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North Branch took a half to continue licking their wounds from a 40-8 loss last week to Grand Rapids, but after they settled in at the break, they ran away with an easy win over Duluth Denfeld on Friday, October 10, moving their record to 6-1.

The game was tied 12-12 at halftime, but the Vikings scored 36 unanswered points in the second half to breeze to a 56-18 win over the one-win Hunters.

The Vikings opened the scoring with a nice touchdown pass from senior quarter Ethan Thorsen. The Vikes were facing a fourth and 15, but it was from Denfeld’s 35 yard line, so head coach Justin Voss didn’t see much value in punting. They let Thorsen let it loose and despite facing some heavy pressure, he found Logan Hammel down the seam as he broke open near the 15 yard line. He split two defenders and picked up a block and he waltzed into the endzone for a 35 yard touchdown catch to put NB up 6-0.

They missed the two point conversion, but didn’t have to wait on the sideline long. NB’s kicker, Jacob Edmonds, hit a perfect onside kick following the score and the Vikes recovered it, going right back on offense. 

They put together a nice drive, moving down to Denfeld’s 20 yard line, but a six yard loss on a third and eight play put them in another long fourth down scenario. This time, Voss elected for a field goal attempt from Edmonds. The kick looked well struck, but a Hunter defender had split the middle of the offensive line and he was in the backfield to block the kick in an instant.

The follow up from the NB defense was a disaster, as they gave up a 77 yard touchdown pass on the second play of Denfeld’s ensuing drive. The quarterback dropped back and simply heaved it as far as he could and the Denfeld receiver outran North Branch’s coverage and went into the endzone untouched. NB blocked the extra point, and it kept the score tied at 6-6.

North Branch tried to move the ball on offense again, and although they ground out eight plays, they eventually stalled and had to punt from midfield. But, the punt ended up being a good thing. It pinned Denfeld down inside their own five yard line, and after one first down, the Hunters were forced to punt from their own 17 yard line. On the punt, Apollo Leija strafed in from the right side and blocked the punt as it rolled end over end into the end zone. Hammel, who was putting pressure on from the left side, tracked the ball into the endzone and fell on it for his second touchdown of the game. Thorsen’s two point passing attempt was intercepted and NB led 12-6.

But, Denfeld wasn’t just going to go away quietly. On the third play of their next drive, they got a 48 yard rush from their running back, and three plays later, he punched it into the endzone to tie the game at 12 with just 25 seconds left in the half. NB blocked the extra point attempt again – it was the fourth blocked kick of the game between the two teams – and the score remained knotted.

To open the second half, NB got the ball and made good on the drive. They went nine rushing plays, culminating with the third touchdown of the day for Hammel, from four yards out. Thorsen called his own number on the two point conversion and it was successful for a 20-12 lead.

Big plays continued to haunt the NB defense though, on the first play of Denfeld’s next drive, their back took it straight up the middle and the NB defense parted like the literal red sea and he raced untouched for 63 yards for a touchdown. Denfeld went for two but failed, and the score stood at 20-18 in favor of NB.

The big plays started pouring down like a waterfall after that. Leija took the second play of NB’s next drive 56 yards to paydirt, scoring a touchdown for the Vikings. Their two point conversion was good and NB was up 28-18.

Denfeld got the ball back, but this time didn’t have the explosive big play in their back pocket. They quickly found themselves in a fourth and eight situation and went for it, throwing an incomplete pass and turning the ball over to NB near midfield.

It again took only two plays for NB to make good on the turnover. Hammel struck again, blowing by the Denfeld defense and throwing a nasty stiff arm near the end of a 43 yard touchdown run for his fourth score of the night. The two pointer was good and NB started to pull away at 36-18.

Another fruitless possession from Denfeld led to another big play from NB. This time, senior Brody Mitchell took a handoff up the middle for 41 yards. Although he didn’t score, the Bikes punched it in from one yard out just four plays later. Edmonds’ extra point was good and NB was up 43-18. 

The avalanche continued to pile on the Hunters after that. They fumbled the ensuing kick off, which North Branch recovered on Denfeld’s 23 yard line. Two plays later, Thorsen scored his first rushing touchdown of the game from four yards out. Edmonds’ extra point was good and the rout was on.

Even when Denfeld held on to the ball, things went bad. They were forced to punt on their next drive, but it was a short punt and a personal foul penalty gave NB another very short field. Five plays later and NB capped their fast and furious second half with another touchdown, putting the final tally at 56-18, with NB scoring the last 36 points of the game.

North Branch finished their regular season yesterday with a match up against fellow 6-1 section foe Hermantown. The game was on Wednesday due to MEA weekend in schools. There was a lot on the line in the game. Grand Rapids has the top seed locked up, but the second seed gets a bye and then would be the host in the likely rematch between the two teams. NB will have their hands full with junior running back Martin Sleen. He’s among the state leaders in rushing yards and although he didn’t play in week seven, he was back healthy for week eight.

If the Vikings beat Hermantown, which came after the County Press deadline, they would get a bye and have next Tuesday off. If they lose to the Hawks, they would get the third seed in Section 7AAAA and host Rock Ridge, who they beat 44-6 earlier this year.

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