A blitz of big plays propelled state-ranked #6 in 9-Man Spring Grove well past visiting #9 Mabel-Canton, 56-14. The Lions scored on their first four possessions and needed only 11 plays to do it. On the night, SG scored four times on scrimmage plays that covered 46 yards or more, plus a 60-yard, non-scoring pass to Tysen Grinde, who did score later on a 74-yard kickoff return. Elijah Solum (6-135, 2 TDs rushing; 6 of 15 passing, 235 yards, 3 TDs passing, 11 tackles) entered as the sub-district’s leader in total offense. He ran only six times, including TD sprints of 20 and 85 yards. He passed for 235 yards and three touchdowns. Caleb Griffin, while lining up as a wide receiver, took a lateral and then threw a 48-yard TD pass to Jaxon Strinmoen (3-118 receiving) who scored on two of his three receptions, including a 62-yarder from Solum. Griffin had a key block on that 62-yard TD and again on a 46-yard TD reception by Ethan Crouch. Griffin also kicked 6 of 7 extra points. Five of Solum’s six completions went for big yardage, including a 25-yard toss to Griffin and a 34-yard TD pass to Logan Brumm. M-C freshman quarterback Isaac Underbakke (8 for 16 passing) had success when he had time to throw. He passed for 127 yards, but he was also sacked five times for 38 yards of losses. Tyler Larson (17-60 rushing) and Robert Michels (8-54) each scored for M-C. There were no turnovers all game. SG led 28-0 before the Cougars scored all of their 14 points in the second quarter. It was 34-14 at halftime. SG improved to 3-0, 3-0. The Lions are tied with Lanesboro (3-0, 3-0) atop the South-East. M-C slipped to 2-1, 2-1.
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