Maple River, which beat the Panthers 21-6 less than two weeks ago, improved to 7-2 for the year.
Maple River took away the Panther upset hopes in the opening quarter, jumping to a 20-0 lead.
Aaron Trio scored on runs of three and 49 yards to give the Eagles a 12-0 advantage at the start.
Michael Lewis then hooked up with Casey Decker on a 45-yard scoring play to complete the first quarter. Trio ran in the two-point play after the third touchdown.
Neither team could score in the second quarter, leaving the Eagles protecting their 20-0 margin at halftime.
Maple River put the game out of reach with a pair of third-quarter scores.
Garret White capped an Eagle drive by blasting over from one yard out, increasing the MR lead to 26-0.
Reserve quarterback Jay Sohre found Ben Larson with a 16-yard scoring pass later in the quarter. Josh Moore’s conversion kick accounted for the final MR point of the night and a 33-0 advantage after three quarters.
The Panthers, who averaged under six points per game this season, avoided their third shutout when Dillon Parpart scored on a seven-yard run in the final quarter, and also ran across the two-point conversion.
“We are so banged up, and our numbers are so down, that it makes it tough to get kids in the correct positions,” said Stork. “A number of guys stepped up and played very hard tonight.”
MR held a 15-9 advantage in first downs and a 396-164 margin in total yards. The Eagles held a 216-116 margin on the ground and a 180-48 edge through the air.
Neither team committed a turnover in the game. The Eagles ran five more plays than NRHEG.
Parpart paced the Panther ground game with 66 yards on 19 attempts. Nick Bartness added 30 rushing yards.
Trio racked up 159 yards on 21 carries for Maple River.
Rosacker completed 3-11 passes for 48 yards. Two of his completions went to Spencer Tollefson.
Lewis completed 8-11 passes for 151 yards. Decker caught eight passes for 132 yards.
Parpart was a workhorse for the Panther defense, making 14 tackles in the game.
Bartness and Noah Krell were in on eight stops apiece, while Tyler Logan had seven hits and Preston Peterson made five tackles.
NRHEG will have to replace 13 seniors in 2013.
Maple River lost to Jackson 49-15 in the semifinals. Jackson and Luverne will tangle for the section championship Friday.
Sect. 3AA (QF)
MR 33, NRHEG 8
NRHEG 0 0 0 8 8
MR 20 0 13 0 33
Scoring
1st Quarter: (MR)-Trio 3 yd. run (EP-no).
(MR)-Trio 49 yd. run (EP-no).
(MR)-Decker 45 yd. pass from Lewis (EP-Trio kick).
2nd Quarter: No scoring.
3rd Quarter: (MR)-White 1 yd. run (EP-no).
(MR)-Larson 16 yd. pass from Sohre (EP-Moore kick).
4th Quarter: (NR)-Parpart 7 yd. run (EP-Parpart run).
Team Statistics
NR MR
1st downs 9 15
Yds. rush 116 216
Yds. pass 48 180
Passes 3-11 (0) 11-15 (0)
Total plays 49 54
Total yds. 164 396
Turnovers 0 0
Penalties/yds. 5/30 6/60
Individual Statistics
NRHEG rushing: Parpart 19/66 (1 TD), Bartness 4/30, Rosacker 15/20.
NRHEG passing: Rosacker 3-11 (0 TDs, 0 intcp.) 48 yds.
NRHEG receiving: Tollefson 2/39, Peterson 1/9.
NRHEG defense: Parpart-14 tackles, Bartness-8, Krell-8, Logan-7, Peterson-5, Goette-2, Maxon-2, Tollefson-2, Jewett-2, Tracy-1, Rosacker-1, Jensen-1, Arnold-1.
