Rebels Win Fouth Straight Section Title

Wes Vork-NSO

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Nov 5

Dwight Cadwell-NSO

DULUTH – The Moose Lake-Willow River Rebels were looking to advance to the state football tournament for the fourth consecutive year going into the section final game. They did just that when they stomped the Tigers of Rush City by a final score of 42-24. The Rebels high power offense ran wild against the Tigers, amassing 468 yards of total offense, complete with 408 yards rushing on the evening.

The Rebels set the tempo Thursday night at Public School Stadium in Duluth by scoring on their opening possession. The Rebels took the opening kick, methodically marched down the field finished the drive when Shane Rehbein scored on a 3-yard touchdown run . Rehbein tallied thirty yards on the opening drive, and after the extra point by Mike Bennett the Rebels led 7-0.

The Tigers took their first possession and progressively moved down the field to the Rebels 13-yard line. The drive was stopped, however, when they fumbled and the Rebels took over. No other scoring occurred in the 1st quarter, leaving it at 7-0.
Michael Unzen then took over the rushing game in the second quarter. He tallied 149 yards in the first half, with 111 of them coming in the 2nd quarter.

Unzen scored on a 3-yard touchdown run.
His huge gains also set up the third Rebel touchdown of the first half. Austin Jacobson scored on a 19 yard touchdown run with 2:40 seconds remaining in the half. A missed conversion off Unzen’s run set the Rebels up for a two point conversion after the Jacobson touchdown run. Rajean Carlson scored on the run, making the score 21-0 as the half ended.

The second half started off slow again for the Tigers as a defensive stop gave the Rebels the ball with good field position. The Rebels once again ran through the heart of the Tigers defense. This time Jacobson turned in a huge 55 yard touchdown run and with the Bennett extra point the Rebels led 28-0. The third Tiger fumble of the game gave ML-WR great field position and the Rebels capitalized as Hayden Hoffman connected with Jacobson on a 12 yard touchdown pass. Bennett again made the extra point and the Rebels extended the lead to
35-0 after three quarters.

The Tigers scored their first touchdown of the game at the start of the fourth quarter when Josh Marty scored on a 2 yard touchdown run. Garrett Churchsmith hit David Schmidt with a pass in the back of the end zone for the two point conversion. The score was 35-8 with 11:42 remaining. An onside kick recovered by Rush City gave the Tigers great field position, just 3 plays later Churchsmith connected with Jordan Scheffer on an 8 yard touchdown pass. Scheffer again would receive a pass from Churchsmith for the two point conversion and the Rebels lead was cut to 35-16.

Rush City again tried an onside kick but a great recovery by the Rebels prevented the Tigers from attaining good field position. The Rebels then answered the sixteen points by the Tigers as they marched 66 yards down the field with Hoffman hitting Jacobson with a 23 yard touchdown pass as the Rebels regained 42-16 lead after the Extra point.

“We had a great game tonight,’ Head Coach Dave Louzek told Northland Sports Online. “This group of kids has worked hard from day one and they deserve it.” Louzek added. “Going back to the state tournament for the fourth straight year is a great feat and proud of this group of coaches and players.”

Churchsmith added a final touchdown for the Tigers when he scampered 87 yards, at one point retreating into his own end zone before heading to paydirt as the game ended with the Rebels winning by eighteen. Churchsmith was the lone bright spot for the Tigers; he finished with 105 yards rushing and was 6-9 passing for 106 yards. Churchsmith played quarterback in relief of the starting quarterback Justin Bosman who injured a finger in the first half.

The Rebels run their season record to 11-0 overall and they will advance to the state Quarterfinals on Thursday night facing the winner of Section Eight at the Fargodome in Fargo North Dakota. The Rebels will face either Hawley or Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton. Those two teams meet Friday night at the Fargodome.

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at