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It took a last second blocked field goal from inside the five yard line and an overtime goal line stand, but the North Branch football team overcame the loss of starting quarterback Jacob Robillard and hung on to beat Grand Rapids in the section semifinals 20-14 and punch their ticket to the section championship game against Hermantown.

The unseasonably warm semifinal game was played under the lights at North Branch High School. The Thunderhawks, who were the fourth seed, were trying to upset the Vikings for the second time this year after beating them 29-28 in the regular season. Despite the record difference, North Branch knew Grand Rapids and their style of play was a very tough matchup for them and would be a challenge, even at full strength.

North Branch received the opening kickoff and marched their way down the field at a slow, methodical pace. It took 11 plays, and until the touchdown run that broke free, none of the plays were over six yards. But, finally, a North Branch running back found an opening. London Olson took a handoff going from left to right and all of a sudden, a nice lane opened up when a Grand Rapids linebacker over pursued, and Olson made a perfect cut up the field and ran untouched for a 33 yard touchdown to open the scoring. Chaz Johnson’s extra point was good and NB had the early 7-0 lead.

North Branch’s defense, which has made great strides over the last month of the season, then forced the Thunderhawks into a three and out after two short runs and an incomplete pass. The Hawk quarterback had heavy pressure bearing down on him on the pass attempt, which forced GR into the punt.

On NB’s next drive though, Grand Rapids was able to stay disciplined to their gaps and force a punt from the Vikings. They did get one first down, but then had to punt from midfield. Although NB had gone for it in similar situations this year, they knew this could be a defensive battle throughout. The calculation was correct for North Branch, as their defense forced another three and out for the Grand Rapids offense, and after the punt, they were able to take over near midfield.

But, on North Branch’s next drive, the game – and potentially NB’s season – changed dramatically. On third and five from Rapids’ 47 yard line, Robillard faked a handoff and kept the ball and ran around the left side of the Thunderhawk defense. After a gain of six, Robillard was ripped down from behind by his jersey in a dangerous hip drop tackle. It’s a move that was outlawed in the NFL this year and it sent Robillard sprawling on the ground in pain right in front of his bench and had yellow flags flying around him for a penalty on the defender. Robillard would be ruled out the rest of the game, and the reins were turned over to junior Ethan Thorsen, who’s only career snaps at quarterback had come in mop up duty this year. With Robillard out, the offense loses a lot of the options, as he was a dangerous runner who led the team in rushing this year, and a good passer when it was needed.

Despite getting the first down and the penalty yardage down to the 25 yard line, the drive sputtered from there. The Vikings had a decision to make at fourth and 10 and since they were deep in GR’s territory, they went for it but Dooley Beaver was stopped after a gain of four yards.

The Thunderhawks, sensing the Vikings were a bit deflated with their leader out of the game, tried to capitalize on their next drive, but the North Branch defense was again up to the task. After moving the ball out to midfield, Rapids was facing a fourth and five and trotted the punt team out, but they tried to fake it by snapping it to the upback and having him sweep around the right side of the defense. The North Branch special teams sniffed it out though and blew the play up for a loss of one yard with Matt Fenton and Nolen Volner blowing the play up before it got going.

That was the spark the offense needed to refocus and reload. Their next drive really got going with a 25 yard run by Brody Mitchell on third and five. That brought the Vikings down into GR’s redzone. Four plays later Tyler Minke punched a one yard touchdown in to extend North Branch’s lead to 14-0 after Johnson’s extra point.

But, everyone in the stands and on the sideline knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. On Grand Rapids’ next possession, they moved the ball out near midfield with an array of short dump off passes that moved the sticks, and then on what looked like a harmless pitch play on second and eight, multiple NB defenders had a shot to tackle GR’s running back and just didn’t wrap up. The bulky running back bounced off one of the tackle attempts and it allowed him to change field on a dime, leaving the Viking defense scrambling, but no one could catch him on the play as he went 53 yards for the score.

The touchdown was especially deflating because the back seemed to be safely contained for a short gain, and just one small lapse had undone a lot of great work the NB defense had done up to that point. Rapids’ extra point was good, and they halved their deficit to 14-7.

North Branch’s offense knew they would need to answer, and they also knew they would need to lean heavily on their running backs with the inexperienced Thorsen at the helm. They slowly, but surely, made their way down the field. They converted a third and five early in the drive, and then came through with a three yard run a bit later on a fourth and three. They eventually moved all the way down to Rapids’ 18 yard line but stalled after a false start penalty and a few short runs, putting them in a fourth and nine spot at the 20 yard line. Head Coach Justin Voss trotted Johnson out for a field goal attempt but the senior’s line drive kick was pulled a bit and went left of the uprights from 38 yards out.

Disaster struck for NB following the miss. Three plays into the drive, the Vikings were in single coverage and the Thunderhawk receiver was able to get behind Bo Pederson. The Rapids quarterback heaved a perfect pass and the receiver went all the way to the house for a 70 yard touchdown. The extra point was good and all of a sudden, a game that North Branch was in full control of was tied at 14-14 in the third quarter.

The North Branch offense was again able to move the ball on the next drive, but another false start penalty was a killer. 

The Vikings had it at third and four on GR’s 29 yard line, but the early start put them into a third and nine which is much tougher for this offense. They only got one yard on third down before Thorsen threw an interception down the field on fourth and eight from the 33 yard line.

But, North Branch’s defense buckled back down and forced a three and out by Rapids on their possession, and some heavy pressure by Fenton on the punt caused a bit of a shank, giving NB the ball near midfield.

But again, the yellow laundry cost NB dearly on their drive. In a manageable second and six, the Vikings ran a play that got them five yards, but a holding call brought it all the way back to a second and 16 that the Vikings couldn’t climb out of. They were forced to punt two plays later.

Minke’s punt pinned Grand Rapids down at their own 10 yard line, but the Thunderhawks didn’t spend much time in the shadow of their own endzone, getting a 23 yard pass out to the 35 on third down. Just after crossing the 50, though, the North Branch defense tightened up and forced a GR punt. The punter didn’t get a great boot on the ball, but he got a very fortunate roll. The short kick traveled only 30 yards in the air, landing on the 22 yard line, but it ricocheted forward and rolled all the way down to the North Branch five yard line, pinning NB back deep with only a minute and half left in the game.

With such a long way to go to score, North Branch was thinking first to just get away from their own endzone and then see how much time was left to see if they would try to march down and score. But, they couldn’t get to that point because on the first play of the drive, Thorsen couldn’t handle the snap and the ball squirted out to the right almost directly to a Grand Rapids defender, who jumped on the ball at the five yard line.

The turnover was massive, setting the Thunderhawks up with an immediate first and goal from the six yard line. As the defense, who had just done their job and gotten off the field, trotted back out, Head Coach Justin Voss turned to them and gave them a couple fist pumps and some fiery words of encouragement. 

That worked just enough for the Vikes.

Rapids got down to the two yard line on their first play, and then down to the inch yard line on second down. In fact, many Rapids players threw their hands up in celebration at the play, but the refs ruled them down just shy of the endzone. On third and goal from inches away, Rapids plunged into the endzone with a quarterback sneak. But, their running back, who was trying to push the quarterback into the endzone, got off to a little bit fast of a start and was flagged for a false start, breathing life back into NB. 

On third and goal from the six yard line, a toss play was stuffed at the line of scrimmage by Minke, setting up Grand Rapids’ field goal attempt. 

Everything went right for Grand Rapids in the process. The snap and hold were perfect. But one of their outside lineman didn’t pinch down, and that allowed senior Carter Drill, who was battling injury to even play in the game, to take a direct route to the kicker. Drill stuck his paws high in the air and jumped towards the kicker. The ball blasted his white glove and went bouncing backwards, keeping the game tied at 14-14 and NB’s season alive.

The Vikings did have two last ditch efforts to try and move the ball and did actually get a 24 yard and 43 yard completion, but the clock ran out on regulation before they could try any sort of Hail Mary or field goal.

Overtime playoff football is an experience unlike any other, and the Vikings rose to the occasion when the pressure became the highest. In high school football, each team gets a possession from the 10 yard line to settle the score.

Grand Rapids started the first overtime with the ball and got down to the four yard line to set up third and goal. Their quarterback sprinted out to the left on a pass play, but he saw nothing but green in front of him and made a dash for the endzone. The only problem for him was that Volner read it the whole way. The senior defender closed on the quarterback and met him at the goal line for a big hit. Volner’s shoulder pad blasted the ball from the quarterback’s possession before he crossed the goal line and Fenton fell on the ball in the endzone for a fumble recovery.

Volner popped up and flexed to his sideline, who was losing their minds with excitement.

The turnover meant NB just needed any points on their possession to win and advance. On the first play, Minke went for seven yards, and on the second play, they went back to their senior back, and Minke punched it in the left side of the endzone for a game winning and season saving touchdown, giving the Vikings the 20-14 win, and sending their home crowd into a frenzy.

The dramatic win sends North Branch to the section championship game to take on Hermantown on Friday, November 1 at Walt Hunting Stadium in Duluth at 7 p.m. The Vikings beat the Hawks 48-44 earlier this year on a last second Hail Mary touchdown pass from Robillard.

Robillard’s status for the game is uncertain at this point. The senior was walking and celebrating without any assistance or noticeable limp after the game, but North Branch is taking it day-to-day with the injury. They’ll need a full complement to beat the Hawks again, as Hermantown is flying high after a 41-21 win over Duluth Denfeld on the other side of the bracket.

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