by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Goodridge/Grygla punched its ticket to the Section 8 9-Man Championship game for the second consecutive season with a dominant 37-12 win over Win-E-Mac Saturday.
“Great semi-final playoff win to return to the Goodridge/Grygla Chargers back to the section championship game,” said Goodridge/Grygla Head Coach John Wilebski.
Due to poor field conditions caused by Thursday’s rain and snow, Saturday’s game was moved from Grygla High School to Bemidji High School. Crews attempted to clear the field in Grygla Friday, but the wet snow had frozen and was pulling up chunks of sod in attempts to remove it.
The Chargers won by forfeit over the Lake of the Woods Bears in the opening round of the section playoffs. The Chargers were 11 days removed from their previous competition when they took the field Saturday. If they showed any rust, it was on the Patriots’ first possession.
Goodridge/Grygla won the coin toss and deferred its choice to the second half. The Patriots took the ball to start the game and recovered a Blake Rychlock squib kick at their own 30. The Patriots got the running game going early and picked up a pair of first downs on their opening drive. The drive eventually stalled at the Goodridge/Grygla 37-yard line with a Braylon Hamre pass intended for Cameron Bergman falling incomplete.
Goodridge/Grygla came out firing on all cylinders on its first offensive possession. The Chargers put together a 10-play, 63-yard drive that culminated with a three-yard touchdown run by Kehan Nelson on a fourth and two from the Win-E-Mac 3-yard line. Lewis Jones added the two-point conversion and the Chargers led 8-0 with 3:16 left in the opening quarter.
The teams traded punts as the first quarter rolled into the second quarter and a short punt into the wind by Rychlock gave the Patriots the ball at the Goodridge/Grygla 29-yard line to start their third possession. A pass interference penalty on Nelson on the first play of the drive gave the Patriots a new set of downs at the 14-yard line, setting up a 14-yard touchdown run by Ryan Kangas. Hamre’s two-point conversion pass fell incomplete and the score remained 8-6 in favor of the Chargers.
Still up 8-6 late in the first half, the Chargers got their passing attack going with a 77-yard scoring drive. Rychlock completed a 34-yard pass to Owen Larson early in the drive and he capped off the scoring drive with an 11-yard touchdown-scoring pass to Nelson. The Chargers used a pass by Jones to Rychlock to pick up the two-point conversion and they took a 16-6 lead into the halftime break.
The Chargers built on the momentum they gained late in the first half with a pair of third quarter scoring drives. The first went 80 yards and ended with a 12-yard touchdown run by Jones.
Win-E-Mac picked up a pair of first downs on the ensuing possession before turning the ball over on a fumble that was recovered by the Chargers. The Chargers took advantage of the short field and put together a six-play drive that ended with a seven-yard touchdown run by Jones. The two-point conversion run failed and the score remained 30-6.
Back-to-back Win-E-Mac possessions ended with interceptions. The Chargers took advantage of the second interception and put together a 13-play, 80-yard drive that consumed most of the fourth quarter and ended with Carson Rubischko punching it in from six yards out. Rychlock added the extra point to make it a 37-6 lead for the Chargers.
The Patriots got on the board on the ensuing kickoff as Jayden Haugen broke free for a 65-yard return. The two-point conversion run was no good.
“Lewis Jones and Blake Rychlock had great games on both sides of the ball,” Wilebski said. “Owen Larson and Sawyer Jacobson really did a nice job defensively. Hats off to our linemen and our lead blockers in the backfield. They really rose up to the challenge, taking control of the line of scrimmage the second half of the game.”
Goodridge/Grygla will play the Stephen-Argyle Storm in the Section 8 9-Man Championship game Thursday, Nov 2 at 2 p.m. in the Fargodome.
Scoring
1 2 3 4 T
Win-E-Mac 0 6 0 6 12
GG 8 8 14 7 37
First Quarter
G/G – Kehan Nelson 2-yard run (Lewis Jones run)
Second Quarter
WEM – Ryan Kangas 15-yard run (pass failed)
G/G – Nelson 11-yard from Blake Rychlock (Jones pass to Rychlock)
Third Quarter
G/G – Jones 12-yard run (Rychlock pass to Owen Larson)
G/G – Jones 7-yard run (run failed)
Fourth Quarter
G/G – Carson Rubischko 6-yard run (Rychlock kick)
WEM – Jayden Haugen 65-yard kickoff return (run failed)
Individuals
• Rushing – (G/G) Lewis Jones 19-136, 2 touchdowns; Blake Rychlock 10-66; Kehan Nelson 14-63, touchdown; Carson Rubischko 7-20, touchdown.
• Passing – (G/G) Blake Rychlock 6-for-8, 78 yards, touchdown; Landon Nordby 1-for-1, 15 yards.
• Receiving – (G/G) Owen Larson 2-46; Lewis Jones 2-20; Kehan Nelson 1-11, touchdown.
• Tackles – Blake Rychlock 8, Sawyer Jacobson 7, Lewis Jones 6, Kehan Nelson 6, Carson Rubischko 6, Andrew Englund 6, Donny Johnsrud 5, Gavin Aune 5, Owen Larson 5, Hunter Vad 2, Sebastian Groven 1.
• Sacks – Blake Rychlock 1,
• Interceptions – Lewis Jones 1, Sawyer Jacobson 1.
• Fumble recoveries – Blake Rychlock 1, Donny Johnsrud 1.
Section 8 9-Man
• Seeds – 1. Goodridge/Grygla; 2. Stephen-Argyle; 3. Kittson County Central; 4. Warren-Alvarado-Oslo; 5. Win-E-Mac; 6. Northern Freeze; 7. Badger/Greenbush-Middle River.
• Quarterfinals, Tuesday, Oct. 24 – Win-E-Mac 46, Warren-Alvarado-Oslo 6; Stephen-Argyle 22, Badger/Greenbush-Middle River 8; Kittson County Central 29, Northern Freeze 18.
• Semifinals, Saturday, Oct. 28 – Goodridge/Grygla 37, Win-E-Mac 12; Stephen-Argyle 32, Kittson County Central 26.
• Championship, Thursday, Nov. 2 at Fargodome 2 p.m. – Goodridge/Grygla vs. Stephen-Argyle.
Section 8A
• Seeds – 1. Mahnomen/Waubun; 2. Ada-Borup-West; 3. Red Lake County; 4. Polk County West; 5. Bagley; 6, Red Lake.
• Quarterfinals, Tuesday, Oct. 24 – Polk County West 43, Bagley 14; Red Lake County 48, Red Lake 12.
• Semifinals, Saturday, Oct. 28 – Mahnomen/Waubun 11, Polk County West 8 (OT); Ada-Borup-West 38, Red Lake County 15.
• Championship, Thursday, Nov. 2, 7 p.m. at Fargodome – Mahnomen/Waubun vs. Ada-Borup-West.
Section 8AA
• Seeds – 1. Barnesville; 2. Pelican Rapids; 3. Park Rapids Area; 4. Frazee; 5. Warroad; 6. Hawley; 7. Roseau; 8. Crookston.
• Quarterfinals, Tuesday, Oct. 24 – Barnesville 74, Crookston 6; Frazee 35, Warroad 18; Pelican Rapids 55, Roseau 6; Park Rapids Area 26, Hawley 15.
• Semifinals, Saturday, Oct. 28 – Barnesville 48, Frazee 0; Pelican Rapids 50, Park Rapids Area 21.
• Championship, Friday, Nov. 3 at 5:30 p.m. at Fargodome – Barnesville vs. Pelican Rapids.
Section 8AAA playoffs
• Seeds – 1. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton; 2. Perham; 3. Morris-Area/Chokio-Alberta; 4. East Grand Forks; 5. Thief River Falls; 6. Fergus Falls.
• Quarterfinals – East Grand Forks 28, Thief River Falls 7; Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 15, Fergus Falls 12.
• Semifinals, Saturday, Oct. 28 – Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 21, East Grand Forks 7; Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 32, Perham 8.
• Championship, Friday, Nov. 3 at Fargodome 8 p.m. – Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton vs. Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta.