Prep report: Hunters run past Bluejackets

Senior fullback Dominic Klaas rushed five times for 61 yards and two scores to lead fourth-seeded Duluth Denfeld to a 39-8 victory over fifth-seeded Hibbing in the first round of the Section 7AAAA high school football playoffs Tuesday night at Public Schools Stadium.

Senior Montrell McMillan added nine carries for 66 yards and another score as the Hunters had 217 rushing yards. The defense, meanwhile, had six fumble recoveries, three interceptions and a safety.

Senior lineman Hayden Westerberg’s 80-yard fumble recovery in the fourth quarter was the lone score for the Bluejackets (3-6).

Denfeld seniors Austin Broska chipped in six carries for 67 yards as the Hunters (6-3) advance to play at top-seeded Cloquet (7-1) at 2 p.m. Saturday. Denfeld hasn’t won this many games in a season since going 7-4 in 2009.

Hibbing 0-0-0-8-8
Duluth Denfeld 16-8-15-0-39DD - Montrell McMillan 24 run (Dominic Klaas run)
DD - Wryott Gerson 69 pass from Kade Shea (Gerson pass from Shea)
DD - Klaas 39 run (Gerson from Shea)
DD - Klaas 12 run (pass failed)
DD - Safety, quarterback tackled in end zone
DD - Bryce Rainey 8 run (Gerson kick)
H - Hayden Westerberg 80 fumble recovery (Dominic Marchetti run)Andover 42, Duluth East 6 Senior quarterback Justice Williams had three touchdown passes to lead the fifth-seeded Huskies to the Section 7AAAAA first-round victory at Ordean Stadium.

Junior running back Ben Steckman added a pair of rushing touchdowns for Andover (4-5), which advances to play at top-seeded St. Francis (5-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals.

Junior quarterback Caden Edwards was 13-for-28 passing for 132 yards and a 37-yard touchdown pass to Jon Jones as time expired for East (4-5), while junior running back Elijah Leonard was held to 38 yards on 14 carries.

Duluth East 0-0-0-6-6
Andover 14-6-8-14-42A - Ben Steckman 2 run (Steckman run)
A - Lucas Beberg 28 pass from Justice Williams (run failed)
A - Aghogho Eyafe 16 pass from Williams (run failed)
A - Steckman 8 run (Steckman run)
A - Vlado Duvnjak 19 pass from Williams (run failed)
A - Jack Sharon 39 fumble return (Mitchell Nowlan run)
DE - Jon Jones 37 pass from Caden Edwards (no extra point attempted)Proctor 21, International Falls 0 The sixth-seeded Rails went on the road to break the third-seeded Broncos (3-6) in a Section 7AAA first-round game.

Proctor’s defense, which also shut out International Falls in the season opener, held the Broncos to 140 yards total offense and created five turnovers. Austin Parrott totaled 115 rushing yards for the Rails (2-7), who advance to Saturday’s semifinals at No. 2 Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin.

Proctor 0-13-8-0-21
Int’l Falls 0-0-0-0-0P - Dylan Hom 25 pass from Conner St. Germaine (Ben Harnell kick)
P - St. Germaine 25 run (kick failed)
P - Ryan Lear 2 fumble return (Cole Johnson pass from St. Germaine)Mesabi East 26, Barnum 18 Cole Meyer rushed 18 times for 109 yards and three TDs as the fifth-seeded and visiting Giants (7-2) avenged a 32-6 regular-season loss to the Bombers (6-3).

Mesabi East scored the game’s first 20 points and held on from there en route to Saturday’s Section 7AA semifinals at No. 1 Moose Lake-Willow River.

Tyler Nynas had 104 rushing yards for No. 4 Barnum.

Mesabi East 20-6-0-0-26
Barnum 0-12-6-0-18ME - Cole Meyer 16 run (Tyler Baribeau run)
ME - Meyer 2 run (run failed)
ME - Meyer 42 run (pass failed)
B - Tyler Nynas 13 run (run failed)
ME - Josh James 1 run (run failed)
B - Reed Kornovich 8 run (run failed)
B - Nynas 7 run (run failed)Cromwell-Wright 63, McGregor 20 Cameron Cahoon rushed for three touchdowns as the Cardinals opened up a 49-0 lead and cruised past the seventh-seeded Mercuries (1-8) in a Section 5 Nine-Man first-round contest in Cromwell.

No. 2 Cromwell-Wright (9-0) meets Carlton in a Saturday semifinal.

McGregor was coming off a 76-54 loss to Isle in the regular-season finale, meaning the Mercuries yielded 139 points over their final two games.

McGregor 0-0-12-8-20
Cromwell-Wright 21-22-14-6-63CW - Cameron Cahoon 27 run (run failed)
CW - Kannon Korpela 2 run (Drew Libbon run)
CW - Cahoon 26 run (Isaac Shelton kick)
CW -  Cahoon 29 run (Ethan Shelton kick)
CW -  Jaden Gronner 19 pass from Libbon (E. Shelton kick)
CW -  I. Shelton 2 run (Libbon run)
CW -  Korpela 43 run (kick failed)
M -  Blake Donner 5 run (run failed)
CW -  Jaeger Goranson 45 run (Nic Envall pass from I. Shelton)
M -  Christian Wylie 4 run (pass failed)
M -  Donner 39 run (Drew Dean run)
CW -  Taye Anderson 40 run (pass failed)Carlton 28, Hill City/Northland 14 Junior Matthew Santkuyl finished with 156 yards receiving, three touchdowns and 14 tackles in the Bulldogs’ Section 5 Nine-Man first-round playoff victory at home.

Junior Ryan Gray threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns for No. 3 Carlton (6-3), while Tanner Anderson added 106 rushing yards.

Junior Sawyer Thorman had 11 tackles for Carlton against sixth-seeded Hill City/Northland (3-6).

Hill City/Northland 0-6-0-8-14
Carlton 0-21-0-7-28HCN - Tucker Holm 15 run (pass failed)
C - Matthew Santkuyl 37 pass from Ryan Gray (Gray kick)
C - Aaron Schilla 6 pass from Gray (Gray kick)
C - Santkuyl 19 pass from Gray (Gray kick)
C - Santkuyl 31 run (Gray kick)
HCN - Vinny Ruschmeier 5 run (Johnathan Gowell pass from Cameron Wake)Floodwood 56, Isle 20 Gavin Clark carried the ball 19 times for 235 yards and four TDs to propel the fourth-seeded Polar Bears (6-3) to a Section 5 Nine-Man first-round playoff home win.

Floodwood, which travels to top-seeded South Ridge on Saturday, amassed 404 rushing yards overall.

Isle 6-8-6-0-20
Floodwood 6-28-14-8-56F - Jeffrey Palmer 7 pass from Isaac Rohde (pass failed)
I - Darin Brandt 5 run (pass failed)
F - Gavin Clark 2 run (Clark run)
F - Levi Suonvieri 4 run (run failed)
I - Teagen Haggberg 1 run (Craig Dressely pass from Haggberg)
F - Clark 55 run (Suonvieri run)
F - Palmer 49 pass from Rohde (run failed)
F - Clark 3 run (run failed)
I - Haggberg 1 run (run failed)
F - Clark 16 run (Jake Fosness run)
F - Palmer 18 pass from Rohde (Blaine Dahl run)North Woods 20, Silver Bay 6 Senior wide receiver Tanner Barto caught a pair of touchdown passes from senior quarterback Chase Kleppe as the fourth-seeded Grizzlies (4-5) won the Nine-Man Section 7 first-round game at home over the fifth-seeded Mariners (4-5).

Silver Bay 0-0-0-6-6
North Woods 6-6-0-8-20NW - Tanner Barto 9 pass from Chase Kleppe (pass failed)
NW - Nathan Crain 7 Run (pass failed)
NW - Barto 48 pass from Kleppe (Jake Hyppa run)
SB - Weston Monson 1 run (kick failed)