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Denfeld senior fullback Jacob Herold rounded right end with a pass from Cody Brown and scored his fourth touchdown as the Hunters beat East 36-34. Photo credit: John Gilbert

East's Joshua Daniels-Hanbury was barely visible behind Denfeld's Dominic Klaas (36) as Jack Rashid's fourth-down bomb dropped into his hands for a 70-yard touchdown -- his third of the game. Photo credit: John Gilbert

Blake Salfer caught a pass, then veered to his right to pick up East teammate Quinton Homstad's block on Denfeld's Brendon Walkowiak at the goal line, for a 31-yard scoring play. Photo credit: John Gilbert

Denfeld High School had a rich and robust history in football back in the early 1900s, long before Duluth East became a high school. Over time, East joined the traditional Central-Denfeld rivalry to make it a three-way within Duluth’s district.

Of course, Central is long gone now, leaving two vacant schools behind, and East and Denfeld have been forced to play up, because of their size, and join the Mississippi 8 conference in recent years. They were overmatched by the large and growing northern Twin Cities suburban teams they had to schedule, and both sides relished the lone reprieve that came when they faced each other. This season would be different. East hoped it would finally be good enough to compete with the other Mississippi-8ers. Denfeld, which won only one game in the last two years, came into the season with just hope.

They played each other in their first game of the season last Friday at Public Schools Stadium, with East’s Greyhounds quite prominently favored in what quite properly is Duluth’s City Championship game. It was not only a great game, but may stand as the best and most exciting game of the whole season, even though this was Game 1. When it was over, Denfeld turned loose senior fullback Jacob Herold, who ran and caught passes to account for four touchdowns, and made a number of key plays on defense as well.

“It’s always a big game when we play East,” said Herold, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound charger. When asked if any colleges had talked to him, Herold said, “Not really.”
 
Heroics and big plays were the dominant theme, with both sides pulling off big surprises and potentially game-breaking plays throughout. East took the first turn,  as quarterback Jack Rashid threw a pair of fourth-down touchdown passes for    12-0 first-quarter lead. Denfeld’s defense made a spirited stand to force fourth and goal from the 11, but Rashid hit Tyler Seymour for an 11-yard TD. The extra point kick failed by enough that neither team tried another kick after scoring.

Next possession, the Hunters made another spirited defensive stand, pushing the Hounds back to fourth and 17 at Denfeld’s 31, but Rashid hit Blake Salfer over the middle, and Salfer made a clever cut to the right to get behind Ian Mageau’s block on the last defender, and ran it in to complete a 31-yard TD play, for a 12-0 lead.

Denfeld counter-punched in the second quarter, behind Cody Brown, the slim senior Hunters quarterback. Playing opportunist, Brown found Brody Russell on a third and 12 play from East’s 26, and it was 12-6. Denfeld recovered a fumble on the short ensuing kickoff, and moved it for a 6-yard scoring pass from Brown to Herold and a 12-all tie. Brown then connected with Dylan Salo for the 2-point conversion and a 14-12 lead.

East's Tyler Orr played perfect defense, but Brody Russell (86) made a crucial grab of a 26-yard touchdown pass from Cody Brown for Denfeld's first touchdown. Photo credit: John Gilbert

Jacob Herold, a powerful 6-foot-1, 195-pound fullback, crashed into an East defender on his way to one of his four Denfeld touchdowns. Photo credit: John Gilbert

Denfeld quarterback Cody Brown eluded East defenders and led the Hunters to a 36-34 victory. Photo credit: John Gilbert

Duluth East quarterback Jack Rashid sprinted from trouble as he came through with several big plays. Photo credit: John Gilbert

That’s when the fun began. East regained the lead at 20-14 by halftime when Joshua Daniels-Hanbury ran 39 yards for a touchdown and Rashid passed to Daniels-Hanbury for two. In the third quarter, Denfeld vaulted back ahead when Brown gained a running first down on fourth and four, then threw a slick pass to Brody Russell to reach the 8. Then it was time for Herold, who crashed in from the 8 and Brown passed for two to Russell, and it was 22-20 for the Hunters. East’s serve, and Daniels-Hanbury scored his second touchdown of a three-TD the game to gain a 26-22 edge.

It was quite possible that nobody in the seats could believe the shootout they were watching, with big play after big play swapping the lead with virtually every possession. Denfeld got a big interception to end the third quarter, and quickly moved in from the 19 for another touchdown and a 28-26 lead when Harald plunged into the end zone from the 1, knocking over his own blocker to get there.
It seemed like one more game-breaker would win the game for East. On third and 16 from the Hounds own 20, Rashid dropped back and launched a long pass into the dark sky. Daniel-Hanbury had gone deep up the right side, and caught the ball behind the last defender, continuing all the way for a 70-yard TD. Rashid hit Seymour for the conversion, and East had a 34-28 lead.

By then, Brown showed his tenacity by taking the Hunters down the field, but at fourth and 7 at East’s 21, it seemed that the Hunters time had run out. But those were the old Hunters. These guys set up and Brown rolled out to his right, chased by a posse of defenders. He seemed trapped, and his short pass attempt went off in something other than a perfect spiral. It didn’t matter, though, because it went to Jacob Herold, who circled right end and blasted past the entire Greyhound defense to score -- tying the game 34-34.
To break the tie, it was Herold time again, and he slammed into the end zone for a 36-34 Denfeld lead. The Hounds moved with great poise against the fired-up Denfeld defense, and got to the Denfeld 32, where Rashid’s pass attempt fell incomplete. That gave the Hunters the ball with 3:07 remaining, and once East exhausted their time out supply, Brown simply kept giving the ball to Herold. Herold went for 9; Montrelly McMillan for 4 and a first down; Herold for 9; Herold for 4 and another first down; Herold for 2; Herold for 1...and time ran out.

Denfeld’s fans poured out of the Public Schools Stadium grandstand and mobbed the maroon-clad Hunters as they stood near their bench, helmets held high.

“That’s the best we’ve played,” said Brown, the Denfeld quarterback. “It was easy to keep handing the ball off to Herold at the end. That’s the best he’s played, to my knowledge. We all played well. The biggest game, on the biggest stage, and we got the bragging rights now.”