Rebels take their cause to State

A year after being dumped from the state tournament by Pierz in the quarterfinal round, Moose Lake-Willow River had a chance for redemption. This year the Rebels left little doubt that they were the better team in a 46-0 rout of the Breckenridge Cowboys. It was Breckenridge that knocked Pierz out in the sectional semifinals.

"Our experience having been in the quarterfinal game for the third straight year, compared to Breckenridge's inexperience, was a big advantage for us," said Rebel coach Dave Louzek. "Also, having been beaten by a similar score last year to Pierz, our players were very determined to be ready for that game."

The Rebels left no doubt they were ready when Austin Jacobson ripped off a 57-yard touchdown run on a pitchout to the left side on just the second play from scrimmage. Following Nate Zuk's extra point kick, ML-WR led 7-0 just 50 seconds into the game.

While most of the credit is often given to the skill positions, the line play on both sides of the ball dictates whether those skill players are able to showcase their talents. On Friday night the Rebels controlled the line of scrimmage to the extreme.

"The offensive line is the real strength to this team," explained Louzek. "They will be definitely tested on Friday against our next opponent Caledonia."

With a little over two and a half minutes to play in the first quarter, the Rebels showed their versatility when Joe Bohaty used a play-action pass to Dan Anderson for a 32-yard touchdown pass. Zuk's extra point kick was blocked.

"Our improved passing game has really taken the pressure off the running game," mentioned Louzek. "Defenses have to decide if they are going to crowd the line of scrimmage to stop the run or hang back and make it more difficult to pass."

Once the Bohaty-to-Anderson connection was established, the Rebels running game took off as Zuk started to hammer away. Zuk scored just 9 seconds into the second quarter as he took a pitch out from Bohaty and bolted down the sidelines for a 56-yard touchdown run and a 19-0 lead. The Rebels two-point conversion attempt was snuffed out by the Cowboys.

From that point, the game was controlled strictly by the dominating line of the Rebels, allowing Zuk to rush for 224 yards on 20 carries. Jacobson added 144 yards on just 16 carries.

Midway through the second quarter, Zach Thomas slashed his way to the end zone on a 16-yard touchdown run, making the score 26-0 following the extra point kick by Zuk.

With just 46 seconds remaining in the half, it was Zuk bowling over would-be tacklers and crashing into the end zone on a 14-yard touchdown run, pushing the score to 33-0 after the Dave Cisar extra point kick.

Neither team managed a score in the third quarter, but the Rebels put the game into running time when Zuk blasted into the end zone on a 6-yard touchdown run with 7:50 remaining in the fourth quarter. The extra point attempt by Cisar failed.

Jacobson added some frosting on the cake when he ripped off another big touchdown run, this time from 42 yards away, and Cisar added the extra point with 3:45 remaining as the Rebels went up 46-0.

The Rebels will play Caledonia at 5:45 p.m. Friday at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. The Warriors won the Section 1A title by beating Zumbrota-Mazeppa 53-20 and in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs they beat Norwood-Young America 21-0 last Friday. Caledonia's only loss was a 28-25 loss to Plainview-Elgin-Millville in the third week of the season. Caledonia brings a potent offense, which has scored 64 points in a game, over 50 points three times and at least 30 points in seven of their games this season.