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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Grizzlies shine in opening round

North Woods manhandles Mariners to advance to semi-final contest with Cook County

Marcus White
Posted 10/25/18

FIELD TWP— The Grizzlies extended their winning streak to three Tuesday night, easily downing Silver Bay 20-6 in the first round of the Section 7 Nineman playoffs.

North Woods now goes on to a …

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Grizzlies shine in opening round

North Woods manhandles Mariners to advance to semi-final contest with Cook County

Posted

FIELD TWP— The Grizzlies extended their winning streak to three Tuesday night, easily downing Silver Bay 20-6 in the first round of the Section 7 Nineman playoffs.

North Woods now goes on to a rematch with number one-seeded Cook County this Saturday for a right to play in the section championship. The Vikings narrowly beat Grizzlies 38-26 in a hard-fought match-up on Sept. 21 and come into their playoff tilt looking less than invincible after a 24-28 loss to South Ridge on their final game of the regular season.

“I thought we played well, especially on the defensive end of the ball,” North Woods Head Coach John Jirik said after Tuesday’s game. We are excited to play the number one seed and are hoping to continue to improve. There are no easy games in the semi-finals and we are looking forward to the challenge.”

North Woods nearly shutout Silver Bay, scoring three unanswered touchdowns before their opponents notched a scoring run.

In the first quarter, quarterback Chase Kleppe connected with Tanner Barto for a nine-yard touchdown strike.

Nathan Crain would take over in the second quarter with a seven-yard carry for another six.

Both teams went scoreless in the third quarter, but Kleppe would return to Barto again in the fourth, this time on a 48-yard bomb, good for six. Jake Hyppa would score on the two-point conversion.

Silver Bay’s Westom Monson put the Mariners on the board late in the quarter, when it was too late to matter.

Overall team statistics were unavailable as of press time. TJ Chiabotti had a huge night, rushing for 224 yards on 19 carries. Hyppa added 84 yards on 11 carries.