Ridgewater (1-0) at Mesabi Range (1-0)
Today at 1:30 p.m. in Virginia
Last year: Ridgewater 14, Mesabi 8
What's at stake?
The Warriors have big ambitions this season. A loss this early would be a blow to their self-esteem.
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Last week:
Mesabi Range blew away MSCTC-Fergus Falls 28-0 at the Kick-off Classic, while Ridgewater posted a 41-14 victory against Itasca. The meeting today is the second of four games against the North Division before starting play against teams in its own South Division. Wins against the North are worth one point while South wins are good for two points.
Coach Rob Baumgarn:
"We need to improve on special teams, and when we get a team down we need to keep them down (Ridgewater led the Vikings 20-0 but it was 20-14 by halftime). Our (offensive) guards, Antonio Nicholas and Patrico Lopez, both played very well. I don't know if any team has a better pair of defensive ends than Mickell Brown and Joe Doubler. Offensively, I'm looking forward to our passing game becoming more productive. We'll be that much tougher if we're two dimensional."
The Norsemen file:
Mesabi ran for 252 yards and passed for 172 more against the Spartans. Greg Moore, the Norseman quarterback, completed 15 of 22 passes for 125 yards and ran for 107 more in 15 attempts. Khiry Robinson picked up an additional 105 in 17 tries. The defense limited Fergus to 18 yards on the ground and 153 yards overall. The Norsemen run a spread offense just like the Vikings did last week against the Warriors at St. Cloud State University.
Lineup notes:
Sophomore Robert Johnson, a 6-2, 305-pound offensive lineman from Apple Valley, suffered a torn MCL in the third quarter and is done for the season. Baumgarn said Johnson was an asset because he could back-up at both guard and tackle. Fullback Jacob Wahl (shoulder) could be back next week. Safety and captain Jeff Kralow (hamstring) is still not ready. He injured himself conditioning at home before the pre-season .... No surprise, Alex McLaughlin's 252 yards in the opener outranked all other running backs during the opening week. In fact, it was more than any team, except Mesabi, which totaled the same amount rushing.
