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Grand Rapids quarterback Trent Johnson cuts back against Cloquet defenders in the Thunderhawks 41-0 victory in the battle of top contenders. Photos by John Gilbert.

Call it a stroke of luck for Duluth-area football teams. Not that anybody wearing the purple jerseys of the Cloquet Lumberjacks felt any too lucky last week when they had to meet Grand Rapids in a classic high school football showdown for Lake Superior Conference and playoff supremacy on the line.

It’s always fun to watch the seasons unfold and observe which teams take over or catch up, and win the title. In this case, we’ve watched Cloquet teams dominate in soccer, and in recent years in football. Grand Rapids is always a high-caliber team, and it’s mainly their hockey team that is a prime threat for Section 7AA prominence. Because of delays and cancellations for the pandemic, it’s been a particularly unpredictable season, with Hermanown looking powerful to start, then getting whacked by Grand Rapids, while Duluth East started late, and also got hammered by Grand Rapids, before starting to click.

But last week, all the others — East, Hermantown, Denfeld, Proctor and all — were on the back burner while Grand Rapids came to Cloquet. The COVID-19 pandemic is nasty, and we’re lucky to get in as many games as we have, but it strikes without discriminating, and it took out Cloquet head football coach Tom Lenarz, among others, for that game.

Not that it would have made all that much difference. Not on this night. The Thunderhawks seemed to have talent at every position, and functioned smoothly from start to finish, for a decisive 41-0 romp that handed the Lumberjacks their first loss of the season.

If you want a microcosm of what kind of a game it was for Cloquet, consider that after falling behind on Caden Hofstad’s opening touchdown, then 14-0 after the first quarter, and 21-0 by halftime, Rapids quarterback Trent Johnson, who already had passed for two touchdowns — one each to brothers Ben Bonner for 3 yards and John Bonner for 49 yards — sliced through the Cloquet line and went 18 yards to make it 27-0 to open the third quarter.

The Lumberjacks had trouble hanging onto the ball and gave it back to Grand Rapids a few times, and as the score mounted it was difficult to remember that this was not a bottom-feeding team, but unbeaten Cloquet coming apart.

Later in the third quarter, Dane Kennedy broke free and raced 40 yards for another touchdown, making it 33-0. Stunned, if not dispirited, the Lumberjacks lined up to throw everything they had at stopping Nick Langlois on his attempt at the extra point. The Jacks broke through and blocked the kick by Langlois. At the time, I thought it might not have been much, but it was something the Lumberjacks had accomplished. But wait! A flag! Penalty on Cloquet, so Langlois got another chance. He made it, 34-0. Even moral victories were elusive for Cloquet.

In the fourth quarter, the only score was an embarrassing one. Cloquet fought their way to the Grand Rapids 5, but there, a fumble was scooped up by junior linebacker Andy Thomsen, and he took off for a 95-yard touchdown run and Rapids went home with a 41-0 triumph.

That result sort of took some luster off this week’s Duluth East-Cloquet game, but both can pay their respects to Grand Rapids. However, a quirk in the scheduling and redistricting world means that Grand Rapids will play its playoffs in Section 8, instead of 7. So instead of being overwhelming favorite in Section 7, the Thunderhawks will be flexing their muscle in Section 8. Suddenly, Section 7 is wide open, at least temporarily. Talk about luck.

Cloquet’s Sheldon Reese sweeps right end for a gain.

Pros ... and cons

It was quite a weekend for football elsewhere, as well. Consider the parallel fortunes of the University of Minnesota and the NFL Minnesota Vikings. Both got off to awful starts and appeared a long way from preseason predictions.

But last weekend, the Gophers crushed Illinois 41-14 for a huge victory, we’re told, although we have to point out that Illinois was missing several players with injuries or virus stuff, but no question, the Gophers were clicking. The loudest click came from No. 24, a running back named Mohamed Ibrahim. He ran the ball 30 times, gaining 224 yards and four touchdowns.

There were some sensational finishes in college football, in case you overlooked them. If you don’t think sports are upside down, consider that Maryland beat Penn State 35-19, Indiana beat Michigan 38-21, Iowa mauled Michigan State 49-7, and Northwestern beat Nebraska 21-13. Before the season started, there would be no question which “pod” you’d take as favorites: Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State and Nebraska, or Northwestern, Maryland, Indiana and Iowa.

Also, Southern Cal beat Arizona State 28-27 in a breathtaking finish, as Southern Cal came back from a 27-14 deficit in the final 3 minutes. Kedon Slovis threw a 15-yard touchdown pass with 2:52 left, then the Trojans recovered an onside kick, and Slovis brought USC right back. This time, on fourth and 9 at the ASU 22, Slovis threw another touchdown pass with 1:20 left to tie it 27-27, and the Trojans won it with the extra point, 28-27. Slovis was 40-55 for 381 yards and the two late TDs.

Colorado stopped UCLA 48-42 but only after Coach Chip Kelly’s Bruins rallied back from a 35-7 deficit.

The game of the day, however, was the showdown at the top. No. 1 Clemson, playing without star quarterback Trevor Lawrence because of COVID-19, turned loose DJ Uaigalelei, a 6-foot-6 5-star freshman, and he was fantastic, but the Tigers lost 47-40 at No. 4 Notre Dame in two overtimes. Uaigalelei was 29-44 for 439 yards and two touchdowns, but his final Hail Mary pass was batted around and left Notre Dame 7-0 and Clemson 7-1.

Then we turn to the Vikings, who had recorded their signature victory of the season at Green Bay the week before, and they hammered Detroit 34-20 to make their faithful turn giddy with optimism — similar to the start of the season. This time, Dalvin Cook, who just got through running for four touchdowns and 196 yards rushing, made 22 rushing sorties and gained 206 yards, including two touchdowns, and caught two passes for 46 more yards. His rushing total got an injection when he burst through the line and tore away for a 70-yard touchdown run.

The Lions were…well, the Lions. I always feel sympathy for Matthew Stafford, the Detroit quarterback who always deserves better. In this game, I watched closely enough to see at least a half dozen times when pretty neat passing plays called for a receiver to cut across the middle, and they wound up wide open, but when Stafford delivered perfect passes that hit them in the hands, they dropped the ball. Stafford was shaken up later and went for examination, but the dropsy tendencies continued.

Made me realize that you can win and win big or lose and lose big, depending on who you play and when. Can the Vikings go into Chicago and beat the Bears this weekend? Can the Gophers beat Iowa in Minneapolis Friday night? It’s anyone’s guess.

And The Bulldogs?

The UMD hockey teams finally got their schedules, and they are intriguing, to say the least. The UMD women, ranked No. 8 in the country, open next week at Minnesota State Mankato Friday and Saturday, then they come home to AMSOIL Arena the following week to take on…Minnesota.
The men go to Omaha for an interesting pod approach. All eighth NCHC teams will stay there for three weeks, playing doubleheaders all through the week. The Bulldogs open against Denver Dec. 2, on the second day of action, and they will, at one point, play seven games in 10 days. Every team will go through the same thing, but a team that can open at a high level could get a real jump on the league.

Bernie already missed

As a kid, my dad would take me out to Wade Stadium to watch the Duluth Dukes play as a Class C Northern League baseball entry. That was great baseball — better than the Class A ball that followed restructuring years later. I remember watching various teams, good and bad, and one of the highlights was when a lean, scholarly-looking young man named Bernie Gerl was the Dukes catcher. He was close to perfect as a catcher, and as a left-handed hitter, he would hit some balls high and far over the right-field wall.

Bernie Gerl was special because he had survived the 1948 bus crash that killed several players. It happened down near the northwestern corner of the Twin Cities suburbs and was one of those shocking things i had trouble comprehending as a kid. But when Gerl came back from months of therapy for burns and a broken body and was able to play ball again, it was an inspiration for a lot of fans.

In recent years, Bernie would come back to Duluth to visit old friends and to take in a few Huskies games. I was honored to meet him, and looked forward to his annual visits. When I had a radio show for several years, which some people found interesting, I invited Bernie to come to the KDAL studio in Technology Village and we’d talk about the old days in baseball. He had a quick wit and a warm personality.

Bernie didn’t come to Duluth the last couple years, and we talked by telephone to his home in Joliet, Ill., a time or two. I made annual trips to Joliet for car-test sessions with the Midwest Automobile Media Association at Autobahn Speedway, so it gave us another point of reference. So it was with great sorrow that i heard Bernie Gerl had died this past week. He was 94, and his son said he was suffering from dementia, but baseball fans in Duluth will miss a large slice of baseball history with our loss of a true icon of great baseball days at the old park.