Cold and windy conditions met both Carlton and Chisholm in Tuesday's Section 7A quarterfinal game in Chisholm. At the end of the game, the Bluestreaks managed to outlast a feisty Bulldog squad with a 28-17 victory.
Chisholm picked up back-to-back touchdowns in the first quarter on scores from Trevor Simonson and Taylor Skoglund. Simonson scored on a 5-yard touchdown run and Skoglund on a 29-yard pass reception from Erik Paine. The Bluestreaks were unable to convert on either extra point and took a lead of 12-0.
Carlton bounced back on a Chase Jokinen 3-yard touchdown run and Josh Ermatinger tacked on the extra point kick pulling the Dogs to within 12-6. Ermatinger would also add an impressive 29-yard field goal in the second quarter to get Carlton to within 12-10 at halftime.
The Bluestreaks recorded the only score of the third quarter when Simonson, who finished with 79 rushing yards, blasted in from the 2-yard line. Simonson also added the conversion run giving the Bluestreaks a 20-10 edge.
The Bulldogs again responded when Jokinen followed some strong line blocking to score on a 1-yard touchdown run making 20-16 and after Ermatinger booted the extra point, it was 20-17 with Chisholm leading.
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That would be as close as Carlton could get as Simonson added another score in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard plunge giving Chisholm the win.
The Bluestreaks will move on to play Barnum in the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Barnum while the Bulldogs season comes to a close with a record of 2-7.
Carlton ended the regular season in high school last Wednesday with a 7-6 loss to Mesabi East in Aurora.
"We're disappointed in the loss, but the two teams were evenly matched," explained Bulldog coach Dave Battaglia. "The sloppy field hurt us more than them. They threw no passes and powered at us on the ground all night."
Mesabi East scored the only touchdown of the first half on a 20-yard touchdown run by Nate Holmstrom and Alex Loe kicked the all important extra point to make it 7-0. The kick proved to be the winning margin despite a couple of chances for Carlton at the end of the game.
"We had opportunities to win the game, but didn't make the plays we needed," said Battaglia. "We drove the field and scored on a Josh Ermatinger quarterback sneak with 1:33 to go in the game. We lined up to kick the extra point, but tried a fake that went incomplete."
The Bulldogs then caused a Mesabi East punt after the Giants were unable to get a first down and that gave Carlton one last shot at a score.
"We took over on our 30-yard line with 1:09 left to go and no time outs left," stated Battaglia. "We got to their 20-yard line and we were forced to try a 37-yard field goal with seconds remaining. The kick was wide left and the game was over."
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The teams were nearly identical in yards gained with the Giants picking up 190 and the Bulldogs 185 total yards.
The loss dropped the Bulldogs to the No. 6 seed in the Section 7A playoffs.
