Wednesday's featured prep football games

Wednesday’s featured prep football games
Moose Lake-Willow River (3-4) at Hermantown (5-2)
What: Northeast District game
When: 7 p.m.
Outlook: Hermantown followed perhaps its best showing of the fall, a 38-14 win at Grand Rapids, with a 20-16 loss to Proctor last week. Offensively, it was a grind for the shorthanded Hawks. Among the missing starters was junior fullback Luke Lindberg, who has rushed for about 500 yards. Another explosive runner, senior Matt Valure, no longer is with the team. That left junior running back Jake Hausmann and senior QB TJ Gamradt to carry the load on a night in which Hermantown mustered just over 200 yards of total offense while seeing its five-game winning streak over the Rails come to a halt. The Hawks could strengthen their case for Section 7AAAA’s top seed by defeating Moose Lake-Willow River a third straight year. They won this contest 59-32 in 2015. … This hasn’t been your typical MLWR season. The Rebels, who started the year ranked second in Class AA and seeking an 11th straight state tournament berth, have lost four in a row for the first time since 1993, which doubles as the last time they finished the regular season below .500 (2-6). Another setback tonight would mark MLWR’s first five-game losing streak since 1992. Seniors Isaac Riihiluoma and Bryceton Butkiewicz are both at about 700 rushing yards. The Rebels, coming off a 14-6 loss at Aitkin, could be seeded as low as fifth on the six-team Section 7AA bracket.
Radio: WMOZ-FM 106.9
Two Harbors (5-2) at Proctor (6-1)
What: Northeast District game
When: 7 p.m.
Outlook: Winners of four straight, Proctor will grab the top seed for the Section 7AAA playoffs with a win tonight - and would still have a solid chance of claiming it even with a loss. The Rails, led offensively by senior running back AJ Maas (108 carries, 431 yards, 4 TDs) and junior QB John Pioro (28-74-504, 5), are ranked seventh in Class AAA. Oddly, they are 6-1 despite being outgained by their opponents - 1,487 combined yards to 1,404. Senior John Aase has 11 receptions for 264 yards and four TDs, plus five interceptions on defense and a kickoff returned for a score. Defensively, opportunistic Proctor is allowing 13.3 points per night. These clubs met in the regular-season finale a year ago, with the Rails winning 28-17. … Two Harbors currently ranks third in Section 7AAA according to the metric used to seed the bracket, Minnesota-scores.net’s Quality Results Formula. The Agates are behind Proctor and Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin. The Agates fell 54-46 at GNK on Oct. 7 before rebounding to thump Virginia 54-7 last week. Junior Spencer Ross (131 carries, 1,070 yards), senior Ian Johnson (92-722) and junior Chad Nordean (69-422) lead a multi-dimensional ground game. Sophomore Mason Meyer’s 78 tackles are tops on defense.