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After an uneven first half that saw them leading by just four points over Duluth East, North Branch football went back to their bread and butter in the second half and controlled the clock, limiting possessions and they escaped with a 22-12 win over the 1-4 Greyhounds.

The win moved North Branch to 5-0 and up to fifth in the state and sets them up for a Class AAAA top 10 showdown between them and eighth ranked Grand Rapids on Friday, October 3 for the Vikings’ homecoming game.

Against Duluth East, North Branch was playing their first away game in nearly a month after their opener was followed by three straight home games. 

The Greyhounds opened on offense and were able to move down the field by effectively mixing the pass and run. After a false start penalty put them into a third and long, North Branch thought they had a stop as East only gained seven yards. But, the Hounds went for it on fourth and four from North Branch’s 35 yard line, and they converted in a big way with quarterback Isaac Emerson dumping a little outlet pass out to senior Noah Thompson, who rumbled for a 26 yard gain inside of NB’s 10 yard line.

On the next play, Emerson ran an option play to the left and pitched it out to running back Dane Ahrens, who scored from nine yards out. The Greyhounds went for a two point conversion, but Emerson’s pass was batted down by Jacob Knoespel, leaving NB down just 6-0.

North Branch got started on their next drive quickly, opening with a 12 yard run by senior Logan Raine. Two plays later, Brody Mitchell ripped off a 44 yard gain to set the Vikings up in East’s redzone. Things did get dicey, as NB had to convert a short fourth down from the 10 yard line, but once they got that, Mitchell finished the drive off with an eight yard touchdown plunge. The Vikings’ two point conversion attempt went to Logan Hammel, and he bounced his way into the endzone, giving NB an 8-6 lead.

The Vikings defense, which has been stout all year, gave up a few yards to start the next drive, but was again hopeful to get off the field after forcing a second and long from the Greyhounds, but a shifty run from running back Joseph Sylvester went for 49 yards and flipped the field from East being in their own territory down to near NB’s goalline. On the next play, Emerson went left and got into the endzone untouched to give East the lead back at 12-8. On the two point attempt, senior Ayden Anderson made a great individual play from his linebacker spot and tracked Emerson as he tried to take it in himself. Anderson stood him up at the line of scrimmage and waited for the rest of his teammates to come in and stop the two pointer.

On NB’s next drive, senior quarterback Ethan Thorsen, who has made great decision after great decision this year, finally made a bad one. Facing a third and 12 from their own 39 yard line, Thorsen dropped back to pass and faced heavy pressure. Instead of throwing it away, he threw it up in the air over the middle of the field where at least three East defenders could make an interception. One did, and the turnover gave East the ball back with the lead.

The North Branch defense picked up their senior signal caller, though. They picked a great time to get their first stop as East quickly found themselves in a fourth and one after the turnover. Emerson fumbled the snap as he tried to lunge forward on a sneak and the NB defense swarmed and stopped him in his tracks to get the ball back in an almost identical spot they had thrown the pick from.

They proceeded to go on a 10 play drive that featured a 12 yard run from Hammel and was finished by a 15 yard touchdown pass from Thorsen to Knoespel to retake the lead at 14-12. The touchdown pass was a great redemption for Thorsen as he got a clean pocket and the East defensive backs fell for the fakes while Knoespel escaped behind them for a wide open score. Raine’s two point conversion plunge extended NB’s lead to 16-12 as the first half was getting short on time.

There was an empty possession by each team to end the half, but East’s did have a chance to get moving with a short field, but Knoespel came up with a giant 12 yard sack that pushed the Hounds into a third and 22 and killed their drive.

North Branch received the ball to start the second half and after the East kicker booted the ball into the endzone for a touchback and near disaster struck. They went three and out and lined up for a punt from their own 24 yard line. Head coach Justin Voss called a fake punt but it was snuffed out for just a two yard gain on fourth and six, and East immediately took over near North Branch’s redzone.

But, the defense again stood tall. Short gains on the first two downs left East in a third and five, where Emerson sailed a pass a little high on a wide open receiver for an incomplete pass. That brought up fourth and five for the Hounds and they went to the same Emerson to Thompson dump off that got them a big play earlier. The North Branch defense was ready for it this time as Bo Pederson and Elisha Herron read the play and tackled Thompson for just a four yard gain, leaving him short of the first down marker.

That’s when North Branch went back to the basics. They proceeded to eat almost a full quarter of time with a 22 play scoring drive that featured two fourth down conversions and three third down conversions. The longest play of the drive was two eight yard runs, one of which was the crescendo of it, with Nolan Bahr spinning his way into the endzone from eight yards out to stretch NB’s lead to 22-12. The two point conversion fell short, but the longevity of the drive left East without much time to work with down two scores.

East did their best to move down the field quickly, but North Branch kept everything in front of them as the Hounds burned more and more time off the clock trying to score. Eventually, the Hounds faced a fourth and goal from the two yard line, but Emerson bounced a slant pass to the left, turning the ball over on downs and sealing the win for NB barring a miracle.

North Branch’s offense did their job, though, earning two first downs and moving the ball from the shadow of their own goalline out to the 20 yard line, where they were comfortably able to take two knees to win the game and move to 5-0.

After the victory, the Vikings rose in the rankings to fifth after Grand Rapids knocked off fourth ranked Hermantown last week. The Thunderhawks have been very good this year, with their only loss to Bemidji, a very good Class AAAAA team. The Vikings always knew this year that Grand Rapids and Hermantown were going to be their stiffest competition in both the district and section, and they take on both over their last three weeks of the year.

The homecoming game for NB is on Friday, October 3 at 7 p.m.

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