North Branch improves to 4-0

North Branch head football coach Joel Swanson is pleased with his teamís 4-0 start, but believes the team has yet to play its best football.
Last Friday, the squad improved its perfect record to 4-0 with a 26-13 win over Pine City. The win came after a slow Vikings start that saw Pine City take a 7-0 lead after one quarter.
ìWe struggled early,î Swanson said. ìWe played well in the second half but if we are going to win future games we must come ready to start.î
The Dragons scored the first quarter touchdown with less than a minute to play in the stanza on a 10-yard run.
North Branch came back and added 6 early in the second quarter. The touchdown came on the end of a 62-yard drive, as Jake Anderson caught a 7-yard pass from Matt Fletcher. The extra point attempt from Britt Baumann was no good, for a 7-6 Pine City lead.
The Dragons capitalized on a North Branch fumble later in the quarter, returning the ball 75 yards for the score. Pine City failed on the two-point conversion attempt, ending the half with the Dragons leading 13-6.
Swanson said his team turned things around in the second half, coming out on the teamís opening possession to score. Marc Vanden Heuvel ran the ball in from the 3-yard line, and Baumannís kick evened the score at 13-13.
With both teams tied going into the fourth quarter, North Branch sealed the win with two touchdowns in the quarter.
The first came as Vanden Heuvel ran 1 yard in and followed that up with a 39-yard touchdown run five minutes later. Baumann was 1 of 2 in extra point kicks, for a North Branch 26-13 win.
Vanden Heuvel rushed for 137 yards in the game, and Fletcher was 8 of 10 in pass attempts for 120 yards.
Defensively, Matt Warren had 2 interceptions and Ben Stenberg and Joe Lofboom contributed 10 tackles each.
Holding tight to first place in the Rum River Conference, the Vikes face Foley this week in an important RRC matchup. Foley is 3-1 and in second place as the defending conference champs.
The Sept. 26 game against Foley is at home at 7:00 p.m. North Branch head football coach Joel Swanson is pleased with his teamís 4-0 start, but believes the team has yet to play its best football.
Last Friday, the squad improved its perfect record to 4-0 with a 26-13 win over Pine City. The win came after a slow Vikings start that saw Pine City take a 7-0 lead after one quarter.
ìWe struggled early,î Swanson said. ìWe played well in the second half but if we are going to win future games we must come ready to start.î
The Dragons scored the first quarter touchdown with less than a minute to play in the stanza on a 10-yard run.
North Branch came back and added 6 early in the second quarter. The touchdown came on the end of a 62-yard drive, as Jake Anderson caught a 7-yard pass from Matt Fletcher. The extra point attempt from Britt Baumann was no good, for a 7-6 Pine City lead.
The Dragons capitalized on a North Branch fumble later in the quarter, returning the ball 75 yards for the score. Pine City failed on the two-point conversion attempt, ending the half with the Dragons leading 13-6.
Swanson said his team turned things around in the second half, coming out on the teamís opening possession to score. Marc Vanden Heuvel ran the ball in from the 3-yard line, and Baumannís kick evened the score at 13-13.
With both teams tied going into the fourth quarter, North Branch sealed the win with two touchdowns in the quarter.
The first came as Vanden Heuvel ran 1 yard in and followed that up with a 39-yard touchdown run five minutes later. Baumann was 1 of 2 in extra point kicks, for a North Branch 26-13 win.
Vanden Heuvel rushed for 137 yards in the game, and Fletcher was 8 of 10 in pass attempts for 120 yards.
Defensively, Matt Warren had 2 interceptions and Ben Stenberg and Joe Lofboom contributed 10 tackles each.
Holding tight to first place in the Rum River Conference, the Vikes face Foley this week in an important RRC matchup. Foley is 3-1 and in second place as the defending conference champs.
The Sept. 26 game against Foley is at home at 7:00 p.m.

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