United North Central relied on an explosive offensive attack to spark a 48-14 Prairie North Conference football victory over New York Mills Friday night at Menahga.
The Warriors jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter on touchdowns runs of 46 yards by Tom Gruchow and 54 yards by John Clark.
A 21-yard TD reception by Derek Pihlaja, a 10-yard TD run by Gruchow and a 64-yard interception return by Alex Brockpahler increased the lead to 34-0 in the second quarter. New York Mills used a 40-yard TD reception by Jordan Novak to make it 34-8 at the half.
Luke Hendrickson's 35-yard TD catch gave UNC a 41-8 lead after the third quarter.
After Novak scored on a 61-yard run, UNC ended the scoring on a 3-yard TD run by Markus Tolkkinen.
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The Warriors compiled 507 yards in offense before a Menahga homecoming crowd. Gruchow rushed 13 times for 107 yards and Clark added 63 yards on five carries as UNC had 262 yards on the ground. Kasey Tyge completed 17 of 22 passes for 245 yards and two scores. Hendrickson had five catches for 92 yards and Brockpahler had six catches for 83 yards.
UNC held New York Mills to only 144 yards in offense. New York Mills fell to 0-2 in the conference and 0-4 overall.
The Warriors (2-0 in the conference and 2-2 overall) travel to OTC (1-0 in the conference and 2-2 overall) Friday night.
"It was a good win for us. I was concerned about how we would respond after a tough loss (to Osakis in overtime) and we really came out aggressive and with a ton of intensity," said UNC head coach Jeremy Nordick. "I credit the seniors and leaders for setting the tone in practice last week with a great effort. The win sets us up for a conference showdown with Ottertail Central for the con- ference lead. We will need to get better this week in practice and come out with the same aggressiveness."
NYM 0 8 0 6.....14
UNC 14 20 7 7.....48
SCORING
UNC-Gruchow 46 run (Revelo kick)
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UNC-Clark 54 run (Revelo kick)
UNC-Pihlaja 21 pass from Tyge (kick failed)
UNC-Gruchow 10 run (Revelo kick)
UNC-Brockpahler 64 interception return (Revelo kick)
NYM-Novak 40 pass from Wegscheid (Novak run)
UNC-Hendrickson 35 pass from Tyge (Revelo kick)
NYM-Novak 61 run (run failed)
UNC-Tolkkinen 3 run (Revelo kick)
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UNC OFFENSIVE STATISTICS
RUSHING: Gruchow 13-107, Clark 5-63, Tolkkinen 7-47, Tyge 7-16, Castro 2-12, Burgau 1-9, Luedke 2-6, Brockpahler 1-2.
PASSING: Tyge 17-22-3 for 245 yards.
RECEIVING: Hendrickson 5-92, Brockpahler 6-83, Pihlaja 3-32, Cuperus 1-30, Gruchow 1-5, Pederson 1-3.
