Rebels upend Agates in final, state bound again

Rebel defender BJ Young upends Two Harbors receiver Brandon Lambe in the Section 7AA high school football championship game at Public School Stadium in Duluth.

BY JIM HAWLEY
PolarLeague.com

At what point does a group of Rebels become mainstream?  Moose Lake/Willow River (“ML/WR”) won the section title for the sixth consecutive year by polishing off the Two Harbors Agates 48-7 at Public Schools Stadium in Duluth.  Dave Louzek, ML/WR Head Coach, was succinct, saying “Our goal is to compete for a state championship every year.”

The Rebels (11-0) scored three touchdowns on their first four offensive possessions, which surrounded a punt return and interception return for touchdown, as they blew the game open in the first half.  Senior Chris Gassert set the pace, scoring four touchdowns – three on offense and one on defense, plus chipping in a fumble recovery.  Gassert finished with 140 yards rushing in nine carries.

The Rebels move on to face Pierz (10-1) at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 11 in the first round of State Tournament Quarterfinals at St. Cloud State University.

Taking advantage of a short field after recovering an opening onside kick attempt by the Agates, ML/WR scored in just three plays.  Gassert ran for 30 yards on the first play, and ran seven yards for the touchdown.  Junior B.J. Young began a successful evening by kicking the extra point.  Per Agate Coach Tom Nelson, the opening onside attempt was a planned tactic in recognition of the Rebels’ potent offense, thinking, “… maybe we get the ball and don’t give them the opportunity (for a quick score).”  Unfortunately, the Rebels were expecting it, and  “… had our hands team in for that first kick.’’ according to Coach Louzek.

After forcing the Agates to go three-and-out and to punt, the Rebels took over at their own 25-yard line.  Four plays later, they were back in the end zone.  The drive featured a 28-yard pass play from junior Tony Adamczak to senior Jake Disterhaupt, the Rebels rushing and receiving leader who wears the Rebels’ coveted #89 jersey, and a 37-yard touchdown run by Gassert.  Young’s kick made it 14-0, Rebels.

ML/WR then successfully executed an onside kick of their own to take over again on offense.  After gaining two first downs, their drive was ended by a Skyler Lysacker interception at the Agate 33.  The Agates then ran off 13 plays, before Gassert picked off a pass and returned it 68 yards for a touchdown.  The kick failed, leaving the score 20-0.

After forcing another Agate punt, Young got on the other end of the kicking game by returning a punt 65 yards for a touchdown.  He finished the scoring with the extra point kick, leaving the Rebels up 27-0 early in the second quarter.  Coach Nelson credited his seniors for not crashing and burning in the face of this adversity.   “We work a lot on what it means to be a leader and how you carry yourself, whether things are going well or not so well,” said Nelson.

Two Harbors again gambled a little on their next drive, going for a first down on a fourth-down, four yards to go play at the Rebels’ 49-yard line.  They lost two yards on the fourth down attempt.  A Gassert 49-yard touchdown run resulted on the next play.  Young’s extra point made the score 34-0, Rebels.  That was the score at the end of the first half.

Moose Lake/Willow River running back Chris Gassert finds a seam in the Two Harbors defense and breaks loose for a touchdown.

The second half began with an Agate drive that ended with a turnover – a fumble recovery by Gassert at the Rebels’ 35-yard line.  Disterhaupt keyed the drive with a 33-yard run.  Adamczak connected with Isaac Coil for a one-yard touchdown pass to complete the drive.  Young’s kick made it 41-0.

The Rebels forced another three-and-out plus punt, which was returned to their 49-yard line.  Young broke loose for a 40-yard touchdown run for his second score of the evening, and then kicked the extra point, leaving the Rebels up 48-0 after three quarters.

The fourth quarter was played under running time, and featured the Agates lone touchdown.  After taking the Rebel kickoff at their own 33-yard line, the Agates went on a 10-play drive.  The key play was a 35-yard run by sophomore Mike Nordean.  Sophomore quarterback Kyle Omtvedt capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown run.  The extra point kick by senior Jesse Omtvedt provided the final score for the evening of 48-7.  For the Agates, senior Kyle Omtvedt, team rushing leader, ran for 93 yards, while Nordean added 82 yards.

The Agates saw their three-game winning streak come to an end and finished the season at 5-6.  Coach Nelson was justifiably proud of his team, “One month ago there not a person outside of our program that would have ever believed that these boys would have been playing for a section championship and berth to the state tournament, but they did exactly that …”

Both coaches are looking forward.  It is a matter of time horizon.

Coach Louzek and his staff headed to the Fargodome to scout their next week’s opponent, knowing that “Pierz has a very good program with many recent State Tournament appearances.”

Coach Nelson was thinking about next year, “I think with the proper dedication and work ethic our future looks bright, …  You always want to improve no matter where you are and that is what we will be looking to do … getting better every play and every day.”