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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Grizzlies notch first win

David Colburn
Posted 10/12/22

ISLE- It took a long road trip to face off against a foe more their equal, but the North Woods Grizzlies finally broke into the win column last week with a 28-6 win over Mille Lacs.Riding a monster …

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Grizzlies notch first win

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ISLE- It took a long road trip to face off against a foe more their equal, but the North Woods Grizzlies finally broke into the win column last week with a 28-6 win over Mille Lacs.
Riding a monster game of 325 total yards by Jared Chiabotti, the offense started slow but revved into full gear in the second half, adding 22 points in the final two quarters to go with one touchdown in the second quarter.
But a defense that executed its assignments as a unit, swarming to the ball and shutting down the Mille Lacs offense on critical downs time and time again was the critical component giving the offense time to find its rhythm.
“We needed one like that,” Grizzlies Head Coach Joel Anderson said. “We put four pretty good quarters together defensively. It took us a little while there to get into the endzone offensively, but we moved the ball very, very well. It was a good one.”
After squandering an early scoring opportunity, the Grizzlies’ Nick Abramson scored the only touchdown of the first half in the second quarter on a nine-yard romp to give North Woods a 6-0 lead at the half.
Chiabotti got 98 of his total yards through the air, including a seven-yard swing pass for a touchdown. He gained a season-best 227 yards on the ground, with two of those runs capping good fourth-quarter drives for touchdowns of five and 15 yards.
The offense benefitted from a change in the game plan at halftime. Anderson said that he noticed that the Raiders’ defensive tackles were taking wider splits, and at the half he asked his interior linemen to pick it up and open up the inside game. The Grizzlies’ backfield took full advantage of the line’s efforts, with quarterback Jonah Burnett successfully running numerous keepers right up the middle, gaining 38 yards on seven carries. Burnett was also successful with the short passing game, hitting ten of 17 passes for 112 yards and one touchdown.
Tommy Debeltz was a stalwart on the defensive side of the ball, leading the team with 12 tackles, one sack, and two tackles for losses. The secondary got burned in the third quarter when a shift in positions left a Raiders receiver wide open for an easy 68-yard score, the only touchdown of the night for the hosts. Defensive back Mason Rutchasky shut down any chance Mille Lacs had of coming back through the air, snagging three interceptions to kill drives.
“Mason has been playing better and better for us,” Anderson said. “He understood the sets, he recognized what guy was going to be his, and he made good plays on the ball. Tommy’s got great instincts. If we can get him in space and get him moving forward, he’s a great tackler. He played a fantastic game.”
Like North Woods, the Raiders came into the game winless on the season, but Anderson said it wasn’t for a lack of any talent.
“They’ve got three very good levels of defense that teams have had a hard time breaking long plays against,” he said. “They tend to play their spots very well. They made it a challenge.”
It was a challenge North Woods passed, and the much needed win comes with only two games left before sectional playoffs begin. Anderson said the Grizzlies have a shot at picking up two more wins, the first today with a road contest at Mesabi East. The Grizzlies and Giants have identical 1-5 records. The regular season finale will be next Wednesday, Oct. 19 against East Central, also currently 1-5.