Jack’s Pound Blue Devils

  Played in conditions that included, misty rain at times mixed with snow, made for ugly field conditions by halftime as players became soaked with mud from head to toe.  It took the first drive of the game for fans to understand that the Jacks were ready for the game.

 With only 69 seconds off the game clock the Jacks got their first touchdown when Kyle Klatt scooted 20 yards around the left side of the line and with Nick Niemi’s extra point the Jacks were ahead 7-0.  Klatt scored again with 6:13 to play in the first quarter on an almost identical play, but this time he covered 19 yards and after the extra point boot the Jacks were up 14-0.  After a Virginia drive stalled and they had a short punt the Lumberjacks took advantage by running an inside counter play that saw Zach Gerlach rumble 52 yards for a touchdown with 2:48 left on the first quarter clock to make it 21-0 after the extra point kick.

  It was more of the same in the second quarter when Mason Brenner stepped in front of a pass at the 12-yard line and raced untouched for the pick-six score making it 27-0 after the missed extra point attempt.  With 1:03 remaining in the second quarter Klatt bolted 67-yards and a touchdown to push the lead to 34-0 after the Niemi extra point kick and that’s how it stood at halftime.

   The third quarter saw the Jacks continue in their relentless running attack as field conditions became worse, and as players became slippery, the tackling by Virginia became shoddy and the Jacks continually gained huge chunks of yardage.  Hunter Roberts cashed in from the one-yard line with 5:55 left in the third, then it was Klatt ripping off another 21-yard touchdown jaunt and the quarter ended with Mickey Smith blazing down the right side for a 27-yard score.  Niemi added the extra point on all three scores and as the game entered the final stanza the Jacks were up 54-0.

  The Lumberjacks played numerous back-up players early in the third quarter and continued to do so until the final whistle.  Like Smith before him, back up running back River DeMars got his chance to score with 10:03 left by slipping in from the six-yard line as the Jacks pulled out to a 61-0 lead after Niemi kicked the extra point.

  For the game the Lumberjacks piled up 451 yards of offense to just 74 for the Blue Devils.  Klatt led the ground attack with 158 yards rushing on 10 carries for Cloquet, while Roberts added 72 yards and Gerlach 67 yards on the ground.  However, it was back up runners like Joe Deppa, Wyatt Pfistner who finished with 41 and 32 yards respectively, that helped slam the door in the second half.

  Defensively the Jacks were led by the six tackles of Mason Brenner and his interception for a touchdown, but Cloquet also pounced on five of the six Virginia fumbles.  In all the Jacks nabbed two interceptions and had five fumble recoveries.

  Cloquet is now 5-0 in the Sea Range Conference and 6-0 overall.  The Blue Devils fell to 1-5 overall and 1-3 in the conference.

  Cloquet will host Proctor on Friday night at Rol Bromberg Field.

Kerry Rodd can be reached at kerry@northlandsportsonline.com