FIELD TWP — The mosquitoes were bad, but the McGregor Mercuries drew more blood from the Grizzlies last Thursday at North Woods, rolling to a 45-6 win.
After giving up a 60-yard scoring drive to the Mercuries on the opening possession, it looked like the Grizzlies would make a game of this one, coming up with two big defensive stands. On the second, senior lineman Rogelio Noyes showed why he will be a force to be reckoned with this season, as he overpowered a McGregor lineman and bulled into the backfield for a decisive sack. The first quarter ended with the Mercuries up 6-0.
A key turning point came when Noyes punted from deep in Grizzlies territory and the ball was returned to the North Woods 39. A facemask penalty on the Grizzlies set McGregor up at the 14, and they needed just two plays to go up 14-0 with the touchdown and two-point conversion at the 8:48 mark.
Barely a minute later, the Mercuries were on offense again at the North Woods 36 after recovering a fumble and drove for another touchdown. With the two-point PAT, a six-point lead had ballooned to 22 in the space of about four minutes.
North Woods quarterback Jett Lambert picked up the Grizzlies’ first first down of the contest on a slashing draw play that took the ball into McGregor territory at the 40, but the drive fizzled when Lambert was sacked on a fourth-down pass attempt.
Taking over at their own 45 with 2:43 left in the half, the Mercuries drove down the field and scored on a 23-yard run to take a 28-0 lead into halftime.
McGregor scored two more touchdowns in the third quarter on drives that both started on the Grizzlies’ side of the field and tacked on a field goal midway through the fourth quarter to go up 45-0.
With the game winding down and McGregor getting some reserves some playing time, the Grizzlies put together their only scoring drive of the night. Lambert got things rolling from the North Woods 45 when he escaped a strong pass rush and scampered down the right sideline to the McGregor 40.
Junior James Yernatich toted the ball around left end for 12 yards and another first down. After junior Carson Johnson was stopped for a two-yard gain, Lambert handed the ball to Yernatich who raced 26-yards around right end for the score. The conversion attempt was no good, and McGregor ran out the clock on the ensuing possession to claim the 45-6 win.