CHISHOLM— North Woods sophomore TJ Chiabotti ran away with the football here last Wednesday as he racked up 218 yards rushing and four touchdowns to lead the Grizzlies to a 26-8 win over the Bluestreaks. The victory improved the Grizzlies record to 3-5 and secured their home field berth in the first round of the Section 7 football playoffs this past Tuesday.

Chiabotti’s big numbers on Friday provided fresh momentum after junior quarterback Zach Cheney was injured in the first quarter. “We came out strong and scored on our first drive,” said Grizzlies Head Coach John Jirik. “On our second drive, Zach Cheney was injured and we played flat for most of the half.”

It turns out that Cheney’s injury was season-ending as he did not play in Tuesday’s opening round of the playoffs, during which Carlton-Wrenshall topped the Grizzlies 33-18 (see story above).

Sophomore quarterback Ty Fabish came in for Cheney on Wednesday and connected with Jared Chiabotti with just 20 seconds left in the half. That set up TJ Chiabotti’s second touchdown of the evening on the following play.

That left the Grizzlies up 12-0 at the break.

“We controlled the tempo in the second half and were able to hold Chisholm to 100 yards on offense,” said Jirik. Chisholm did manage to put eight points on the board in the third quarter to avoid the shutout. Chiabotti added two more rushing touchdowns in the second half, to lift the Grizzlies to their final margin.

While Chiabotti led the Grizzlies on offense, senior Nathan Crain contributed, racking up 42 yards rushing on 12 carries. Fabish completed two of six passes for 28 yards.

Crain also had a good day on defense, leading with six tackles and four assists. Sophomore Jake Panichi notched four tackles and two assists.