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From the opening kick off until they sat the starters to rest them, the North Branch football squad absolutely squashed Cloquet on Wednesday, October 18 at Cloquet’s brand new field and wrapped up the top seed in Section 7AAAA and a first round bye that goes with it.

The Vikings quickly ruined Cloquet’s grand opening of Ron Bromberg Field at Members Cooperative Credit Union Stadium, which is the new turf field for the Lumberjacks. On the opening kickoff, North Branch ran their typical reverse play and it sprung Magnus Toussaint up the left side for a big return. The senior raced past the oversized bright purple and gold Lumberjack logo at midfield and he wasn’t brought down until he got to Cloquet’s 38 yard line. Four plays later, including a 17 yard run by Tyler Minke, and running back Jacob Tiegen scored a touchdown from 10 yards out to put NB up 6-0. Their two point conversion was good and they grabbed a quick 8-0 lead.

North Branch’s defense followed the offense’s lead and made quick work of the first possession for Cloquet. In fact, a penalty and tackle for loss meant that the ‘Jacks lost 11 yards on their drive before having to punt. Their kick was very short, only going 13 yards and NB was back in business on offense in Cloquet territory.

Carter Drill and Jacob Robillard had two big runs for the Vikings’ on their second drive, and that led to another quick Tiegen touchdown, this one from the five yard line. Tiegen’s two point conversion run was good and the Vikes jumped out to a 16-0 lead.

Cloquet was able to move the ball a bit on their next drive, getting all the way down to NB’s 26 yard line, but a fourth and six pass play to the endzone fell incomplete, and the Vikings took over. They wasted no time stretching their lead. Tiegen opened the drive with a six yard run before Robillard squeezed through a small opening on the right side and raced untouched down the sideline to paydirt, scoring on a 68 yard touchdown run.

Things just kept going right for the Vikings after that, as well. They forced another three and out from the Cloquet offense, and when they took over on offense, they got themselves into a third and 28 situation that looked dire. But, a casual 25 yard run from Drill put the Vikings in a much more manageable fourth and three, and on the fourth down play, Robillard called his own number, and breezed around the left side of the Cloquet defense for an easy 15 yard touchdown run. Robillard threw to a wide open Nathaniel Edwards-Gaona for the two point conversion to put NB up 30-0.

The Vikes continued to pour it on before the halftime buzzer. Their defense swarmed the ‘Jacks on the next drive and instead of punting from their own 35 on fourth and three, Cloquet decided to go for it and was stopped a yard short on a great form tackle from Tiegen in his linebacker spot. Three plays later, the North Branch offense added another score. The big play of the drive was a Drill 28 yard run down to the two yard line. Drill eventually punched it in from that distance, and the two point conversion was good for a 38-0 NB lead.

The Vikings even tried their hand at a longer field goal attempt late in the first half after forcing a Cloquet fumble, with Drill lining up for a 34 yard try as the clock ran down. The junior had plenty of leg on the kick bupushed it just wide left. But, it was a great rep for the whole field goal kicking unit if it’s needed as the games get closer in the playoffs.

There was a funky, and somewhat funny, sequence to begin the second half. On Cloquet’s second play from scrimmage, their quarterback chucked a ball 35 yards down the field. Junior defensive back Tyler Minke read the pass perfectly and grabbed another interception, his second of the year and fifth turnover to go with three fumble recoveries. On North Branch’s first play of their ensuing drive, Brody Beaver ripped off a 30 yard gain up the middle but then fumbled the ball forward, and Cloquet jumped on it on their own 30 yard line, essentially starting them over exactly where they took over their previous drive.

But, it was just a minor blip for the Vikings, as they forced another failed fourth down conversion from Cloquet. Beaver was atoned for his fumble when NB took over, as he took the first two carries of the drive a combined 41 yards to move the Vikings inside of Cloquet’s 10 yard line. Two plays later, Minke scored on a short touchdown to give NB a 44-0 lead. Beaver then followed that offensive performance up with an interception on defense as Cloquet was threatening to break the shutout.

By that point, it was getting late into the fourth quarter and the Vikings had brought the back ups in. Their offense moved the ball a bit but eventually stalled and punted. With just a few minutes left in the game, Cloquet finally was able to reach the endzone, spoiling the shutout for NB’s defense, with a 27 yard touchdown run to register the final score of the game that ended 44-6 in favor of the Vikes.

The win ended NB’s regular season at 7-1, with seven straight wins after their season opening loss to Pequot Lakes. It also secured the top seed for North Branch in Section 7AAAA and assured them of one home before a potential championship game at a neutral, or unfortunately mostly away, site.

The Vikings will host Grand Rapids, who eliminated Cloquet in the first round of sections, on Saturday, October 28 at 6:30 p.m. at North Branch Stadium. The Vikings beat Rapids 28-21 earlier this year in a pretty tightly contested affair. The winner of that game will move on to the section finals against either Duluth Denfeld or Hermantown, who play on the other side of the bracket. The championship game is set for Walt Hunting Stadium at Duluth Denfeld High School on Friday, November 3 at 7 p.m.

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