Football Game Preview: Moose Lake/Willow River Rebels vs. Crosby-Ironton Rangers

The Moose Lake/Willow River Rebels will venture away from home to square off against the Crosby-Ironton Rangers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Moose Lake/Willow River will come into the game with an undefeated record on the line.

On Thursday, Moose Lake/Willow River beat Rush City 33-20.

Parker Samarzia

Rushing Yards

09/25/25 vs Rush City	101
09/19/25 @ Hinckley-Finlayson	111
09/12/25 vs Aitkin	108

Moose Lake/Willow River's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Parker Samarzia, who rushed for 101 yards and a pair of TDs on only 13 carries. Samarzia's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 101 rushing yards. Micah Thompson was another key rusher, rushing for 113 yards and one score on only 13 carries.

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.

Meanwhile, after only eight points in their last matchup, Crosby-Ironton made sure to put some points up on the board against Hinckley-Finlayson on Friday. The Rangers were the clear victors by a 44-21 margin over the Jaguars. The victory continues a trend for the Rangers in their matchups with the Jaguars: they've now won four in a row.

Crosby-Ironton's win was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-3 and their overall record up to 2-3. As for Moose Lake/Willow River, their victory bumped their record up to 5-0.

Moose Lake/Willow River strolled past Crosby-Ironton in their previous matchup back in September of 2024 by a score of 38-20. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Rebels since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.