Posted: 11/14/07
Roommates, teammates narrowly miss community college bowl-game bid with CLCC
 Caleb Forstrom, left, and Justin Novak, are both starters on the Central Lakes Community College football team. Their team played in the community college state championship game Saturday in St. Cloud. The Raiders played Rochester and lost 39-18. |
By Steve Morris
It took until college for two recent North Branch graduates to be part of a winning football team.
Freshmen Justin Novak and Caleb Forstrom played a solid role in the Central Lakes Community College state championship run.
On Nov. 10, the Raiders came a tad bit short as they lost to community college powerhouse Rochester 39-18 in St. Cloud.
The Raiders fumbled the ball four times while their running attack came to a halt, with only eight yards on the ground for the entire game.
Novak ended the game with 10 receptions for a total of 83 yards. On the season, he has scored two touchdowns for the Raiders.
The loss ended the team's season. Rochester, 11-0, now waits to see if they get an invitation to a bowl game.
The loss to Rochester was the Raiders fourth loss of the year and second to Rochester.
The Raiders defense was ranked first in the nation for community college's, while their offense was ranked 20th.
In the championship game, their defense was overpowered as they allowed Rochester 529 total yards of offense.
Forstrom said it was nice to be able to play football on the college level despite the fact he didn't play on a solid football team in high school.
"It's fun to be part of a winning team," he said.
The season is now over, but Novak and Forstrom have a lot to look forward to next year, as their team returns many players. With only six sophomores on the team, the Raiders are poised to be even better next year.
Novak, a starting wide receiver and Forstrom a starting outside linebacker graduated from North Branch in May and started football in the fall.
Both are working on their associate degrees and plan on transferring to a four-year school after the 2008-09 school year.
Forstrom said he is thinking about attending the University of-Wisconsin River Falls to become a social studies teacher, while Novak is undecided.
On this season, Forstrom said,
"It's been a great experience and I am glad I decided to play," Forstrom said.
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