North Branch overmatched against tough Panthers team

A new season means a new start, which can mean some new results. For the North Branch football team, not much changed from the last time they stepped on the field. After going 1-8 last year and ending their season with a 45-7 loss to St. Paul Central in the first round of sections, the Vikings opened their 2012 campaign with a lopsided 55-7 loss to defending North Suburban Conference champions Spring Lake Park. Although it wasn’t quite as bad as almost five years ago to the day, the last time the two teams played each other. In that contest, Spring Lake Park bested North Branch 67-0. Back in 2012, however, not much was different. The Panthers actually scored all 55 of their points in the first half. After a 21 point first quarter, SLP rang up 20 more quick points in the second quarter before taking their starters out of the game with just over six minutes left in the second quarter. That didn’t quite make a difference for the rest of the half.
The Panther back ups scored on two more big plays before the half was out, including one as time ran out in the half. That ballooned the lead to 55-0 as the teams retreated into the locker rooms for the first half. Throughout the first half, North Branch didn’t gain a first down and their most effective plays were their constant misdirection on kick returns. With Tony Denn and Matt Marrin lined up deep to receive kicks, they would always run towards each other as if executing a reverse. At times, they would go through with the reverse and at times one would keep the ball and run. The move provided NB with decent field possession in a handful of their drives. But, special teams didn’t get off scott free on their performance despite the successful kick returns.

North Branch’s first two punts of the game were blocked and gave the potent Panther offense a short field to work with. In the second half, it became a battle of attrition between the Spring Lake Park reserves and North Branch starters. The Vikings moved the ball well on their first drive on the legs of Marrin and returning quarterback Zack Sundly, but they stalled out and turned it over on downs inside the 20 yard line. The initial drive marked their first first down of the game. The Vikings defense began to find stops and wrap up runners as the game wore on, but the offense still was taking a while to get going. Running the triple option, eventually, Sundly found the end zone with just over six minutes remaining in the game, breaking up the shutout and giving the Vikes their first points on the year. The extra point was good and North Branch at least made the bitter taste of defeat a bit easier to swallow. In fact, en route to their conference title last year, the Panthers only gave up five regular season touchdowns, despite a handful of blowouts, showing how deep and talented the Panthers team really is.