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Martin Sleen isn’t even in the top 35 in the state in carries this year, but that hasn’t stopped the Hermantown speedster from finishing second in the state in rushing yards, with 1,570 and first in touchdowns with 26.

And North Branch’s was just another on the list of defenses the junior’s shredded this year, as he ran for 248 yards and four touchdowns on only 13 carries, averaging almost 20 yards per tote.

Sleen scored on runs of 66, 66, 55 and 14 yards in the Hawks ‘s 56-26 drubbing of North Branch on Wednesday, October 15.

The game was a battle for the second seed in Section 7AAAA, and with the win, Hermantown got a bye and  home field when the two teams play each other this weekend in the semifinals.

With the loss, North Branch had to host a first round sectional game against sixth seeded Rock Ridge on Tuesday, October 21.

The MEA week game was going to be a high scoring affair from the jump. North Branch went three and out to start the game, and four plays into their drive, Hermantown got the first big score from Sleen from 66 yards out. Their extra point was good and the Hawks were up 7-0.

North Branch then fumbled on their first play of the next drive, giving Hermantown a short field, which they capitalized on, scoring just two plays into the drive on a 28 yard rushing touchdown stretching the lead to 15-0 after the two point conversion.

North Branch’s offense finally showed some life on their next drive, with Brody Mitchell ripping off a 56 yard gain to start the drive.

It took the Vikes seven more plays, but they punched the ball into the endzone on fourth and goal from the one yard line with quarterback Ethan Thorsen scoring on a sneak play. The two pointer was no good and NB was down 15-6.

The Sleen Show then took center stage, as the junior back took the first play of the next drive for another 66 yard touchdown, simply outracing every NB defender to the right side. 

Hermantown’s extra point was good and they were up 22-6, but North Branch still had some fight in them.

On the third play of their next drive, Logan Raine busted up the middle for a 43 yard run that brought NB into Hermantown’s redzone. Raine finished the drive off on the next play, scoring from 17 yards out. The two pointer was good, and NB was back to within one score at 22-14.

And on the next drive, the defense did what they needed to do. They limited the big play from Hermantown and made them keep everything underneath. Although the Hawks moved the ball, eventually the Vikings defense forced a fumble at the 12 yard line that they recovered and got their offense back on the field with a chance to even the score.

But, North Branch did the one thing they can’t afford to do on offense: commit a penalty. 

That set them behind the sticks right away and they never recovered, eventually punting the ball away to Hermantown, who took over near midfield.

It took Hermantown only one play — but it surprisingly wasn’t Sleen this time — to score the big touchdown.

Hermantown quarterback Sawyer Senst faked a handoff to Sleen, and that got the defense to bite, leaving Bode Madill wide open 20 yards down the field. Senst delivered a perfect pass and nobody ever got within 10 yards of Madill as he strolled into the endzone untouched to put Hermantown up 29-14.

North Branch put together a drive to end the half, moving all the way down to the Hawks’ 31 yard line, but with short time, Thorsen had to throw a pass to try and save some time, and it was picked off, ending the half.

North Branch kicked off to begin the second half and the quick-strike Hermantown offense was at it again.

Sleen — who finished in the top three in the 100 and 200 meter dash at the stat track meet last spring — took the first place from scrimmage in the second half 55 yards to paydirt. North Branch defenders were able to get a few hands on him this time, but no one got a good grip to bring him down until he raced away from the defense. The extra point was good and NB was down 36-14

A negative two yard rush and another procedural penalty doomed NB’s next drive, as they quickly punted the ball back to Hermantown and their lethal offense.

Two long pass completions from Senst moved the ball close, and then a far-too-easy quarterback sneak from Senst four yards out gave the Hawks another score and the rout was on at 42-14.

North Branch did get a big touchdown on their next drive, a 48 yard run by Thorsen to breathe a little life into the NB sideline, but a failed two point conversion left them down 22 at 42-20. And then, a final nail in the coffin for NB came on a somewhat embarrassing kick off. With a ton of ground to make up, and knowing they needed to keep the Hawk offense off the field, the Vikes attempted an onside kick, but they didn’t cover it very well.

Hermantown offensive lineman Neo Carlson fielded the ball aggressively and cleanly and raced past the oncoming NB charge and outran the kick team to the endzone for a 50 yard kick return touchdown.

The two teams each traded one more score, with Sleen getting his fourth touchdown of the game for Hermantown and Logan Hammel scoring for the Vikings, leaving the final at 56-26.

Although the score was lopsided, the stats were not. Sleen did rush for 248, but as a team, the Vikings rushed for over 170 yards more than Hermantown, with Hammel going for 123 of NB’s 496 yards. Raine had 95, Nolan Bahr had 83, Mitchell had 68 and Thorsen had 57.

It was the turnovers — two fumbles and an interception — the fluke kick reutnr touchdown and some untimely penalties that were ultimately the difference in the game for North Branch.

North Branch beat Rock Ridge 65-40 in their opening section game on Tuesday, so they’ll pack their bags and head right back up to Hermantown to take on the Hawks again on Saturday, October 25 at 6 p.m. with a chance to go to the section championship game.

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