Hutchinson football routs North Branch in Class 4A semifinal

The Tigers advance to another Minnesota high school football state tournament Prep Bowl with a blowout win

MINNEAPOLIS — The Hutchinson Tigers (10-2) defeated the North Branch Vikings (10-2) 56-28 in the MSHSL Class 4A semifinals on Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium. 

The Vikings tied the game at eight with a touchdown pass when quarterback Jacob Robillard connected with Tyler Minke for 33-yards. The Vikings converted the 2-point attempt, but Hutchinson scored three straight touchdowns to pull away and control the rest of the game. 

Hutchinson, as it has historically done, dominated on the ground. The accrued 390 yards of total offense, and 326 of them came on the ground. 

“It’s hard to call a pass play when you’re getting eight a pop on the ground," Hutchinson head coach Andy Rostberg said. "We’re very capable of throwing it. We can air it out, but we like to throw it when we want to throw it, not be that dictated to us."

Running back Nathan Thode was the beneficiary of a steady run game. He finished with 171 yards and four touchdowns. 

Despite the game feeling out of reach, the North Branch offense finished with 333 yards of total offense. The Vikings scored 28 points, the most the Tigers have allowed this season.

"Their offense is a bugger," Rostberg said. "It’s fakes. They hit you in the middle on the trap. They can hit you off tackle, or they can hit you with the quarterback outside, and all of that happens in about two-and-a-half seconds. You have to be very disciplined."

The Tigers were also disciplined in the turnover battle. North Branch turned the ball over three times to the Tigers zero.

"If they don’t turn it over like we didn’t, well, you never know," Rostberg said. "The turnovers were big tonight."

Hutchinson is in its third straight Prep Bowl and looking for its seventh state title in school history. It's a program that comes with pressure to perform. 

"It puts some early pressure on some of the new guys coming in and filling in big roles," quarterback Logan Butler said. "I’d say our leaders that we have on this team help the guys get acclimated to the pressure."

The Tigers will play Rocori in the Class 4A Prep Bowl on November 24 at 4 p.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium. Rocori defeated Hutchinson 11-0 on September 22.

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