North Branch and Grand Rapids are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2017, but not for long. The North Branch Vikings will look to defend their home field on Saturday against the Grand Rapids Thunderhawks at 6:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
North Branch entered their tilt with Cloquet with six consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with seven. North Branch claimed a resounding 44-7 win over Cloquet on the road. With North Branch ahead 38-0 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
North Branch's win last Wednesday was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Carter Drill, who rushed for 175 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacob Robillard, who rushed for 92 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries.
Meanwhile, Grand Rapids made easy work of Cloquet on Tuesday and carried off a 48-22 victory.
North Branch's victory was their seventh straight on the road, which bumped their overall record up to 7-1. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 41.4 points per game. As for Grand Rapids, they now have a winning record of 5-4.
North Branch beat Grand Rapids 28-21 in their previous meeting on October 6th. Does North Branch have another victory up their sleeve, or will Grand Rapids turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
