Port, Grafton win first-round playoff games

Grafton High School football coach Jim Norris said beating a team twice in one season is difficult, but his Black Hawks did it last Friday — and more convincingly this time around against Wisconsin Lutheran.

The No. 3-seeded Hawks (9-1) built a 14-0 lead and beat the No. 6-seeded Vikings, 28-7, in a Division 3 level 1 game at home.

On Sept. 2, they came back from a 12-7 halftime deficit to win, 29-12. It was the Vikings (7-4) only loss in the Woodland Conference as the Hawks went on to win the league.

“It’s always tough to beat a team twice. They’re always a really fun match-up,” Norris said.

Last Friday, Tommy Lutz had 11 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown, and Chase Norton ran 16 times for 47 yards and two scores. Jackson Heinle scored from 19 yards out on his only run of the night.

“It’s the best D-line that we’ve seen up to this point throughout the season. They play us tough, especially their safeties and their corners. They’re not afraid to get down in the box and hit and tackle,” Norris said.

Sophomore Brady Hilgart went 9-for-15 passing for 111 yards, and senior Vince Cameranesi went 3-for-8 for 28 yards.

The Hawks nearly doubled the Vikings in yardage, 297 to 154, and the defense held the explosive Wisconsin Lutheran offense in check. The Vikings averaged 2.8 yards per rush and 102 yards total — half of what they had in the first game.

Senior inside linebacker Ben Birch had 13 tackles, linebacker Irtaza Manzoor had 11 and a forced fumble, and lineman Nathan Krause had 10 tackles. Heinle had seven at his linebacker spot and tackle Josh Lee-O’Bryant had six.

“Our defensive guys were ready,” Norris said, adding they remembered the two long plays the Vikings pulled off in the first meeting.