Twin Ports Power 5: Denfeld, Hermantown a class above the rest
DULUTH — It should be no surprise that Duluth Denfeld retains the top spot this week, as the Hunters dismantled Duluth East 48-14 Friday night.
With that being said, the gap between Duluth Denfeld (4-0) and Hermantown is not as large as it once was, through no fault of the Hunters. The Hawks have been exceptional this season, as Hermantown (3-1) came within a play of dethroning North Branch.
Hermantown's stinging 48-44 loss on the road against a Section 7AAAA perennial power proved that this Hawks team might be better than anyone thought was possible, well, anyone outside of the Hermantown locker room, that is.
The Hawks added to their impressive resume with a 49-22 win at Grand Rapids on Friday. Hermantown throttled a strong Thunderhawks team, indicating that the Hawks are for real this season and are capable of potentially taking the top spot from Denfeld in the future.
Two Harbors (3-1) is coming off of what was essentially a bye week after Proctor forfeited. That gives the Agates a week of rest heading into a home contest against Esko, a game that I'd imagine Two Harbors circled the day the schedule got released.
Barnum (4-0) continued its winning ways with a 34-8 win over Braham and with a light schedule ahead, the Bombers appear to be building something special for a second consecutive year.
Northwestern, coming off of a disappointing 28-6 loss at Saint Croix Falls, bounced back with a 68-6 win against Cumberland. The Tigers (3-2) appear to be firing on all cylinders for the first time this season.
Rules of the Five
- This list and its comments are based on games prep sports reporters Jamey Malcomb and Reagan Hoverman have watched or stats that have been submitted to the Duluth News Tribune.
- This is a ranking of the top five 11-man football teams in our area, regardless of class.
- We are allowed to be prisoners of the moment. If a struggling team gets a fun win, they might pop up on the Five and disappear the next week.
On to the ranking ...
The Hunters have looked dominant through four games and Friday — in a 48-14 win over Duluth East — they broke out a new wrinkle.
Quarterback Lee Brooks threw three touchdown passes in the second half of 52, 72 and 25 yards. These weren't short passes that standout running back Taye Manns caught out of the backfield and broke loose for 50 yards after the catch.
These were down-the-field passes that hit runners in stride. These were tough throws. These were throws I didn't know Brooks could hit until I watched him do it against East.
Did the Hunters NEED to do it against East? Not exactly, but with Denfeld's toughest matchup of the season looming Friday, it was coach Erik Lofald's last chance to try a few things out at game speed.
The Hunters travel to North Branch this weekend to play the two-time defending Section 7AAAA champions. Can Denfeld win this game? Absolutely. Will they? That, my friends, remains to be seen.
Speaking of a team that looks very, very good — the Hawks recovered from a heartbreaker in North Branch to put the hurt on Grand Rapids.
Tied at 15 at halftime, Hermantown outscored the Thunderhawks 34-7 in the second half of an important win. The way they lost the North Branch game could have lingered, but they seem to have moved on. That's important.
More importantly, while Lee Brooks was showing off his arm, the Hawks' Alex Schott ran for two scores and threw for another against Grand Rapids. Schott has completed 66% of his passes for more than 500 yards and seven touchdowns this season to only one interception.
Do the Hawks have the best athlete in the section? No, see above.
They do have a whole bunch of good ones, they can score plenty of points and they play some pretty good defense. With Schott calling the (I swear I didn't intend this) shots, I think it sounds like a recipe for challenging the Hunters in the season finale Oct. 16.
First, they have to deal with Rock Ridge and a defense that's only surrendered more than 15 points once this season at 7 p.m. Friday at Centricity Stadium. I'll be there.
The Agates got an unexpected week off because Proctor was unable to play due to illness on the team.
This week, they play an Esko team they haven't beaten since 2019. Esko isn't having the season they've had the past two years. They got beat up at Pequot Lakes last week 47-6 and this week they have to climb back on the bus and ride up to Two Harbors.
This looks like an easy win for Tom Nelson and crew.
But to quote former Indiana coach Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friends."
Esko is not having the season they hoped for, not by a long shot, but they didn't forget how to play football. They're still well-coached and they have athletes, so they are going to get better.
If Two Harbors overlooks Esko in this situation, they can and will get beat.
On the other hand, I can't imagine this is a game the Agates aren't going to get up for. Esko has put a damper on Two Harbors for years and seniors Tate Nelson, Jacob Carpenter and a whole host of others have one last chance to get a win over Esko.
Any possibility of Barnum continuing to fly under the radar went out the window on Friday night. The Bombers secured a 34-8 win over Braham, marking the second-straight year in which Barnum has won each of its opening four games.
What impressed me about the Bombers is not just that they are winning, it's they're winning. Barnum has only played a single one-possession game this year, the season-opening 9-6 win at Moose Lake/Willow River, the defending Section 7AA champions.
That win sent a message to the rest of the section that Barnum is not going anywhere. In the three weeks since then, the Bombers have outscored opponents by an average of 28 points — four touchdowns! — while being undefeated (3-0) in those games.
Barnum cracked the top 10 in the Sept. 16 iteration of the Minnesota state high school football ranking media poll, as the Bombers occupied the No. 10 spot. I anticipate the Bombers will continue to rise, since only one of Barnum's final four regular season opponents boasts a winning record.
I believe there is a real chance that Barnum will enter the Section 7AA tournament with an undefeated (8-0) record, giving the Bombers a good chance to reach the state tournament for the first time since 2012.
Nearly a decade ago to the day, then-Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, while appearing on an ESPN Milwaukee radio show, said he had five letters for the green and gold faithful: "R-E-L-A-X."
Rodgers delivered the message after Green Bay started the year 1-2 for the third-straight season. The sentiment Rodgers shared is exactly how I feel about the Northwestern Tigers, who have lost two regular season games for the first time since 2017.
The losses this season came at the hands of Prescott and Saint Croix Falls, two undefeated teams (5-0) ranked No. 4 and No. 6 in the Division 4 and 5 coaches polls, respectively.
The Tigers have a winning record thus far, despite the game of musical chairs that has been going on with the offensive line. Head coach Jovin Kroll is close to finding the perfect mix of personnel up front, and when he does, they're going to click.
Even with the uncertainty of the offensive line, Northwestern throttled Cumberland 68-6 on Friday evening in Maple. The Tigers amassed more than 500 yards of offense, leading to Northwestern's most point since October 2019.
