Top Seeded Cromwell Advances

Tyler Peterson – NSO

Photos By: Joyce Hibke

The top seeded Cromwell Cardinals topped the Floodwood Polar Bears in the Section 5A semi-finals to advance to the Section Championship on Friday against Wrenshall in Esko.

The first quarter was closely contested, finishing as a 8-6 score in favor of the Cardinals. Tyler Hakamaki put the first points up on the board on a 3 yard run and they’d convert the 2 points to gain the early 8-0 lead. Floodwood responded when Riley Bernsdorf connected with Jonah Schnortz from 10 yards out, cutting the lead down to 8-6. Hakamaki would increase the Cardinals lead before half, scoring on a 14 yard run to give the Cardinals the 15-6 lead at halftime.

Hakamaki found the end zone again in the 3rd quarter, this time on a pass from Zion Smith that went 43 yards, increasing the Cromwell lead to 21-6. Hakamaki continued to dominate the Polar Bears, scoring his 4th touchdown on the evening in the 4th quarter on a 7 yard run, putting the Cardinals up by 28-6. The Polar Bears didn’t go away though, as Willow Christenson caught an 8 yard pass from Bernsdorf, cutting into the Cardinals and making it 28-13. The Polar Bears would score again when Bernsdorf scrambled in from 3 yards out, but the Polar Bears wouldn’t be able to score again, finalizing the score at 28-20.

The Cromwell Cardinals move to 9-1 on the season and will match up with the 3rd seeded Wrenshall Wrens in the Section 5A 9-man finals. The Polar Bears ended their season with a 6-4 record.

Tyler Peterson can be contacted at tpeterson@northlandsportsonline.com