By Ellen Shuster

The North Woods football team completed their playoff run last week with a win against Bigfork in the Section 7, nine-man quarterfinals on Tuesday and a loss against the number one seed Cook County on Saturday.

After finishing their regular season, the Grizzlies placed 4th, securing the home game against the 5th place Huskies where they won 30-8. Rain started in the morning and continued all throughout the game.

“I feel as though our team was well prepared for the game,” stated Coach Anderson. “Conditions play a large role in taking away advantages. I thought we made the necessary adjustments to overcome the conditions.”

It took a while for the teams to settle into the wet conditions with both sides dropping the ball and sliding on the field. Grizzlies gained possession at the end of the first quarter and ran it in for a touchdown breaking the stalemate. After a successful conversion the score was 8-0. Huskies were facing third and long until an unsportsmanlike conduct gave them 15 more yards. A quarterback keeper saw them run it all the way to the 6-yard line. The Grizzlies pulled off a stop and regained possession deep in their own territory to end the first quarter.

The second quarter began with a 35-yard run for the Grizzlies. They marched down to the Huskies’ 30 where a fumble lost them possession. Another great show of defensive skill forced the Huskies to punt. An unsportsmanlike call advanced the Grizzlies into a great scoring position. On the 4th down they were able to break free and run for a touchdown. A failed conversion set the score at 14-0 with 3:45 left in the half. A few quick changes in possession didn’t bring much movement and halftime was called.

The Huskies received the ball to start the second half, but had nowhere to go against the Grizzlies’ defense. On the Grizzlies’ first drive they got the ball into the end zone, but a flag called the play back. With just over 5 minutes left in the quarter, the Grizzlies scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion bringing the score to 22-0. The Huskies began a good drive of their own and got the ball in their red zone where a penalty on the Grizzlies gave them extra yards which they converted into a first down. The quarterback was then able to run for a touchdown and then threw for a two-point conversion to put them on the board with a score of 22-8. The Grizzlies fumbled on the first play and gave it back to Bigfork. A Grizzlies penalty put the Huskies on North Woods’ 35-yard line to end the third quarter.

Back-to-back Huskie penalties gave the Grizzlies some cushion and allowed them to get an interception when a long throw was attempted to make up for lost yards. Another long run and a flag on the play put the Grizzlies on the 10-yard line. On 3rd-and-4, the Grizzlies ran in for a touchdown and a two-point conversion and increased their lead to 30-8 with 6:45 left in the game. North Woods got a stop, but a fumble on their first play gave the Huskies one more shot at the end zone. They turned it over on downs and the Grizzlies were able to run the clock down.

“We have a very seasoned offensive and defensive line that tends to be an overwhelming factor of success,” Anderson said about the win. “Hats off to all our guys. Overall it was a great team win.”

On Saturday, crisp passing on a crisp fall afternoon propelled Cook County past the Grizzlies in the section semifinals. Cook County took their opening drive down the field with an efficient passing attack scoring the first TD of the day and didn’t look back. North Woods struggled to move the ball against the Cook County defense and was forced to punt on their opening possession. A short punt gave Cook County another quick score making it 15-0 at the end of the 1st quarter.

North Woods punted again and Cook County took over at midfield and again passed the ball to put up another TD. Late in the second, the North Woods offense finally found a rhythm and effectively passed the ball against the Cook County defense. However, penalties and a bobbled pitch negated most of the gained yards and North Woods turned over the ball again at midfield. The North Woods defense did hold Cook County, but an excellent punt found them pinned in the shadow of their own goal post and caused North Woods to give up a safety making it 24-0. Cook County quickly scored again after the free kick and the half ended with Cook County up 32-0.

North Woods continued to struggle in the third quarter throwing an interception and failing to score. The third quarter ended with Cook County up 47-0. The fourth quarter was running time and the Grizzlies did put up one score on a 35-yard run. The final score was 56-6 and closed out a good season for the Grizzlies.