Northland Sports Section Final Football Preview

October 21st, 2015

Tyler Peterson-NSO

Its that time of year, the Championship round of the section playoffs, with match ups in the Northland coming in Section 5 9-man, Section 7AA, Section 7AAA, and Section 7AAAA.

In Section 5 9-man, it is the scrappy Floodwood Polar Bears (7-3), who are coming off an victory over the top seeded Cromwell Cardinals, taking on the Silver Bay Mariners (9-1), who squeaked out a win over the South Ridge Panthers. These two teams last met in 2015, which was also a playoff matchup, which saw the Polar Bears come out victorious, 39-6. They will play in Esko at 8pm on October 23rd.

In Section 7AA, the Moose Lake Willow River Rebels (7-3) will search for their 11th consecutive trip to the state tournament, this time having to go through the top seeded Eveleth-Gilbert Golden Bears (8-1). They will play on October 22nd at Esko with a kickoff of 7:00pm. The Rebels topped Rush City 41-30 to reach the Finals, while the Golden Bears beat Royalton 14-0 to advance. These two teams met during last season, with the Rebels coming out on top 34-24.

In Section 7AAA, it is the top seeded Proctor Rails (6-3) taking on the defending Section Champion Esko Eskoos (7-2). The Rails blew past Greenway/Nashwauk 41-6 to get to the championship game, while the Eskomos toppled Two Harbors 41-14. These two teams last met in 2014, with the Eskomos squeaking by 29-23. They will kick off at 7:00pm on October 22nd at Malosky Stadium on the UMD campus.

In Section 7AAAA, the undefeated Hermantown Hawks (9-0) will play the Princeton Tigers (5-5) at 7:00pm at Public School Stadium on October 22nd. The Hawks pounced all over North Branch in the semifinals, winning 59-6, while the Tigers blew past Hibbing 46-14.

Tyler Peterson can be contacted at tpeterson@northlandsportsonline.com