STATE FOOTBALL: Runner pounds South Ridge

DULUTH-Mountain Iron-Buhl put together an impressive show Friday night at Public Schools Stadium as the Rangers knocked off South Ridge 42-6 in the state quarterfinals of the 9-Man football tournament.

Rangers senior running back Dillon Drake averaged 10.1 yards per carry on his way to 242 yards rushing on the night, scoring four of the Rangers' six touchdowns. He had two rushing touchdowns, one 81 yards and a 42-yard run. Drake also added a touchdown catch of 19 yards and returned an interception 61 yards for his fourth score.

Sam Lokken opened the scoring for the Rangers with a 5-yard touchdown run with 5:16 remaining in the first quarter, which seemed to ignite not only the Rangers' offense but their defense as well. MIB scored on its next three possessions while using a pressure defense to control South Ridge and its offense.

"They really knew what to do defensively," said Panthers head coach Brent Johnson. "We couldn't get anything going offensively and they shut down Connor (Bushbaum) from the start, which made it hard on us."

With the Rangers leading 6-0, Drake scored three consecutive second-quarter touchdowns to give MIB a 28-0 lead at halftime.

"We had to punt six times on the night and only converted two or three times on third down," Johnson said. "MIB just used a pounding ground attack and we couldn't stop it, but our kids played hard. We are proud of this team and their success."

Drake's fourth touchdown of the game was the only score in the third quarter as he picked off a Riley Kinsley pass and returned it for the score. The Rangers quarterback closed out the scoring for MIB on a 2-yard run.

South Ridge's only touchdown came late in the fourth quarter when Westin Strochein scored from 19 yards away.

MIB amassed 586 yards of total offense on the night, with 428 coming on the back of Drake. South Ridge completed only two passes on the evening for 16 yards, and Matt Clark led the rushing attack with 6 carries for 37 yards.

South Ridge ended the season with an 8-3 record overall. MIB moved on to the 9-Man state semifinals where they were slated to play Hancock Thursday.