The Northland Pines varsity football team bounced back from a road loss to Crivitz in week six with a dominating 45-6 win over the Clintonville Truckers at home last Friday night in Eagle River. The Eagles scored 42 of the 45 points in the first half.
The win pushed Pines to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the conference, good for fifth place.
Head Coach Justin Nimsgern talked after the game about how proud he was of the team’s preparation during the week and how they set the tempo early on both sides of the ball.
“We had a great practice week. It was very tactical. We made some adjustments from last week. Last week was not the best, and we need to make sure we do our jobs. Tonight we were doing our jobs. It wasn’t always perfect, but we executed at a very high level,” Nimsgern said postgame.
It all started on the opening kickoff when senior placekicker Tyler Vojta pinned the Truckers inside their own five-yard line. One of the Clintonville returners let the ball go into the end zone for a touchback, but once the ball hit around the five-yard line, it pretty much sat dead, forcing Clintonville to play it.
The Pines defense made a quick stop and put the offense on the field for its first drive. Senior running back Tucker Brock broke loose for a big run and found pay dirt for a 7-0 lead.
Things continued to go the Eagles’ way defensively, as an interception on Clintonville’s second drive gave the ball right back to Pines. Sophomore Mason Nagy was another key scorer in this one and got his first of two touchdowns of the night on that drive, but a blocked extra point attempt kept the game at 13-0. Pines forced its second turnover of the first half on an interception deep in Clintonville territory, which led to the third touchdown of the quarter. It took one play, and Brock got his second score of the night to eventually make it 20-0 after one quarter.
Pines held possession at the end of the first quarter, sitting on the Trucker 26-yard line as the second quarter started. Conrad Droby got the call this time, and his 26-yard scamper into the end zone made it 27-0 Eagles. Defensively, the shutout bid continued, as the Eagles defensive unit continued to give the offense the ball back.
Nagy secured a reverse handoff and scored his second touchdown to pull the advantage to 35-0.
Bryan Droby later joined the scoring. A big run by senior Xavier Gaffny from midfield all the way inside the Trucker 10-yard line set up a Droby rushing touchdown a few plays later. The Eagles then led 42-0 with about seven minutes left in the first half.
Pines did allow a rushing score late in the first half but stopped the two-point conversion attempt to lead 42-6 at the break.
The Eagles came out of halftime with a running clock and closed the scoring with a Vojta field goal on the opening drive in the second half.
The defensive effort was there all night, with Pines limiting Clintonville to 135 passing yards and 38 rushing yards on 29 attempts.
Outside of the big lead, Coach Nimsgern also talked postgame about keeping the intensity, not holding up and holding each other accountable. With players being switched in and out of the lineup, full-speed reps are the only way players can gain the necessary in-game experience.
“We’ve been in some close games this year, and we just couldn’t quite finish some games and finish out a strong second half,” Nimsgern said. “Guys knew we were going to get guys in and get some reps from younger guys, but the standard is the same. Whether younger guys are in there, we still need to execute at a high level and do our jobs.”
The team now looks ahead to another home game this week, this time against the visiting Crandon Cardinals this Friday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m.
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