8.

Olson, who finished 16-21 passing for 146 yards, connected on a 36-yard touchdown pass to Carter Johnson late in the fourth quarter. A Juhl run for the two-point conversion made the score 20-8 and that’s how the game ended.

Juhl was the game’s leading rusher with 127 yards on 13 carries, while Johnson and Werner each had four receptions on the afternoon.

The Rebels were scheduled to face Mesabi East in the section final at 7:15 p.m. Thursday night at the Esko Sports Complex after this issue of the Pine Knot News went to press.