The North Branch football team ran away with an impressive 47-12 win over Duluth Denfeld Friday night, as the Vikings earned a crucial homecoming win on Sept. 28.
The Hunters, who entered the game ranked as the No. 4 team in the Class 4A state rankings, were simply no match for the Vikings throughout the contest, resulting in the lopsided affair.
North Branch fed off the energy from its home crowd, with fireworks and all, as the Vikings’ platoon of seniors were both hungry and eager to stop the momentum of a red-hot Duluth Denfeld unit.
“Throughout this week of practice, I just really loved the focus level of our seniors leading up to [the game],” head coach Justin Voss said. “We talked about how this will be a big matchup for us, Duluth Denfeld is a great football team–they’re a strong football program and team, it’s nice to come away with an important win.”
Denfeld showcased its state ranking early, as the Hunters found the end zone with ease on the opening drive of the game off a 67-yard passing touchdown at the 10:32 mark to give themselves a quick 6-0 lead after a failed two-point try. The Vikings responded, as North Branch drove the ball down field via the run game, before senior Tyler Minke capped off the drive with a 44-yard score to give his team a 7-6 lead just over three minutes later–and the Vikings never looked back.
Senior captain and quarterback Jacob Robillard scored his first touchdown of the night by way of a 23-yard scramble, extending the Vikings’ lead to 14-6 in the second quarter. The defense held its own throughout the entirety of the game, showcasing one of its best performances of the season against both an explosive and dangerous North Shore area team.
Minke found paydirt from 4-yards out the next offensive possession after the defensive stop with 3:27 left in the second quarter, before junior defensive back Bo Pederson snagged an interception in the end zone in the waning moments of the first half to give the Vikings the ball back. North Branch was seemingly going to knee the ball before halftime with just 2 seconds remaining in the second period, however, the Vikings still saw that as an opportunity to score–even with its Power-T offense.
Junior tailback Brody Mitchell took home a massive 80-yard rushing touchdown to close out the first half, with North Branch pushing its lead to 28-6 after a made extra point by senior Chazz Johnson–absorbing every drop of momentum heading into halftime.
“I think [the defense] was great, we talked about being disciplined, because they have a handful of really talented athletes,” Voss said.
“They’re all so fast and athletic, so we had to make sure we were really disciplined with our pursuit to the ball, and overall we did a nice job with that. It takes one small mistake to allow a big play, but our guys stayed true to their techniques and to what we’ve asked them to do all season long. It feels great to have that effort and result against a really solid football team.”
North Branch kept its foot on the gas in the third quarter, as the Vikings scored another rushing touchdown courtesy of Minke yet again from 9-yards out, giving themselves a 34-6 advantage. But before things started to get more out of hand, Duluth Denfeld ripped off a 53-yard score by senior Taye Manns, who’s been taking the state by storm this season. The talented halfback entered the game against North Branch with an absurd statline of 877 yards and 16 touchdowns on a 12.7 yards per carry average through just four games.
However, with the Vikings’ defense playing stoutly the entire night, North Branch did its job in containing Manns, holding him to season-low rushing stats. Voss gives insight into how his defense was able to keep the athlete in check.
“I think what it comes down to is our defensive line, and [Denfeld’s] offensive line doesn’t get enough credit–they’re big and physical. I think we did a great job of controlling the line of scrimmage and just not giving up these gaping holes for them to run through,” Voss said.
“We got our guys to the football, and I told the guys that pursuit really comes down to a trust thing. If we can’t make that first contact, we’re trusting that the other guys behind us will finish that contact. They did that, they believed in each other and trusted in each other, and that was evident.”
Following the long score, North Branch came right back out the next possession and put together another touchdown drive. Robillard threw a dot to senior Carter Drill from 27-yards out, giving the Vikings an even larger lead at 40-12, before senior Dooley Beaver showed off his speed and recorded a 38-yard touchdown, capping off the 47-12 homecoming victory.
“Anytime you beat a good team, it helps you take that next step forward. It’s a broken record but I’ll keep saying it–we have to keep improving each and every week,” Voss said.
“We’re not improving just for Denfeld, because we have so many more games ahead of us. The improvement isn’t just a week in, week out sort of thing–the improvement is for longevity as a whole moving forward. I just love that our guys have that mindset, they did a great job of getting the work done. It’s a great win, now we just have to keep building from here–there’s no breaks.”
The Vikings gained a whopping 538 yards of offense in the matchup, as Robillard went 1-for-1 passing for 26 yards and touchdown, in addition to a score and 92-yards on the ground. Minke had a big night, as the bruiser tallied another 100-yard outing to go with his three rushing touchdowns, with Mitchell recording 141 rushing yards and a score.
Senior London Olson was also effective, racking up 87 yards on 13 attempts, and Beaver made the most of his opportunities by finishing the night with 80 yards rushing and a touchdown on just three attempts. As did Drill, as the senior caught one ball for 26 yards and a score. Defensively, Pederson and Robillard each recorded an interception.
The Vikings will face off with the Grand Rapids Thunderhawks on the road on Friday, Oct. 4 with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
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