Football Recap: Moose Lake/Willow River's Victory on Thursday Extends Winning Streak to Five

Rebels

Previous 5 Games

09/25/25 vs Rush City	33-20
09/19/25 @ Hinckley-Finlayson	48-7
09/12/25 vs Aitkin	34-14
09/05/25 vs Barnum	21-7
08/29/25 @ International Falls	40-20

Moose Lake/Willow River put another one in the bag on Thursday to keep their perfect season alive. They walked away with a 33-20 victory over the Rush City Tigers. For the Rebels, this counts as revenge for the 24-22 win the Tigers walked away with the last time they faced one another back in October of 2024.

Moose Lake/Willow River's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Parker Samarzia led the charge by rushing for 101 yards and two TDs on only 13 carries. Samarzia also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up a sack, forcing one fumble, and making six total tackles (2.0 for loss). Micah Thompson also helped out as he racked up 113 rushing yards.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Moose Lake/Willow River was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 343 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 176 rushing yards every time they've taken the field this season.

Moose Lake/Willow River's record now sits at 5-0. As for Rush City, their loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 3-2.

We've got plenty of inter-conference action coming up soon. Moose Lake/Willow River is set to take on their familiar foe Crosby-Ironton at 7:00 p.m. on October 3. Meanwhile, Rush City will challenge rival Aitkin at 7:00 p.m. on October 3.