Football

      Thursday night brings football fans around the area together in Esko for the Section 7AA Championship game and it features two of the best on northern Minnesota. The Rebels are the defending champs, and they are looking to avenge an early season defeat at the hands of the Gobblers. (25-14) In that game the Gobblers outgained the Rebels 246-119. Parker Fultpon scored four touchdowns in that game and ran for 123 yards. The Rebels had just 37 yards on the ground in that game with Jack Sickler (#8) gaining 25 of those yards. Hayden Danelski (#18) threw for 82 yards in that one while his counterpart Bo Sanford threw for 37 yards. Neither team had a turnover in that game and only 21 yards total was lost to penalty flags. MLWR is a run heavy team and has rushed for 198 yards per game and adds 63 yards through the air. Saami Al-Arfaj (#9) is their leading rusher gaining 835 yards and a 6.3 yards per carry average with 10 touchdowns. Brayden Strand (#4) has picked up 572 yards on the ground with 7 touchdowns and Sickler has rushed for 452 yards and 5 touchdowns. Danelski is 46-91 through the air for 722 yards and Sickler has been their leading receiver with 358 yards and 5 touchdowns. Ashton Holt (#2) has 192 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns. The Rebels average 26.7 points per game and give up 11.8. Al-Arfaj leads the Rebels tacklers with 135 on the year. They have a good kicker as well in Lorenzo Bonucelli who has kicked three field goals including the game winner against C-I last week and is 24-29 on point after kicks.      The Gobblers have had their greatest season in 70 years and look to move on to the State Playoffs for the first time since 1982. Their defense has been the talk this season, but their offense has been virtually unstoppable. They have posted 2,977 yards of total offense this season while giving up just 1,519 yards. They have rushed for 2,222 yards and allowing 1,088 yards. They are scoring 38.5 points per game and allowing just 8.5 per contest. Fulton has rushed 114 times for a whopping 994 yards and 17 touchdowns and averages over 8.72 yards per carry. Jack Jacobson has rushed 61 times for 727 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging over 11.92 yards per carry. Eli McNevin has picked up 234 yards rushing on only 15 carries and has scored 4 touchdowns. Bo Sanford has thrown for 8 touchdowns on 50-81 and 715 yards. Nolan Dotzler has 18 catches for 448 yards and 6 touchdowns. McNevin has 10 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown.  Fulton has been the leading tackler on this team, but he has had lots of help during this outstanding season. He has 65 stops while Damien Maciel has 42, McNevin has 37, and Tolo May and Jacobson each have 31 tackles. Teagan Vogtlin has three interceptions while McNevin, Dotzler and Jacobson all have two interceptions. May and Sanford each have one interception. Dotzler is 11-14 on PAT kicks.      Both teams have experienced coaches, and Dave Louzek and Alan Hills have helped cultivate a pretty healthy rivalry over the years. They know exactly what is at stake Thursday night. First let's hear from Louzek, "We are very excited to have the opportunity to face Aitkin a second time this season for the Section 7 AA Championship. Aitkin has been the team to beat all season with a great group of players and a coaching staff that has prepared them for this game. Our players will have to be at their best and work to give Aitkin a four-quarter football game. Our players have worked hard all season to get to the Section Championship game and now it is time for them to step up and play a very fast and physical game with minimal mistakes to compete with Aitkin."    Alan Hills is both confident and cautious, "Our goals are still in front is us so we have to keep playing like we have. Moose Lake will not give us anything, we have to be ready to play every down. They have a great tradition and have gone to the State a crazy number of times. We respect that but we will be ready to play Thursday night. As I said earlier in the season these two teams both have great athletes but if we can play our game this week, we will accomplish goal number one for 2026. Our guys will leave everything out there on the field. They don't know any other way to play the game of football".    Gametime is 6pm is Esko. No pressure but both teams know this is the most important game they have ever played. It's just that simple!
  

      The Aitkin Gobblers worked their way to the Section 7AA Championship game Saturday with a 54-12 win over Mesabi East. That puts them into the title game Thursday at Esko against MLWR. The stats against the Giants bore out the final score so let's take a look.

Total Yards-Aitkin-416-296

Rushing Yards-Aitkin-318-196

Passing Yards-Aitkin-98-100

Turnovers-Aitkin-2-5-Mesabi East

Penalties-Aitkin-2-1 yard-Mesabi East-5-37 yards

Individual Rushing-Parker Fulton-7-106 yards and a touchdown

                                    Eli McNevin-2-100 yards and two touchdowns

                                    Quinton Rikala-3-59 yards and one touchdown

                                    Jack Jacobson-7-34 yards and one touchdown

Individual Passing-Bo Sanford-3-6-98 yards and three touchdowns/1 Int

Individual Receiving-Nolan Dotzler-2-77 yards and two touchdowns    

                                       Eli McNevin-1-21 yards and one touchdown

Tackles-Parker Fulton-12            

 Damien Maciel-10            

 Eli McNevin-8

Interceptions-Jack Jacobson-2. Bo Sanford, Teagan Vogtlin, Nolan Dotzler-1 each

Fumble recoveries-Evan Redepenning-1  

     Let's hear from the players:

Reed Parkin-"We came out and played another really solid game. We played our style of smash-mouth football and took it to them. I can't wait to see what happens next game up in Esko."

Parker Fulton-"I think our offense and defense complimented each other well today. When that happens it usually is a good day. Everyone was on at every position and was the equation for a huge win."

Jack Jacobson-"We played a great game against Mesabi East. Everyone came out ready to compete, and we played with a lot of energy and confidence from start to finish. It felt good to come out on top against a team that had a real chance of beating us. We knew what we were capable of, and we went out there and proved it on the field. It was a great team win, and we're excited to keep building on it."

Eli McNevin-"We showed up, did our job and now we have to work for the biggest game of the season."

Nolan Dotzler-"It's just awesome to keep it rolling and bring our intensity into the next game. Our offense did amazing and adjusted to what they did and the defense adjusted as well. We stopped them after the first drive and it was just awesome to see."

Bo Sanford-"It was a good game, we took care of business, Eli and Nolan made some nice plays in the air. Onto MLWR on Thursday."

Damien Maciel-"I thought we had great energy this game and we dominated both ways. It was amazing to play on Veterans Field one last time and get a W. I'm very proud of my brothers for staying away from the chippiness and letting their pads do the talking. I can't wait to meet Moose in the finals."

Aaron Morris-"It's unreal thinking that this was the final game for us on Veterans Field"

Coen Olson-"We came out and played another really great game. Honestly I am just real proud of everyone and the effort that gets put in everyday."

Coach Alan Hills-"I thought we played pretty well again, we continue to do what we need to do to win games. It was a chance to give some of our players a little rest knowing what was coming up next. Eli had a monster game and adds that third running back to our team that people have to be concerned with. Bo had a couple nice throws to Nolan and we knew with our huge crowd of supporters it was a chance to get them excited even more. Mesabi has a good scheme and they were able to churn up some yards during the game but they couldn't outscore us and that allowed us to play some more kids during the game. Evan Redepenning has done a lot of things for us this season that don't show on the stat sheet so it was nice to see him get a chance to cover a fumble and give the ball to us. Our goals are still in front of us so we have to keep playing like we have. Moose Lake will not give us anything, we have to be ready to play every down. They have a great tradition and have gone to the State a crazy amount of years in a row and we respect that but we'll be ready to play Thursday."

Class AA Section Championships This Week

Section 1-Caledonia (9-0) vs Dover-Eyota (8-2)

Section 2-Waterville-Elysian-Morristown (9-0) vs Blooming Prairie (7-3)

Section 3-Jackson Cty. Central (8-1) vs Lake Crystal (9-1)

Section 4-Cannon Falls (8-1) vs Goodhue (8-2)

Section 5-Redwood Valley (8-0) vs Kimball (7-3)

Section 6-Osakis (7-2) vs Royalton (6-4)

Section 7-Aitkin (9-0) vs MLWR (9-1)

Section 8-Hawley (7-2) vs Pelican Rapids (8-0)

        The Aitkin Gobblers advance to the Section 7AA Championship after a 54-12 win Saturday over the Mesabi East Giants at Veterans Field. The Gobblers raced off to a 42-6 lead at the half and went on to the win. Eli McNevin scored three touchdowns as the Gobblers move to 9-0 on the season and set up a rematch with Moose Lake-Willow River for the title. Aitkin took the opening kickoff and went 60 yards in five plays to take the lead. McNevin went around the left side, found the edge and took it to the house from 40 yards out. After the PAT it was 8-0 with 9:03 left in the first. The Giants came right back and moved down the field to score, Trevor Prophet going the final 3 yards. The PAT failed and it was 8-6. Less than a minute later Aitkin scored again with Fulton racing 60 yards making it 14-6. The Gobblers got the ball back and McNevin scored again, this time on a 21 yard pass play from Bo Sanford. Fulton ran the PAT for a 22-6 lead. 

        Aitkin scored twice in the second period. McNevin went 60 yards down the right side at 9:13  for the 28-6 lead. Teagan Vogtlin picked off a Giants pass and took it all the way to the Giants 4 yard line before Jack Jacobson went in for the score and a 36-6 lead after Fulton hit Tyce Jorgensen for the PAT. The Gobblers struck again after another interception as Sanford hit Dotzler from 40 yards out and it was 42-6 at the break.

       The Gobblers made it 48-6 in the third when Sanford launched a 52 yard pass to Dotzler  in the end zone. That completed a 6 play 57 yard drive. Aitkin made it 54-6 in the fourth as Quinton Rikala went 30 yards for a touchdown ending a 4 play 72 yard drive. Rikala talked about his touchdown, "It was an amazing feeling scoring my first varsity touchdown. Coach Hills had told me earlier in the season that he was going to get me a touchdown and he wasn't wrong. I am so grateful for the wonderful coaches we have. They work hard to improve everyone on the team, not just the starters. I'm so thankful for the teammates I have. We are all there for each other and want to help each other be successful. I'm also grateful for the wonderful and supportive our Gobbler community is." The Giants scored a meaningless touchdown in the final minute to make the final score.

      Fulton had 114 yards on 8 carries while McNevin had 100 on just two carries. McNevin talked about the Gobblers big win, "All I can say is that we showed up, did our job and now we have to work for the biggest game of the season." Dotzler had two big touchdowns and an interception and raved about his teams performance, "It's just awesome to keep it rolling and bring our intensity into the next game and keep it going. Our offense did amazing today adjusting to them and our defense adjusted just as well. We stopped them the rest of the day and it was just awesome to see." Damien Maciel had another good game, "I thought we played great on both sides of the ball. It was amazing to play on Veterans Field one more time and get a W. I'm so proud of my brothers for staying out of the chippy play and letting their pads do the talking." Coach Alan Hills knows the job is not over yet, "We played really well again in this one and also got a chance to rest some of our running backs. We have to continue to do the things we're doing. This week is a big one on our way to goal #1. MLWR has been to the State so many times in a row but I think we can play right with them. Both teams will be ready and it should be a great game."

Mesabi East    6   0 0 6 12

Gobblers       22 20 6 6 54

     The Aitkin Gobblers finished the regular season Wednesday with a 43-0 win at Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin and will take an 8-0 record into the Section 7AA semifinals Saturday at home against the winner of Mesabi East and International Falls. Those two teams will lock up at the 'Falls Tuesday night. The stats were all Aitkin against the Titans, let's take a look. 

Total Yards-Aitkin 375-215 

Pass Yards-Aitkin-32-52 

Rush Yards-Aitkin-343-163 

Individual Rushing-Jack Jacobson-5-180 yards and two touchdowns 

Parker Fulton-15-141 yards and three touchdowns

Passing-Bo Sanford-2-7-32 yards 

Receiving-Eli McNevin-1-19 yards  

                    Jack Jacobson-1-13 yards 

Tackles-Eli McNevin-7 

                Tolo May-6 

               Jack Jacobson, Tyce Jorgensen, Jeremiah Franzen, Damien Maciel and Nolan Dotzler-all with 5 

Interceptions-Nolan Dotzler, Teagan Vogtlin and Logan Wilhelm all with 1 

Fumble Recoveries-Tyce Jorgensen and Jordan Goeritz-both with 1. 

      Now let's hear from some of the players. 

Jack Jacobson-"All I have to say is playing up there is a different way of football and it's always chippy and we came up here knowing our job and although it did get chippy and the calls didn't go our way, we had to just play our kind of football and we put up another "W"." 

Reed Parkin-"We came into this game knowing we were the better team and that first drive showed that we can't overlook anybody. After we forced a punt, we came back out and played our version of football and smashed them in the mouth. I am so proud of this team." 

Nolan Dotzler-"It was a hard-nose football game from the start; we definitely shot ourselves in the foot way too much. Other than that we played great Aitkin football and came out undefeated for the regular season." 

Damien Maciel-"I thought we went out and played some physical football, and we had some messy flags but I'm glad we got that out of our system for the next game. I'm proud of my brothers for an unbeaten regular season and I can't wait to play at home one last time." 

        The Gobblers have won 17 of the last 19 games and are currently #3 in the State in Class AA. Coach Alan Hills is pleased but not quite satisfied yet, here's what he had to say. "I thought we played pretty well on both sides of the ball again. We had too many untimely penalties and we have to clean that up. We basically did what we were supposed to do. When we have bad plays and give up yards it's how we respond that's important and these kids know what to do. Jack had a great night, he has such balance, he hits and bounces off a defender and then his speed shows up. With us you have to pick your poison, Parker, Jack, Eli or Nolan and others. Every game somebody shows up that the opponents aren't ready for, that's what makes us so tough to defend. Our defense played very tough again and this time it was Tyce Jorgensen who has been consistent all season and he comes away with a strip-sack and runback for a score. We're right where we want to be and expect to be and now the season really starts."   

     The Aitkin Gobblers, (8-0) are the top seed in the upcoming Section 7AA football playoff. They will have a bye in the first round, and their next game is in the Section semis Saturday, Oct. 31 at Veterans Field against the winner of the game between the #4 seed International Falls and the #5 seed Mesabi East. That game will be played Tuesday at I. Falls. The other side of the bracket has #2 MLWR hosting #7 Greenway and #3 C-I hosting #6 Ely. The Halloween semifinal round games will be at 2:00pm. 

      For the first time in 70 seasons the Aitkin Gobbler football team runs through the year with eight straight wins to finish unbeaten heading into the playoffs. The Gobblers beat Greenway-Nashwauk-Keewatin 43-0 Wednesday on the road. Parker Fulton scored three touchdowns to lead the Gobblers to the win in a rather messy game by both teams who combined for over 100 yards in penalties in the contest. With the win the Gobblers lock up the top seed in the upcoming Section 7AA playoff.    

      The Gobblers got off to a sloppy start with two 15-yard penalties before three plays were run by the Titans. GNK ran four plays and had to punt leaving the Gobblers at their own 5-yard line. The Gobblers couldn't get anything going and had to punt but a bad snap left the ball at the Gobbler 12-yard line. The Titans looked to take an early lead, but the defense stood up and held, giving the Gobblers the ball at the nine. On first down Jack Jacobson caught the corner and raced 91 yards for the games first score. That came with 6:44 left in the first period. Eli McNevin produced the PAT and it was 8-0. The Titans put together a 17-play drive but came up empty at the Gobbler 15. Aitkin went 85 yards in 8 plays for their second touchdown. Bo Sanford hit McNevin for 20 yards to start the drive and Parker Fulton ended the drive with a four-yard run with 4:40 left until the half. Nolan Dotzler kicked the PAT for a 15-0 lead. Teagan Vogtlin set the Gobblers up for their next score with an interception at the 32-yard line. Aitkin went 68 yards in 9 plays with Fulton scoring his second touchdown of the night on a one-yard run with just :25 left in the half. Dotzler kicked the extra point and Aitkin led at the break 22-0. Jacobson had a couple big plays on that drive, a 12-yard pass reception from Sanford and a 21-yard run.  

     The second half started with a Gobbler touchdown less than a minute into the half. Aitkin returned the kickoff to the 48-yard line and on first down Jacobson dashed 52 yards for his second score of the night and 10th of the season. Dotzler booted the extra point and it was 29-0. Less than four minutes later Tyce Jorgensen grabbed a loose ball away from Titans quarterback Evan Woodman and took off on a 75-yard run to paydirt. Dotzler kicked the point after and it was 36-0. Jorgensen talked about his big play, "Yeah Eli blitzed so I went B gap and Eli hit the quarterback to free the ball, and I saw it in the air and caught it and started running. Parker caught up to block, and I was able to score." Later in the third after holding the Titans on fourth down and taking over at their own 40 Fulton raced 60 yards on first down for another score. Dotzler kicked the point after, and it was 43-0 into the final period. The highlight of the final quarter was an interception by Logan Wilhelm as both teams struggled to get anything going on offense and the reserves getting a lot of playing time. Both Jacobson and Fulton gained over 100 yards on the night on the ground as the Gobblers had a wide margin in yards gained in this one. Fulton talked about the game, "I thought we got too many penalties, and it was a weird and shaky 43-0 game. We have plenty of things to clean up going into the playoffs but I'm proud of everyone and we have to keep working and winning. Can't complain about an undefeated regular season though." Jacobson had  another great game rushing for 180 yards on just five carries and a pair of touchdowns. Fulton had 141 yards on 15 carries and three scores. McNevin led the defense with 7 tackles while Tolo May had 6 with Jacobson, Jorgensen, Jeremiah Franzen, Damien Maciel and Dotzler all having five tackles. Dotzler, Teagan Vogtlin and Logan Wilhelm all recorded interceptions while Jorgensen and Jordan Goeritz had fumble recoveries.

Gobblers     8 14  21   0 43

Titans           0   0   0  0   0
      Damien Maciel got the game ball for his outstanding play against the Titans!

       The regular season comes to an end this Wednesday for the Aitkin Gobblers and they have a chance to make history. The last unbeaten season for a Gobbler football team was in the fall of 1956 and prior to that it was 1901. All three teams are different of course and different eras but the stats for this year's team are undeniable. They have been a dominant team on both sides of the ball, and they look to continue that this week at Greenway. Let's take a look at this year's six-game stats.

Total yards-Aitkin-2,176-1,008

Rushing yards-Aitkin-1,561-729

Passing yards-Aitkin-615-279

First Downs-Aitkin-105-49

Individual rushing-Parker Fulton-92-747 yards-8.12 yards per carry-13 touchdowns                                                   Jack Jacobson-49-513yards-10.47 yards per carry-7 touchdowns                                               Eli McNevin-13-136 yards-10.46 yards per carry-2 touchdowns

Individual passing-Bo Sanford-45-68-585 yards-5 TD/3 INT

Individual receiving-Nolan Dotzler-16-371-23.19 yards per catch-4 touchdowns                                                              Eli McNevin-8-70-8.75 yards per catch

Tackles-Parker Fulton-49 (9 solo) 4 TFL

                Damien Maciel-27 (8 solo) 4TFL          

               Jack Jacobson-25 (7 solo) 1 TFL     

                Tolo May-23 (7 solo) 1 INT           

                Eli McNevin-22 (11 solo) 1 TFL, 2 INT       

                Nolan Dotzler-20 (9 solo) 

         The final hurdle to an unbeaten season is the Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin Titans. They are 0-6 on the season entering play this week. Here's a look at their season.

Lost to Deer River 40-6

Lost to C-I              32-8

Lost to Rush City  30-22

Lost to I. Falls         3-0

Lost to M. East       8-0

Lost to MLWR        42-14
      With an unbeaten season on the line, you might think the Gobblers have a lot of pressure on them but not this team. They are laser-focused and not feeling the pressure.

Tolo May-"No, we have no pressure at all. Of course, we can't look past anybody but it's just another game. We're gonna go out there and do our jobs the same as any other night."

Nolan Dotzler-"No, just another game. All we need to do is get the job done and get better week by week."

Parker Fulton-"I think our guys are starting to embrace the pressure and turn it into a privilege, just another game, can't overlook anyone."

Reed Parkin-"This would be the first unbeaten season in 70 years. Coming into this game we know we are the better team but that doesn't mean we can overlook them. They want to knock us down, but we aren't gonna let that happen."

Eli McNevin-"I feel like there is no pressure because of we keep doing what we have been doing it's gonna be hard for anybody to beat us. It's just like any other game is how I see it."

Jack Jacobson-"Absolutely not, it's just game after game. We just have to keep doing out thing because we have the best team in the state and we just gotta keep showing up and playing as a team and an unbeaten season will be achieved."

       The Gobblers will battle the Titans Wednesday night and after talking to a number of former Gobblers from that 1956 team they all had one message, "Good luck guys, we are cheering for you, it's been long enough between unbeaten seasons and we are all behind you. Get it done."

       Here are the current 7AA Section standings into the final week.

Aitkin             7-0

MLWR             6-1

I. Falls             4-2

C-I                  4-3

Mesabi East  2-5

Ely                    1-6

GNK                 0-6

      This weeks games

Aitkin at GNK

MLWR at Mesabi East

C-I at International Falls

Ely at Braham



      

     The Aitkin Gobblers continued their great season Friday with a dominating 28-0 shutout of Rush City. Aitkin moves to 6-0 with the win and is the first time the Gobblers have won six straight games since 2016 when they lost the opening game of the season and then won seven in a row. They have the week off this week after their game with Hinckley-Finlayson was cancelled and they will wind up the regular season October 21 at Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin hoping to be the first unbeaten Gobbler team since the fall of 1956. With a win they would be only the third unbeaten Gobbler football team since 1901. Let's take a look at the stats from the win at Rush City.

Total Yards-Aitkin-509-92
Rushing yards-Aitkin 400-72
Passing yards-Aitkin 109-20
First downs-Aitkin-25-6
Penalties-Aitkin-5-20, Tigers-0

Individual rushing-Parker Fulton-21-192
                              Jack Jacobson-11-117
                              Eli McNevin-3-39
                              Bo Sanford-8-39

Individual passing-Bo Sanford-7-15-79 yards
                Receiving-Nolan Dotzler-3-55 yards
                                   Teagan Vogtlin-1-30 yards
                                   Aidan Flanagan-1-15 yards

Tackles-Parker Fulton-10 (4 solo)
                            Dotzler-5 (3 solo)
                           McNevin-4 (2 solo)
        The statistics were pretty gaudy for the Gobblers. Now let's hear from the players and coaches.

Parker Fulton-"The defense played lights out which helped a ton and the offensive line dominated all night. That's a great way to succeed in a game, I couldn't be prouder going into the bye week."

Damien Maciel-"I thought we went out there tonight and played a great game. I'm really proud of my team. Our offense was just marching down the field as always and we came away with a dub. I think the reason for our success is our brotherhood and how close we are to each other and our confidence going into each game."

Jack Jacobson-"It was a great team win. Our big thing this year is when adversity strikes, we strike back harder and when stuff doesn't go our way we battle back and dominate"

Reed Parkin-"First of all I am really proud of our team. Our left guard, (Tolo May), was out and Will Vogtlin came in and filled that spot well. As a line we are so close together and tonight I think we came out and played our hearts out. We were able to score right away, and I think that finalized the win for us. It feels amazing."

Eli McNevin, "All I can say is that I'm really glad I got the chance to go in when coach needed me. I'm an aggressive player and I think that comes from the bottled up anger that you get during the game."

Bo Sanford-"Our line has done an unbelievable job. There was a lot of doubt about them coming into the season and they have proved everybody wrong."

      The line play on both sides of the ball has been tremendous this season. Rob Williams takes care of the offensive line, "I felt for the most part, we came off the ball and ran power football between the tackles very well. We need to work on our lateral movement on sweeps and sealing the edges and sustaining our blocks. Pass blocking overall was pretty solid, but we struggled a bit with the edges. Overall, we gave Bo time to throw the ball. Damien Maciel was athlete of the month at school and was given the game ball for his work on both sides of the line. He's just a hard-nosed kid who has a motor that never stops." The defensive line has also done a great job. Jason Henke is in charge of those guys, "Tyce Jorgensen did a great job of keeping their quarterback contained and stringing out plays. Damien Maciel is a disruptive force on the line. He is hard to block and even when an offensive lineman gets his hands on him, he sheds blocks really well. Coen Olson is a rock on the line. He eats up blocks allowing out linebackers to flow freely and clean up plays. Will Vogtlin is a smart player who saw a lot of action on both sides of the ball. He is a great bookend on the D-line, taking on and battling tough blocks. Abrahm Reidel stepped up at defensive end and gave us depth after we lost Jeremiah Franzen this week to injury."

Head Coach Alan Hills-"I thought we played a pretty good game but there are still some things to clean up. We left some points out there and made some mistakes and we can't get away with some of those type of mistakes as the season goes on and into playoffs. We were able to use our ground game without much problem; we have run between the tackles for years now and it works for us. How teams defend us from here on out will determine whether we can keep doing that week after week, but we do it well, so I think we'll be fine. We have lots of weapons so if we have to change things up, we can do that too. We have a lot of guys that can do a lot of things so if teams really lean on Parker, we can use Jack on the outside and Bo has done a great job throwing the ball this season, so we are hard to defend. Our guys play a little angry and that's fine, we just need to keep in control and not let it lead to penalties. I told the guys after the game that we're in a perfect storm right now, we've been road warriors for a time now and realistically we should dominate Greenway but it's not about being ready for Greenway, it's about continuing to get ready week after week for whatever lies ahead in the playoffs and whoever we meet in the first round at home."

      The Gobblers have a bye week and as of Wednesday night they will be 7-0 and the first Gobbler team to win their first seven games since the fall of 1958.
   

        Parker Fulton scored four touchdowns, and the Gobbler defense stifled the Moose Lake-Willow River Rebels offense in a 27-14 Gobbler win at Veterans Field Friday night. The first quarter was scoreless and featured five punts as the two teams fought to a 0-0 draw. The Gobblers struck first in the second as they drove 51 yards in 7 plays with Fulton scoring his 4th touchdown of the season on a 30-yard scamper at the 9:00 mark. The PAT failed and it was 6-0. After another three and out by the Rebels the Gobblers moved 67 yards in 10 plays with Fulton going in from a yard out. Bo Sanford tossed a pass to Nolan Dotzler for the PAT and a 14-0 lead with just :44 left in the half. The game nearly turned around on the next play though as Braden Strand took the kickoff and raced 70 yards to put the Rebels on the board. The PAT kick was good, and it was 14-7 at the break.

       Aitkin took the second half kickoff and went 62 yards in 10 plays to paydirt as Fulton scored on a 13-yard run. The PAT failed and it was 20-7 with 6:12 left in the third. The big play on that drive awas a 28-yard strike from Sanford to Teagan Vogtlin. The Gobblers executed an onside kick, and Evan Redepenning covered it at midfield, but the offense went three and out, missing a chance to bury the Rebels. MLWR moved the ball downfield, but the Gobblers stopped them on a 4th down play, and Aitkin took over at the 25-yard line. Later in the final period Aitkin went 35 yards in four plays to score their final touchdown of the night, a 21-yard run by Fulton, his 7th of the season and when Dotzler booted the PAT it was 27-7 with just 1:04 left in the game. The Rebels weren't quite done though as another long kickoff return set them up at the Gobbler 25. A 16-yard pass play gave them their second score of the game and after the PAT kick it was 27-14. Aitkin ran the clock out and moved their record to 3-0 while the Rebels dropped to 2-1.

       Parker Fulton rushed for 123 yards on 18 carries while Jack Jacobson added 58 yards on 12 carries. Bo Sanford was 5-9 for 37 yards through the air. Damien Maciel, Fulton and Isaiah Fowlds all had 6 tackles while Tolo May and Jacobson each had 4 stops.

Rebels       0  7 0 7  14

Gobblers  0 14 6 7 27