Northfield TE/LB Cole Jirik is everywhere, almost literally.  Following another Orono fumble (recovered by Jirik), on Northfield’s 10-yard line, Jirik caught a 68-yard pass from Sam Maus (he caught it about three times, actually, juggling it for a good ten-yard stretch.)  On defense, Jirik seems like he’s in on every play, including two quarterback sacks.  And on special teams, Jirik stopped an Orono chance at points, blocking a field goal. (Well, I say he blocked it; more than anything, he just sped around end and caught the ball immediately after it left the kicker’s foot.)

One note: Jirik limped off towards the end of the half, after what appeared to be a whack in the side of the head.  We’ll keep track and see if he returns.

Despite Jirik’s efforts, though, the Spartans are still moving the ball, mostly on the strength of Tyler Hartlein’s right arm.  Orono has had three chances in the red zone, but the first two ended in the fumble and the blocked field goal; on the third, finally, the Spartans banged into the end zone.

Northfield is not to be outdone, though, as they’ve scored twice through the air, both times to senior Christian Shepley.  The first was a halfback pass from Cody Schmidt, the second a 48-yard bomb from Sam Maus.  Wes Kramer kicked another field goal as the half ended, following a Shepley interception, and that leaves us with a 21-6 ballgame.

(By the way, if you’re looking for a breakdown of this game, you can’t do better than the one from commenter Stu.  Where else will you see a post that name-checks both Malt-O-Meal and Bird Island-Lake Lillian?)

This entry was posted on Friday, November 14th, 2008 at 2:12 pm and is filed under Football, State tournaments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.