September 22, 2011 at 9:11 a.m.
Chisago Lakes bruises and batters North Branch for a 48-14 victory
The Wildcats flew out to a 34-0 halftime lead as North Branch fumbled and bumbled their way to 0-3
Chisago Lakes bruises and batters North Branch for a 48-14 victory
It was the first win of the season for the Wildcats, raising their record to 1-2. The Vikings dropped to 0-3.
"We just don't have the bodies right now," first year North Branch head coach Nick Nitti said, referring to the nine injured players on the North Branch sidelines, including Brett Klun, who had scored three of the Vikings five touchdowns on the season.
Starting from their own 28 after the opening kickoff, the Wildcats pounded the ball downfield but were forced to punt from near midfield. The Vikings took over on their own 15 yard line. Viking quarterback Zack Sundly gave the North Branch fans something to cheer about on the Vikings first play from scrimmage. He burst up the middle and into the open, racing through the Wildcat defense. Wildcat linebacker Bradee Thompson forced Sundly a little bit to the right. It looked like Sundly had a chance to go all the way, but Wildcat defensive back Danny Kimlinger ran him down from behind and Sundly and the Vikings had to settle for a 41 yard gain. The Wildcat defense stiffened, though, and the Vikings were forced to punt from the Wildcat 43.
Starting from their own 17, the Wildcats sped down the field in a drive that took just over one minute. After a seven yard run by running back Eric Brown, quarterback Brandon Mariakis rolled right and hit tight end Brandon Gorski with a short pass in stride. Gorski ran the ball all the way to the Wildcat 45 yard line. On the next play, fullback Brandon Fenner hit the hole and ran left for 33 yards. After a five yard Viking penalty for offsides, running back Josh Parks took the ball up the middle, bounced to the right and outran the Viking defense to the end zone. Dan Sargeant's extra point gave the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.
On their next drive, the Vikings faced third and seven from their own 38. Sundly dropped back to pass and a blitzing Mariakis hit him hard and forced a fumble. Wildcat defensive back Trevor Thurnbeck picked up the ball and ran all the way down to the 17. Five plays later, Parks went over from the two and the Wildcats led 14-0 with less than a minute to go in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Wildcat defense continued to thwart the Viking offense and the Wildcat offense just kept rolling. On the Wildcats' first possession of the quarter, Fenner and Brown led a rushing attack that moved the ball to the Viking 26. On first down, Mariakis dropped back and again hit Gorski in stride. Viking defensive back Jared Houle made a touchdown saving tackle. But on the next play, Sargeant burst up the middle, was hit at the two and spun into the end zone on his back to put the Wildcats up 20-0. On the extra point, Wildcat penalties moved the ball back to the 13 yard line. It didn't matter to Sargeant, whose 29 yard extra point split the uprights and would have been good from 45 yards.
"There was a big size difference, and we just couldn't tackle. We had goalline defense on for the most part, and we had to dedicate a lot of guys to the fullback, and then the quarterback would pull it," Nitti explained. On the Vikings' next drive, a 17 yard completion by Sundly to freshman Matt Marrin gave the Vikings a first down on the Wildcat 32. After three incompletions, the Vikings went for it on fourth down. Sundly completed a pass, but the Wildcats stopped Marrin for no gain and took over on downs. Five plays later, the Wildcats faced third and five at the Viking 45. Mariakis hit Brown about 15 yards downfield, and Brown did the rest, rocketing into the end zone. A bad snap thwarted the extra point, and the 'Cats led 27-0.
The Vikings were forced to punt from their own 29 on their next drive. Wildcat Parks came hard across the line, got a hand up and partially blocked the Viking punt. The ball rolled out of bounds at the 33. On second and 11, from the Viking 22, Mariakis hit Brown with a quick pass to the right. Brown ran toward the end zone, leaped over a potential tackler at the five and stepped into the end zone to give the Wildcats a 34-0 lead.
During halftime, a North Branch player was carted off in an ambulance. According to North Branch's athletic trainer, it seemed to be a concussion, and the player had some neck discomfort, so he was transported as a precaution. Nitti said the player will to miss a significant chunk of the season, but should make a full recovery.
The Vikings began the second half deep in their own territory. They were forced to punt from their own 12. But the Wildcats muffed the punt and the Vikings recovered on their own 33. A 10-yard Sundly pass to Jarrod Mold and a Sundly run of 12 yards helped to move the ball to the Wildcat 43. But on second and ten, a Wildcat player tipped Sundly's pass and Louis Critelli made a diving interception to stop the drive. Starting from the Wildcat 17 after a penalty, Mariakis had runs of 11 and 18 yards. The ball was at the Viking 47. Brown ended his day with a flourish. He took a handoff up the middle, bounced left and ran all the way to the end zone for a touchdown to put the Wildcats up 41-0 with nearly six minutes left in the third quarter.
Sundly used his arm and his legs to finally get the Vikings on the scoreboard. Starting from the Viking 24, he ran for eight yards. On the next play, he hit Rance Ashley with a 23 yard pass to move the ball into Wildcat territory. On third down from the Wildcat 41, Sundly hit wide receiver Ben Doerr for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked, but the Vikings had avoided the shutout.
The Wildcats fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and the Vikings took over at the Wildcat 24 yard line. On the first play of the drive, Sundly hit Houle over the middle. Houle made a great move to shake off a Wildcat tackler and ran right, beating a Wildcat defender to the corner flag for a touchdown. Sundly passed to Ashley for a two point conversion, and the Vikings trailed 41-14.
A nice return by Parks on the ensuing kickoff moved the ball to midfield. Two 12 yard runs by quarterback Bradee Thompson and a 23 yard run by Kimlinger put the ball at the one yard line. But the Wildcats fumbled into the end zone on the next play, and the Vikings recovered for a touchback.
The Vikings moved the ball quickly downfield. Sundly completed a pass to Ashley for 14 yards and to Doerr for 17. On second down from the Wildcat 44, Houle made a leaping one handed grab of Sundly's pass at the 39. After an incomplete pass on third down, the Vikings went for it. But Wildcat Kaleb Paehlke sacked Sundly and forced a fumble. Josh Dutcher recovered the fumble and ran the ball to the Viking 46.
"We just had too many turnovers and they are killing us," Nitti said after the game. "We have to get consistent on offense."
On the next play, Thompson pitched to the right to Critelli. Critelli raced around end and stayed one step ahead of the Viking defense all the way down the field. He dove for the corner flag and hit it for a touchdown just a half minute into the fourth quarter. Neither team scored again in the fourth quarter, making the final score Chisago Lakes 48, North Branch 14.
For the Wildcats, Mariakis was an efficient four for six passing for 106 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 55 yards on seven carries. Eric Brown led the Wildcats with 76 yards on six carries. The Wildcats rushed for 424 yards as a team, but spread the ball around. In addition to Brown and Mariakis, Sargeant, Critelli, Parks, Fenner and Mitch Berg rushed for 33 yards or more. For the Vikings, Sundly was 11 for 20 passing for 157 yards. He also ran the ball 23 times for 101 yards. On defense, Jared Houle was an absolute ballhawk, making numerous tackles for the Vikings and saving a lot of big gains from being even bigger gains. "The kid is fearless," Nitti said. She's such a warrior and a competitor. He may not be the biggest kid or the fastest kid, but he is just pounding on people."
"We really felt good going into this game," said Wildcat head coach Bill Weiss. "Once the game got going in our favor, the momentum just kept going. We've been on both sides of games like this, and for us it was a good night. We got a lot of production out of all three phases of our game - offense, defense and special teams - tonight."
It was the first start at quarterback for senior Brandon Mariakis. "We wanted to give Brandon an opportunity to start," said Weiss, "and he did a nice job showing what he could do. Our offensive line also did a nice job of protection up front. And our two fullbacks, Dan Sargeant and Brandon Fenner, complement each other well. Their styles are a little different, but both have something we like to see in the fullback position. And since they're both starters at linebacker on defense, it's nice to be able to have them play full time there while being able to rest every other series on offense."
Brandon Gorski had a couple of nice receptions at tight end for the Wildcats. Weiss said, "This is Brandon's first year at tight end. He's a three sport athlete, playing football, basketball and baseball, so he's used to doing things with a ball. He's a natural fit at tight end. And our offensive line has gotten better every week. We have four new guys out there and they have been thrown into some very tough situations early in the season. I am very pleased with where they're at. They are really starting to work together as a unit."
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