A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Moose Lake/Willow River finds itself in the familiar Minnesota State High School Football Tournament after running over Mesabi East in the section final.
Levi Mikrot sprints to the goal line for a touchdown as the Rebels and Mesabi East meet for the Section 7AA championship Thursday in Esko. Mikrot ended up with 198 yards on the ground as the Rebels moved on to State with a 24-14 win.
Moose Lake/Willow River's PJ Frisch (56) wraps up Mesabi East's Cole Layman as more Rebels come to assist Thursday night in Esko. The Rebels won their 18th section championship and will play Kimball tonight, Friday, in Brainerd.
When Moose Lake/Willow River and Mesabi East stepped onto the field in Esko for the Section 7AA championship game last Thursday, they had to deal with cold and wet and a field covered in snow. In the end the Rebels overcame the elements and the Giants, earning another trip to state - the 18th time in school history - by winning 24-14.
The Rebels got two big runs from Levi Mikrot in the first quarter to gain the early lead. Mikrot rumbled 41 yards for the first score of the game, giving ML/WR an early 8-0 lead after he added the two-point conversion run. After the Giants pulled to within 8-6, it was Mikrot who went on a 54-yard touchdown jaunt, making the score 16-6. Again Mikrot tacked on the conversion run, pushing the lead to 10 points.
"Getting those two big runs early in the game was huge because as the game wore on and the field got slushy, and the weather got cold, it got tougher and tougher to score," said Rebels head coach Dave Louzek.
The one-two running punch of Mikrot and Parker Samarzia was impressive for the Rebels. Mikrot had 27 carries for 198 yards, while Samarzia finished with 22 rushes for 127 yards.
"We have a running joke with our two running backs about their speed," Louzek said. "Neither of them have that great breakaway speed, but they both have over 1,200 yards rushing this season and that is impressive."
Mesabi East cut the lead to 16-14 on a four-yard run and a two-point conversion in the third quarter, making things interesting.
"When we played them back in September, they didn't seem to have the fire we saw in the playoffs," Louzek said. "We practiced all week to face their spread offense, but because of the weather, they came out in the wishbone - which they usually only run three or four times a game - so things were much different than the first time we played them."
Mikrot made sure the Rebels got a little breathing room in the fourth quarter as he slammed into the end zone from the 1-yard line and added the conversion run, making it 24-14.
Freshman quarterback Hayden Danelski was pressed into service after an injury to Micah Thompson. "I thought Hayden did a good job of handling the moment and I know he didn't want to let down the older guys," Louzek said.
Robbie Roach led theRebels defense with six tackles.
The win sends the Rebels to the Class AA Minnesota State High School Tournament quarterfinal round in Brainerd, where they will play Kimball (No. 2 in state rankings) at
7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8.
