FIELD TWP- The North Woods Griizzlies used a kickoff return and a relentless ground game to pull away from the Barnum Bombers in the second half on Friday, to improve their record to 2-2 with a 28-14 home win.
Jared Chiabotti electrified the home crowd when he received the second-half kickoff at the 30-yard line, broke through the Bombers’ coverage, and outraced everyone to the end zone for a touchdown that put the Grizzlies up 14-0.
“We knew we were getting the ball back after halftime. I told the guys ‘Let’s make some moves,’ let’s put one on the board here,’” Grizzlies Head Coach Joel Anderson said. “Jared made a couple of nice moves, the guys blocked it very, very well, and he found the open hole. Next thing we know we’re up 14.”
It was the second North Woods touchdown in about 30 seconds of elapsed game time. T.J. Chiabotti closed out the first half with a 14-yard touchdown reception from Ty Fabish with only 19 seconds remaining, and Jared Chiabotti hauled in a two-point conversion pass to put the Grizzlies up 8-0.
Barnum answered with a five-yard scoring plunge by Caden Sheett to cap a 60-yard scoring drive six minutes into the third quarter, and Hayden Charboneau threw to John Stevens Jr. for the conversion to cut the North Woods lead to 14-8.
T.J. Chiabotti ripped off a 30-yard run at the end of the third quarter to take the Grizzlies into Barnum territory, then scored on a 15-yard run and two-point conversion to extend the lead to 22-8. A 38-yard scoring romp by Chiabotti with 1:48 remaining gave North Woods a 28-8 cushion.
Charboneau connected with Willie Richardson on a 22-yard touchdown pass with :27 remaining to account for the 28-14 final.
Anderson said the Grizzlies’ success hinged on the play of the offensive line.
“Our offensive line played spectacularly,” Anderson said. “They opened up holes so that we could get six or seven yards a carry. Overall we outmuscled them and that started to wear them down, especially in the second half.”
T.J. Chiabotti picked up 203 yards on 30 carries, and Jared Chiabotti had six rushes for 16 yards.
Things were tougher in the passing game, where Fabish was just three-of-11 for 33 yards and two interceptions, with no completions to his wide receivers.
“Hats off to Barnum, they played a fantastic football game,” Anderson said “They covered our receivers incredibly well. There was very little window for a passing game.”
Ethan Byram anchored the defense with five tackles, three assists, a sack, and two tackles for losses. Eric Aune also collected five tackles and three assists, and Olin Nelson figured in the mix with four tackles and four assists.
The Grizzlies were scheduled for a long road trip this Friday to take on another team of Bombers, winless Braham. Against common opponents, Braham is 0-2 against Deer River and Chisholm, while the Grizzles beat Chisholm but lost to Deer River. The Grizzlies will be back home on Thursday, Oct. 7 against Mille Lacs.