FIELD TWP – With seconds left, North Woods came within an inch of the goal line but fumbled on the last play of the game in a heartbreaking 15-14 loss to Cook County in Saturday’s Section 7 Nine-Man semifinals.

“That was probably our best physical game of the season,” said Grizzlies Head Coach John Jirik, who said turnovers and some mental errors ultimately cost North Woods the win. “We basically shut down a team that averages 45 points a game. They got their 15 and they earned those 15. I just think we should have had 30-some points.”

The Grizzlies dominated the first three quarters, scoring on their opening drive on a 20-yard run by Justin Nelson and stopping the Vikings on several fourth-and-short tries.

“Our defense played spectacularly for the most part,” said Jirik, who said his young team crumpled when faced with adversity in some of their early games. “But in this last game, we had more adversity than probably any team in the history of mankind has had in a game.”

The Grizzlies came close to increasing their lead in three separate drives that fizzled after the ball was fumbled in the red zone and the Vikings took possession. North Woods finally added a second touchdown in the fourth quarter after George Bibeau hauled in a 26-yard pass from quarterback Tate Olson. The Grizzlies were successful on the conversion pass from Darnell Goggleye to Steve Stone to take a 14-0 lead.

But Cook County rallied in the fourth quarter, completing several passes to move the ball quickly down field and scored 15 unanswered points.

The first came on a 13-yard pass to Owen Anderson from Leo Johnson. Johnson ran successfully for the conversion after the ball was moved closer to the goal line when North Woods was whistled for jumping offsides.

The Grizzlies had an opportunity to build their lead late in the fourth quarter with a second rushing touchdown by Nelson, However, the touchdown was scrubbed when referees called the Grizzlies for holding.

Following the Grizzlies’ unsuccessful drive, the Vikings added their second touchdown on a one-yard run by Jack Wieben. Andrew Lashinski’s kick sailed through the uprights to put Cook County up by one with less than two minutes left in the game.

“We still gave ourselves a chance to win,” said Jirik, who thought his team had sealed the victory on two attempts — first on a dropped pass in the end zone and second on a run by Nelson that came just short of the goal line.

“I didn’t think our player had dropped the pass,” said Jirik. “I thought he had caught it and then let it drop. And I thought Nelson was in the end zone on his run, but I wasn’t there to see it, so I’m not disputing anything.”

That left the Grizzlies just shy of the goal line, but the next play resulted in a fumble. “Somehow the ball went on the ground and that defined the game,” said Jirik.

Despite the loss, Jirik was proud of his team’s performance on Saturday and their improvement over the season.

“You can’t ask for any more effort than our boys gave,” he said. “It was a really up-and-down season. We struggled through injuries and a lot of the learning process in particular on the defensive end and interior blocking on the line.”

“We overcame that and, by the end of the season, we were playing extremely good football at playoff time except for mental errors and turnovers. Those cost us eventually in the end. But overall I’m happy with the season.”

Senior running back Nelson finished the game with 139 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries. For the season, Nelson racked up 1,367 yards and 22 touchdowns on 219 carries, averaging about six yards per carry.

Bibeau tallied 120 yards and a touchdown on five receptions, while Stone picked up 19 yards on two receptions and intercepted two passes by the Vikings’ quarterback on Saturday. Stone led all receivers for the season with 472 yards on 22 receptions, an average of 21.5 yards per catch. Bibeau was second with 308 yards on 18 receptions, averaging 17.1 yards per catch.

Grizzly quarterback Olson completed six of nine passes for 136 yards and one touchdown. Olson also rushed for 19 yards in the semifinal game. For the season, Olson threw for 997 yards and 12 touchdowns. He completed 54 of 107 attempts for a completion percentage of 50.5 percent.

Seniors Jacob Skraba and Garrett Snidarich led the defense with 15 tackles each, while Dan Holman and Matthew Schultz each finished the game with seven tackles.

Over the season, Snidarich led the team with 92 tackles, including 11 solo tackles while Skraba recorded 70 tackles, including two quarterback sacks.

Next season will be another rebuilding one for the Grizzlies, who will lose seniors Olin Halverson, Stone, Goggleye, Skraba, Nelson, Chris Fosso and Snidarich. But Jirik will keep some division players next season, including quarterback Olson as well as tight end Matthew Schultz, running back Garrett Abramson and tight end Bibeau.

“We’ll have another young team so we’ll have to figure out what positions will be right for them,” said Jirik.