Just two remain in football playoffs

After two rounds of playoffs, just two local football teams remain in the hunt for that elusive state tournament berth. Both of those teams, Moose Lake/Willow River and Cromwell-Wright, are rich in postseason success and were scheduled to play for section championships Thursday night, after the Pine Knot News went to press.

The stunner in the second round was top-seeded Barnum falling, 22-14, in Section 7AA, to No. 4 Mesabi East. The Giants jumped on the Bombers in the first half and held a lead going into halftime that Barnum was unable to overcome. Barnum entered the playoffs undefeated at 9-0. Mesabi East is now 7-3 and was headed to Esko to meet ML/WR in the championship Thursday.

Section 5 nine-player

The Cromwell-Wright Cardinals relied on some quick-strike capability and the ability to control the clock in their 25-0 win over Ogilvie on Oct. 26 in Cromwell. Dylan Nyberg sent Cards fans into a frenzy on the opening kickoff when he raced 80 yards for a score.

"It gave us a big boost to start the game," said Cards coach Jeff Gronner. "Dylan has a knack for making big plays for us and that return really set the tone for us."

The Lions found themselves in big trouble early as a pair of injuries hampered their ability to score on offense. On their opening drive, quarterback Xander Kimble went down. Running back Kaden Felde was lost on the team's second drive.

"Those injuries really hurt them," Gronner said. "They are a good football team and they made it tough on us, but we got the win and now we get a shot at a team that beat us during the year."

That team is Nevis, which manhandled the Cards, 48-8, in late September.

In the second quarter, the Cards added a pair of touchdowns by Brady Dahl, one on a 3-yard run and another on a 40-yard pass from Nyberg to make it 18-0 at halftime. The final score of the game came in the third quarter when Nyberg hit Dahl for a 12-yard touchdown pass, making the final 25-0 after Nyberg booted an extra point.

The championship game against Nevis was scheduled to be played Thursday, Halloween night at 6 p.m. in Brainerd.

Section 7AA

The other team to make the championship is perennial local power Moose Lake/Willow River. The Rebels handled International Falls easily, 47-6.

"We're playing pretty good football right now," said longtime Rebels coach Dave Louzek. "We have always focused on getting ready for the playoffs and right now we are playing our best football."

ML/WR led 6-0 after one quarter on a Micah Thompson 14-yard touchdown run. In the second quarter, Levi Mikrot scored on runs of 4 and 16 yards, and Parker Samarzia broke off a 35-yard scamper, making it 26-6 at halftime.

"When we played International Falls just a couple of weeks ago, we struggled handling their passing game," Louzek said of his team's previous 38-33 win. "We spent a lot of time working on our pass coverage and our guys really bought into it and it paid off. Right now we are peaking and really playing well."

Brayden Strand and Samarzia both had touchdown runs in the second half as the Rebels cruised to the title game.

ML/WR and Mesabi East were set to play at 6 p.m. in Esko Thursday. The Rebels beat the Giants, 41-6, on Sept. 20.

Section 7AAA

After a first round win over Hibbing, No. 4 Esko had the tough task of taking on top seed Pequot Lakes. The firepower of the Patriots proved to be too much as Pequot Lakes came away with a 47-6 win.

The Patriots will now face No. 2 Two Harbors, which defeated Pierz, 21-20, in the other semifinal match up. That game was scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at Malosky Field on the campus of the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Agates lost to the Patriots, 35-14, in September.