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The North Branch football could have been prime for a let down when they took on Mora Friday, September 20. They were fresh off of a thrilling, last second come-from-behind barnburner against Hermantown the week before and homecoming against a powerful, ranked and undefeated Duluth Denfeld team is coming up this week.

So despite Mora’s 0-3 record, there was still trepidation heading into the game. But, the Vikings, who are a mature and disciplined team, quickly put that uneasiness to rest and blew the Mustangs out 42-14 at Mora.

Things started out great for the Vikings on the first drives of the game. Mora grabbed a first down on their first possession, but they decided to go for it on fourth and five from near midfield, and the quarterback skipped a pass to his receiver, forcing a turnover on downs and giving NB the ball back in plus territory. It took North Branch nine plays, with the big one coming on the legs of Tyler Minke bringing the ball all the way down to the one yard line, but they scored a touchdown when Carter Drill punched it in from a yard out. Chazz Johnson booted the extra point and the Vikes led 7-0.

North Branch, which recently picked up Johnson as a kicker from the soccer team, then surprised the Mustangs with an onside kick up the right side. Their kick team pounced on the ball and the offense quickly took over again for the Vikings.

On second down on the drive, Robillard sprinted out left for an 18 yard gain down to Mora’s 27 yard line. Then London Olson weaved up the middle for six yards, and eventually, Robillard went wide right from 20 yards out to score the Vikings’ second touchdown of the game and put them up 14-0 after Johnson banged home another extra point.

Mora, actually running a version of the Power T just like North Branch, then had a productive drive, moving the ball down the field at a good clip. As they approached the endzone, things tightened up. Mora was just near the goal line, but a holding call moved them back 10 yards on third down. Their quarterback picked-up most of those yards on the ensuing play, but on fourth and goal from the four yard line, the North Branch defense stuffed the quarterback for a loss, turning the Mustangs over on downs again.

North Branch was able to get one first down on the drive, but they couldn’t keep it moving as Mora was able to find a stop and force the Vikings to punt. Drill, who is a talented running back and also a very good punter, had one of his best plays of the game on the punt. The snap was awfully high and the senior had to leap to stop the ball from going over his head and into the endzone, he gathered himself and just barely got the punt away as two Mora defenders were bearing down. Not only did he get the punt off, he blasted a line drive that rolled past the return man and ended up being 46 yards, flipping the field.

Unfortunately, Mora still was able to march down the field and grab their first score of the game. The scoring play was actually reminiscent of Robillard’s heroic throw from the week before. 

The Mustangs were facing a third and six from North Branch’s 25 yard line and the quarterback dropped back to pass. He faced heavy pressure from multiple North Branch defenders, but he rolled out right and heaved the ball down near the endzone. Despite double coverage, the Mora receiver came down with the ball, scoring a touchdown. Mora’s two pointer was no good and the Vikings remained in the lead, 14-6.

In true North Branch fashion, though, it didn’t take them long to answer back. Bo Pederson had a great kick return, setting the Vikings up at Mora’s 25 yard line, and it took Olson just one play to burst up the middle untouched for the Vikes’ third touchdown of the night. Johnson’s extra point pushed the lead to 21-6, and that’s where the score would stand heading into halftime.

Out of the break, the Vikings received the kickoff, and quickly snuffed out any hope for a strong second half from Mora. On the third play of the quarter, Robillard called his own number and went up the middle from 48 yards out, breaking a couple of tackles on the way to his second touchdown of the night. Johnson’s extra point was good and NB led 28-6.

On Mora’s first possession of the half, they moved the ball into Vikings territory, but then their quarterback completely failed to diagnose underneath coverage on a pass play from the Vikings and threw a ball directly to North Branch safety Nolan Bahr for an interception. 

Two plays later, and Robillard was off to the races again for the trifecta, outracing a Mora defender to the endzone for a 55 yard touchdown scamper. Johnson’s XP was good and North Branch was up 35-6 early in the third quarter.

Penalties and a North Branch sack stymied the next Mora drive, forcing them to punt, but it ended up being fortuitous for the Mustangs, as they forced a fumble on the first place of North Branch’s drive and took over on the 30 yard line. Mora moved it down to North Branch’s 10 yard line, but some undisciplined play was their undoing. On second and eight from NB’s 10 yard line, North Branch stopped Mora for a minimal gain, but a Mustang offensive lineman was flagged for a personal foul after the play for shoving a North Branch defender, and two harmless incomplete passes later, and the Vikings took over on downs.

As they bled the clock into the fourth quarter, Mora was clearly worn down on defense and North Branch moved the ball with ease before capping the drive off with a 36 yard touchdown by Brody Mitchell to put NB up 42-6.

Mora did finally punch another touchdown in, but it was after a 15 play drive that burned most of the fourth quarter down. When North Branch got the ball back, they simply had to kneel on it a few times to end the game.

Robillard ended the night with a box score straight from a video game. He had 123 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just six attempts, for a 20.5 average. Olson had 116 yards on nine carries, and Brody Mithcell, Dooley Beaver, Tyler Minke and Carter Drill all had over 25 yards rushing. As a team, North Branch averaged 12.2 yards per carry, going for 378 yards on just 31 carries.

The relatively stress free win was good for the Vikings as they prep to face their stiffest test of the year. Duluth Denfeld is 4-0 on the year and is averaging almost 56 points per game behind arguably the best running back tandem in the state of Minnesota in Taye Manns and Deon Bergner. The one benefit for North Branch is that the Denfeld defense struggled mightily to slow down Mora’s Power T offense in the season opener, as they won in a shootout against the Mustangs, 70-42 – and it wasn’t empty scoring by Mora as they led 30-16 at one point and were in the game at 46-36 in the third quarter.

But, slowing down Denfeld’s rushing attack  is going to be a tall task, as well. Manns has 877 yards and 18 touchdowns through four games this year, and is averaging nearly 13 yards per carry, while Bergner has two games with more than 200 yards rushing and three touchdowns already as well. Even their quarterback, Lee Brooks Jr., passed for over 200 yards and four touchdowns in the Hunters’ win over Duluth East last week.

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