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After a quick, early strike by Duluth Denfeld made it seem like North Branch’s Friday night match up with them was going to be all offense, all the time, the Vikings promptly rattled off 34 straight points to blow out the Hunters 47-12 and make a statement against the previously fourth ranked team in Class AAAA.

Denfeld received the opening kickoff and had two nice runs before quarterback Lee Brooks Jr. delivered a beautiful dime over the North Branch defense and hit receiver Keelijah Thomas in stride for a 66 yard touchdown pass before many of the North Branch homecoming crowd had settled into their seats.

Denfeld’s two point conversion attempt was no good and they had the quick 6-0 lead.

North Branch’s offense knew they would be able to move the ball against the Denfeld defense, which had been leaky against Mora’s Power T, and it was evident quickly. The Vikings moved the ball early and crossed midfield after six plays. Right after converting a short fourth and one, Tyler Minke took a handoff to the left side and cleared the first line of defense. Once he got to the defensive backs, Minke cut back to the right side and left everyone in his dust for a 45 yard touchdown run. Chaz Johnson’s extra point was good and NB had a 7-6 lead.

On Denfeld’s ensuing drive, they were able to get one first down, but then two penalties and some stout NB defense forced them into a punt from their own 27.

It didn’t take long for the offense to capitalize. The Vikes’ drive started with two short runs but then four straight runs went for 10 yards, 10 yards, eight yards and was capped off by a 27 yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Jacob Robillard, and North Branch extended their lead to 14-6 after Johnson’s extra point.

In what would be the theme the rest of the night, the North Branch defense flexed a bit against the high powered Denfeld offense, but they wouldn’t be broken. The Hunters moved the ball into North Branch territory, but on a fourth and five, the defense corralled star running back Taye Manns for a four yard gain, turning the ball over on downs. 

North Branch then marched 56 yards on 10 plays to extend their lead to 21-6. The big play was a 27 yard burst up the middle by Brody Mitchell that brought the ball down to the one yard line. Two plays later, Minke punched in his second touchdown of the night.

Denfeld did fine on offense again on their next drive, this time moving all the way down to North Branch’s 15 yard line, where they had a first and 10. Their first play went for negative on yard when a host of Vikings met Manns in the backfield. Denfeld’s second play went for no gain when they embodied rallying to the ball and team tackling. Manns caught a swing pass out left. He hit a nasty stiff arm on Minke, but that slowed him down a bit. Manns hit another effective stiff arm and broke a third tackle even, but by the time he was through with all of that, a host of Vikings were waiting to drive him out of bounds for no gain.

Now in desperation mode facing a third and 11 from North Branch’s 16, Brooks swung another pass out to the right to Thomas, but Nolan Bahr made a spectacular open field tackle and Denfeld lost two yards. On fourth and 13, the Vikings could play deep pass coverage, and they did that, resulting in an interception in the end zone by Bo Pederson.

It didn’t take long for the North Branch offense to make good on the defense’s stand. Mitchell broke off the first play after the turnover on downs and raced away from the defense for an 80 yard touchdown that charged up the already fiery homecoming crowd. Johnson’s extra point gave NB an emphatic 28-6 lead. What made it even more deflating for the Hunters is the fact that there were only 21 seconds left before halftime when Mitchell ripped off the dagger score.

After halftime, the Vikings received the ball and their offense didn’t skip a beat. They went on an 11 play drive that spanned 70 yards and culminated in Minke’s third touchdown of the game to go up 34-6 after the extra point attempt was mishandled.

Manns did finally break free on Denfeld’s next drive on an astounding run that shows why he is one of the top running backs in the state this year. He shed seven tackles as he bullied his way up the middle of the defense and went for a 54 yard touchdown. It was really the only play of the night that North Branch’s defense lost some discipline in their tackling form, and Manns made them pay.

But, the quick score didn’t do Denfeld’s exhausted defense any favors. They had to trot right back out to face the onslaught of the North Branch offense, and they kept piling on. London Olson opened the drive with a 15 yard run and Robillard finished it five plays later by completing his only pass attempt of the night, a 27 yard touchdown strike down the middle of the field to Carter Drill. Drill met some resistance inside the 10 yard line, but the senior running back dragged two Denfeld defenders into the endzone with him to stretch the lead to 40-14 after Denfeld blocked the extra point.

Denfeld’s offense moved the ball again, getting down into the Vikings’ red zone again, but a fourth and four throw to the end zone from Brooks was picked off by Robillard, who was everywhere on the field, and it ended the threat.

The Vikings put the finishing touches on the blowout victory when Dooley Beaver, whose season was cut short by a knee injury last year, ripped off two back-to-back massive gains to score for North Branch. He took the first hand off of the drive 46 yards and then popped off a 34 yard touchdown run on the next play. After Johnson’s extra point, NB was up 47-14, which ended up being the final after Denfeld’s last drive petered out just past midfield.

The game was a masterclass in both offense and defense for the Vikings. Outside of their final drive, which was just kneel downs, North Branch never punted or turned it over on downs. They scored every time they touched the ball. They racked up 513 rushing yards with five players over 80 yards. Mitchell led the way with 141 yards on eight carries. Minke had 102 yards and three scores on 10 carries, Robillard had 92 yards on nine carries, Olson had 87 yards on 13 carries and Beaver added 80 yards on three carries.

Robillard was also one-for-one passing for 26 yards and a touchdown and added seven tackles and an interception on defense.

The defense as a whole deserves a ton of credit. Denfeld was averaging nearly 56 points per game heading into the contest and although Manns ended with 171 yards rushing, the Vikings limited the damage he did by team tackling and staying disciplined.

The win moves North Branch to 4-1 on the year and moved them into the top 10 rankings in Class AAAA – they are currently ranked eighth. It’s the second time in the last three weeks the Vikings have beaten a team who was previously undefeated and ranked. Denfeld was 4-0 and ranked fourth in Class AAAA prior to the loss.

The win was also huge when it comes to section seeding. North Branch currently controls their own destiny to the top seed in Section 7AAAA and the coveted bye. There is only one bye this year since Rock Ridge moved in and made it a seven team section. North Branch is currently in the top spot, and their main competition is Hermantown and Denfeld, who they’ve already beaten. There is still a lot of football left to play for the Vikings, but having control of their own future is big for a team that has aspirations past section tournaments. The Vikings will take on 3-2 Grand Rapids this week on Friday, October 4 at GR. The Thunderhawks losses both came at the hands of Hermantown and Duluth Denfeld.

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