A wild shootout for the Northeast Silver Division lead and top seeding position in Section 7A had Hinckley-Finlayson topping Braham 41-32 in the Bombers’ unique Homecoming road game at Hinckley. The Jaguars TJ Johnson provided the final blow when his strong running was featured in a 54-yard drive, capped by him sprinting from 10-yars out to make it a two-score game at 41-32 with 7:15 remaining. Johnson, the Jags’ QB, rushed for 200 yards & 2 TD on 23 carries, along with throwing for 125 yards & two more touchdowns.
Braham QB Hunter Giffrow ran in three touchdowns, and he led a good two minute drive to close out the first half where he connected with Hunter Richmond on a 9-yard score which had the Bombers up 20-19 at the break. The Jaguars picked off three passes in the game, including Tyler Johnson snaring one on Braham’s desperation down the final minute. The tall, fast Johnson had 93 yards receiving and a TD on offense.
Grant Wilsey had another strong overall game for the Bombers. He rushed for 71 yards and scored the team’s final touchdown on a 17-yard run up the gut with 11:33 to play, cutting H-F’s lead down to 34-32. Wilsey also had 4 catches for 43 yards, and he ran the distance on an 84-yard screen pass which was called back by an unpopular (on Braham’s side, at least) “illegal man downfield” penalty in the second quarter. The Bombers did work for a first down after facing a 3rd-and-30 with a long reception by Jacob Lindgren and a fake punt, but the Jags stripped a fumble loose soon after to quell that threat.
The victory was Hinckley’s first on the Bombers since 2008 and kept their record perfect at 5-0 this autumn. The Jaguars are rated No. 2 overall in in the QRF’s Class A Football rankings, the Bombers 11th. Total yards in Sept. 30 game: H-F 403, Bombers 394.
St. Michael-Albertville 45, Cambridge-Isanti 7
The Knights rolled up 415 total yards and broke open a 14-7 game at the half with touchdown plays of 40 and 75 yards to provide cushion in the third quarter. Ryley Nelson scored on a 15-yard run late in the second quarter for the Bluejackets, and he finished with 53 ground yards on 14 carries against STMA.