Blackduck moves to section semis

For the first time in a long time, the Blackduck football team is moving on.

After snapping a 30-game losing streak earlier this season, the Drakes are moving on to the second round of the playoffs.

Blackduck (6-3) beat Mesabi East 38-0 Tuesday night in Section 7A first-round playoff action.

Their reward? A date with Cook County.

The Vikings (7-1) scored a huge win over Cass Lake-Bena (1-8), topping the Panthers 70-6 in their first round game in Grand Marais.

The Drakes will travel to Grand Marais at 2 p.m. Saturday for their section semifinal game.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 5 seed Walker-Hackensack-Akeley (3-6) will travel to No. 1-seeded Barnum (7-2) for their semifinal matchup.

WHA upset No. 4 seed East Central Tuesday night, winning 19-14. Barnum rolled past No. 8 Ogilvie 50-12 to win their first-round matchup.

In Section 8A action, No. 8 seeded Red Lake (0-5) couldn’t find much offense against Mahnomen (9-0) Class A’s top team. The Indians dominated the Warriors 44-0 to end Red Lake’s season. They’ll take on Warren-Alvarado-Oslo in the semifinals Saturday.

In Section 8-AA, Bagley also bowed out in the first round.

The Flyers (5-4) ran into unbeaten Barnesville (9-0), the state’s No. 3 team in Class AA.

The Flyers lost their Section 8-AA matchup with the Trojans 57-8.

9-Man

Keliher-Northome and Nevis will be moving on in 9-Man action, but Clearbrook-Gonvick will not.

Keliher (7-2) squeaked out a 28-24 win over North Woods (5-4) in Section7 play. They’ll take on No. 2-seeded Ely (7-2) in the semifinals. The Timberwolves beat Northeast Range 42-20 to advance.

On the other side of the Section 7 bracket, top-seeded Bigfork (7-2) beat Littlefork/Big Falls 60-14, while Chisholm (6-3) defeated Mountain Iron-Buhl 52-22.

Top-seeded Nevis (9-0) had no trouble in its first-round Section 6 matchup with Rothsay (1-8).

Nevis rolled to a 48-6 win and will take on Norman County East in the Section 6 semifinals. Norman County beat Park Christian 14-12.

In Section 8, No. 5 seed Clearbrook (5-4) and No. 4 seed Kittson County Central (6-3) played a defensive battle Tuesday night. Kittson prevailed, topping Clearbrook 7-6 to advance to Saturday’s semifinals.