Tom Gruchow rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns as the United North Central football team locked up at least a share of the Prairie North Conference title with a 40-12 victory over Pillager last Wednesday night at Menahga.
After a scoreless first quarter, Gruchow scored on a pair of 4-yard TD runs at the Warriors carried a 12-6 lead into the half.
The Warriors sealed the win by scoring three times in the third quarter. Ben Skoog recovered a fumble in the end zone after an 18-yard run by quarterback Kasey Tyge, who capped off the next drive with a 4-yard TD run. Tyge then hit Alex Brockpahler on a 32-yard scoring route to give UNC a 33-6 lead.
Gruchow's 15-yard TD run pushed the lead to 40-6 in the fourth quarter.
UNC finished with 375 yards in offense in improving to 4-0 against Prairie North Conference teams and 5-2 on the season. Tyge added 22 yards on four carries and completed 7 of 12 passes for 101 yards. Brockpahler caught five passes for 63 yards.
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Defensively, Bryson Vasey had seven tackles while Brockpahler and Chris Suhl were in on five tackles each.
Sean Nokken rushed 17 times for 150 yards for the Huskies, who fell to 1-2 in the conference and 1-6 overall.
"We started out a bit slow with a couple of turnovers and penalties, but regrouped and got back on track," said UNC head coach Jeremy Nordick, whose team is ahead of Ottertail Central's 4-3 record in the conference. "I credit the offensive line with popping some nice holes for Tom to run through."
The Warriors concluded the regular season at Upsala-Swanville Area Tuesday night. UNC has also locked up a home playoff game. Entering the regular-season finale, the Warriors are in the No. 4 spot in Section 8AA with 400 points, trailing Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (650), Hawley (525) and Frazee (425). Trailing the Warriors are Warroad (225), Pelican Rapids (200), Bagley (75) and Walker-Hackensack-Akeley (75).
"The win creates at least a share of the conference title. Our goal is to win it outright," said Nordick. "It feels great to be the conference champions, but I think our kids know that we still have goals to achieve."
