by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Football is a game with frequent ebbs and flows where overcoming adversity within the game is often the difference between a win and a loss. Playing for the Section 8 9-Man championship on Thursday, the Goodridge/Grygla Chargers faced a season’s worth of adversity on their first possession of the game.
The Chargers lost running back Lewis Jones to an apparent sprained ankle on their second play from scrimmage. They lost fellow ball carrier Kehan Nelson two plays later to another ankle injury. Nelson returned and other players stepped up in Jones’ absence as the Chargers rolled to a 34-6 win over the Storm to claim their first section championship since 2012.
“It’s great for the team, school and community,” said Goodridge/Grygla Head Coach John Wilebski. “As we know in small schools, programs go in cycles and each community has their identity and are proud of their kids and accomplishments. This 2023 Charger football season will be very memorable. I’m so proud of how the team stepped up through adversity and how resilient they were to clinch the Section Championship game.”
The Stephen-Argyle Storm were underdogs on paper going into Thursday’s championship game, but the Storm had prestige on their side with 17 state tournament appearances and seven state titles between 1996 and 2018.
The Storm started strong with an option attack featuring quarterback Blaine Smith and running back Cooper Clausen. They combined for nine carries and 44 yards on their first possession, and they got an additional 15 yards on a Charger facemask penalty to get inside the Goodridge/Grygla 10-yard line. The drive eventually stalled and ended with an incomplete pass by Smith on a fourth and 12 at the 14-yard lime.
The Chargers also started fast with back-to-back carries by Jones that went for 14 yards and nine yards, respectively. Jones was injured on the second carry. He was helped off the field and only returned to hold on extra point attempts.
A holding penalty on the next play put the Chargers behind schedule with a second and 11. Quarterback Blake Rychlock kept the ball on the ensuing play and picked up 18 yards to get a fresh set of downs at the Chargers’ 45-yard line.
With Jones out of the game, the Chargers called on fellow senior running back Kehan Nelson to carry a bigger part of the load until he, too, went down with an ankle injury on the very next play. With both Jones and Nelson out, Rychlock went to the air on second down and threw an incomplete pass. On third down, the Chargers dialed up another pass, but Rychlock pulled the ball down and scrambled for nine yards to get another first down at the Stephen-Argyle 45.
Rychlock carried for three yards on first down. Then on second down, the snap between center Chase Manderud and Rychlock was mishandled and recovered at the Goodridge/Grygla 45-yard line for a 13-yard loss. Facing a third and 20, the Chargers again kept the drive alive as Rychlock hit Owen Larson for a 19-yard completion to set up a key fourth and one. On the next play, the Chargers needed a yard and Rychlock got three on a QB keeper to get a fresh set of downs.
Nelson returned to the game for the final two plays of the first quarter and caught an eight-yard pass from Rychlock and he carried for a two-yard gain to give the Chargers another first down at the Stephen-Argyle 23.
The Chargers were held to just two yards on the first two plays of the second quarter. Facing a third and seven at the Stephen-Argyle 21-yard line, Rychlock lofted a pass to Christian Loken down the left sideline that was good for a 14-yard gain and another first down. Carson Rubischko carried the ball from seven yards out on the following play to cap an improbable 16-play, 86-yard drive that took 7:55 off the clock. Rychlock passed to Larson for the two-point conversion to give the Chargers an 8-0 lead.
Following a Storm three and out, the Chargers got the ball back. This time, they needed just three plays to score. Nelson and Rubischko combined for 42 rushing yards on the drive, with Nelson scoring on a 10-yard run with 7:42 left in the first half. Rychlock added the two-point conversion to make the score 16-0.
The Chargers got the ball back four plays later at their own 45-yard line after the Storm turned the ball over on downs. The Chargers took advantage of the good field position and marched 55 yards in eight plays, with Rubischko finding the end zone after taking the ball on a direct snap with Rychlock serving as his lead blocker. Rychlock’s extra point attempt was wide left and the score remained 22-0.
The Chargers were up at the half a year ago in the section championship game, before collapsing in the second half against Kittson County Central. There was no let-up this year, however, as the Chargers started the third quarter where they left off the second. Nelson carried four times for 48 yards and also hauled in an eight-yard touchdown pass from Rychlock to cap a seven-play, 64-yard drive. The two-point run failed and the score remained 28-0.
On their first possession of the second half, the Storm returned to the formula that worked in the opening quarter. Smith, Claussen and Raydon Woinarowicz carried the ball on a 10-play drive that went 80 yards, but it was a 31-yard pass from Smith to Woinarowicz that produced the only points of the game for the Storm. The two-point conversion run failed and the score remained 28-6.
With 2:06 remaining in the third quarter, the Storm opted to kick the ball deep, rather than try to recover an onside kick. It was a decision that the Storm would later regret, as the Chargers methodically pieced together a 20-play, 85-yard drive that took 12:06 off the clock. Rychlock fittingly scored the final touchdown on a fourth and one play at the one-yard line to make the score 34-6 in favor of the Chargers.
Chargers to face 11-0 Falcons
Goodridge/Grygla and Fertile-Beltrami shared the top spot in the District 9 West (North) standings this year with identical 7-0 records. There are 12 teams in the district, making it impossible for a true regular season round-robin. Now the co-champions of District 9 West (North) will meet in the opening round of the MSHSL 9-Player State Tournament at 7 p.m. Thursday at Moorhead High School.
The Section 6 champion Falcons are ranked second in the state, and they present the toughest test for the Chargers since the opening week loss to the fourth-ranked Ottertail Central Bulldogs (who won the Section 4 9-Man title a few hours before the Chargers Thursday).
“Fertile-Beltrami is a tough opponent who, since dropping down from 11-man a few years ago, has dominated 9-man football in the state,” Wilebski said. “This will be a real challenge for our kids with the injuries we acquired in the section championship game. Going forward with the pride of a true 9-man school, the Charger boys will give it their best going forward in the State playoffs. Looking forward to competing at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.”
Scoring
1 2 3 4 T
Stephen-Argyle 0 22 6 6 34
G/G 0 0 6 0 0
First Quarter
No Score
Second Quarter
G/G – Carson Rubischko 6-yard run (Rychlock pass to Owen Larson)
G/G – Nelson 10-yard run (Rychlock run)
G/G – Rubischko 4-yard run (kick failed)
Third Quarter
G/G – Nelson 7-yard pass from Rychlock (run failed)
SA – Raydon Woinarowicz 31-yard pass from Smith (run failed)
Fourth Quarter
G/G – Rychlock 1-yard run (kick failed)
Team Statistics
• First downs – SA 6; G/G 23.
• Fumbles (total-lost) – SA 1-1; G/G 1-0.
• Penalties (number-yards) – SA 3-35; G/G 5-55.
• Punts (number-average) – SA – 1-26.0; G/G N/A.
• Rushing (attempts-yards) – SA 28-117; G/G 38-246.
• Passing – SA – 2-for-6, 33 yards, touchdown, interception; G/G – 8-for-12, 120 yards, touchdown, interception.
• Total yards – SA 150; G/G 366.
Individuals
• Rushing – (SA) Blaine Smith 14-72; Cooper Clausen 7-22; Anders Thompson 3-3; Aiden Truvold 1-6; Raydon Woinarowicz 2-10; Kellen Johnson 2-4; (G/G) Lewis Jones 2-23; Blake Rychlock 11-53; Kehan Nelson 15-122, 2 touchdowns; Carson Rubischko 10-48, 2 touchdowns;
• Passing – (SA) Blaine Smith 2-for-6, 33 yards, touchdown, interception; (G/G) Blake Rychlock 8-for-12, 120 yards, touchdown, interception.
• Receiving – (SA) Cooper Clausen 1-2; Raydon Woinarowicz 1-31, touchdown; (G/G) Sawyer Jacobson 4-71; Kehan Nelson 2-16, touchdown; Owen Larson 1-19; Christian Loken 1-14.
• Tackles – Carson rubischko 9, Donny Johnsrud 8, Blake Rychlock 5, Gavin Aune 4, Owen Larson 4, Sawyer Jacobson 4, Chase Manderud 4, Andrew Englund 3, Hunter Vad 2, Christian Loken 2, Kehan Nelson 2, Sebastian Groven 2, Ray Moe 1.
• Interceptions – Blake Rychlock 1.
• Fumble recoveries – Brody Rystad 1.
Section 8 9-Man
• Championship, Thursday, Nov. 2 at Fargodome 2 p.m. – Goodridge/Grygla 34, Stephen-Argyle 6.
Section 8A
• Championship, Thursday, Nov. 2, 7 p.m. at Fargodome – Mahnomen/Waubun 16, Ada-Borup-West 14.
Section 8AA
• Championship, Friday, Nov. 3 at 5:30 p.m. at Fargodome – Barnesville 44, Pelican Rapids 14.
Section 8AAA playoffs
• Championship, Friday, Nov. 3 at Fargodome 8 p.m. – Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 35, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 14.
MSHSL 9-Player State Tournament
• Quarterfinals, Thursday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. – S3 Hills-Beaver Creek vs. S1 Kingsland (at Albert Lea High School); S8 Goodridge/Grygla vs. S6 Fertile-Beltrami (at Moorhead High School); S4 Ottertail Central vs. S2 Cedar Mountain (at Buffalo High School); S7 Mountain Iron-Buhl vs. S5 Nevis (Grand Rapids High School).
• Semifinals, Thursday Nov. 16 at U.S. Bank Stadium 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• Championship, Saturday, Nov. 25 at U.S. Bank Stadium, 10 a.m.