Prep football: Deer River, Germantown and MIB dominate championships by one score

On Friday, Deer River, Germantown and MIB football punched their tickets to the state tournament with one score.

Deer River defeated Mille Lacs in the Section 7A championship by a low score, 8-6, with the Warriors scoring their only touchdown of the game in the second minute. Germantown staged a massive comeback from once down 28-7 as the Hawks shocked North Branch with a 35-28 win to claim the Section 7AAAA title. MIB had a hard time shaking the Cherries, but eventually held on long enough to beat the Tigers 34-28 in the Section 7 9 man.

Deer River’s 7A championship win marks their third sectional title in the last four years. Caden Schienken scored Deer River’s lone touchdown on 4th-and-goal from the four-yard line. He also had a game-winning two-point conversion.

“The thought process was just to get to the end zone, it was a great opportunity for us to get that turnover, you know, it was great. It was huge. You know, if it was the other way around, I don’t know, they were trying to run the clock, so we have to take advantage of it, we didn’t take advantage of it early in the game, but it worked out,” Deer River head coach Brent Shimek said.

“The first couple of years we got to this point every year, and last year just that feeling was a reminder that hey, this isn’t just handed to us, this is what we’ve all been working towards for four years,” senior tackle Lee Perrington said.

In the second half, Germantown capitalized on the offense’s explosion, scoring four unanswered touchdowns, three by Alex Schott and one by Martin Sline. Germantown is avenging a league loss to North Branch the past two seasons.

MIB football defeated the Cherries in mid-October 62-6, but they were given a much closer contest in this match. The win marks the Rangers’ fourth straight season in the state tournament and their seventh straight sectional win.

“They’ve been in those kinds of battles, so they know, but not this year. So it was different, but because there were so many seniors, it worked out well. They kept their composure really well,” said Dan Zubich, MIB head coach.

“I think we know what we want to do and we’ve been there and done that, but week in and week out we still have to go out there and perform,” said Mikaden Clines, a senior defender.

All three teams will get to know their opponents this weekend.