Preston Peterson and Trevor Tracy hooked up on an 80-yard bomb, capping a four-play, 92-yard drive.
Nick Bartness caught the two-point pass from Tracy for an 8-0 lead.
NRHEG scored the next three times it had the ball, stretching the lead to 28-0 at halftime.
The Panthers moved 65 yards in six plays to score their second touchdown. Dillon Parpart romped the final 24 yards to pay dirt.
NRHEG followed the same formula with its next possession, going 52 yards in six plays.
Parpart ran the final seven yards, and Tracy connected with Spencer Tollefson for the two-point conversion.
After a Peterson interception, NRHEG moved 60 yards in just four plays. The Tracy-to-Peterson connection hooked up on a 34-yard scoring pass.
“Our offensive and defensive lines controlled the game,” said Stork. “Parpart found the holes and ran hard.”
NRHEG scored the first time it had the ball in the second half, going 65 yards in seven plays. Parpart scored his third touchdown of the game, blasting across from six yards out. That gave the Panthers a 34-0 advantage heading into the final quarter.
The NRHEG reserves took over, moving 54 yards in 12 plays to cap the scoring. Tyler Logan did the honors from three yards out.
The Panther defense had an outstanding night, holding GFW to two first downs and 63 total yards on 35 plays.
NRHEG racked up 19 first downs and 444 total yards on 65 plays.
The Panthers were 6-14 on third and fourth down plays, while GFW was able to convert just 1-11.
Parpart ran wild again, racking up 225 yards on 31 attempts. He averaged over seven yards per carry and scored three times.
Logan picked up 47 yards and Tracy chipped in with 30 yards on the ground.
Tristan Schmidt topped the meager T-Bird attack with 39 rushing yards.
Tracy completed two of seven passes, but both went for TDs. Peterson hauled in both scores, totaling 114 yards.
“Peterson played well for us,” said Stork. “He has stepped up his game up the past few weeks.”
GFW’s Jaden Katzenmeyer completed two of nine passes for 11 yards. He was intercepted once.
Noah Krell and Parpart sparked the NRHEG defense with nine and eight tackles, respectively. Krell made six solo stops.
Trey Hoppe was in on four tackles, one more than Peterson and Jon Weller.
NRHEG received the fifth seed in Section 3AA. The Panthers opened tournament play at Sherburn Tuesday against fourth-seeded Martin County West. The Mavericks had a 7-1 record.
If NRHEG won Tuesday, it will probably play at top-seeded Jackson in the semifinals at 3 p.m. Saturday.
NRHEG 40, GFW 0
NRHEG 14 14 6 6 40
GFW 0 0 0 0 0
Scoring
1st Quarter: (NR)-Peterson 80 yd. pass from Tracy (EP-Bartness pass from Tracy).
(NR)-Parpart 24 yd. run (EP-No).
2nd Quarter: (NR)-Parpart 7 yd. run (EP-Tollefson pass from Tracy).
(NR)-Peterson 24 yd. pass from Tracy (EP-No).
3rd Quarter: (NR)-Parpart 6 yd. run (EP-No).
4th Quarter: (NR)-Logan 3 yd. run (EP-No).
Team Statistics
NR GFW
First downs 19 2
Yds. rushing 330 52
Yds. passing 114 11
Passes 2-8 (0) 2-9 (1)
Total yds. 65/444 35/63
Turnovers 0 1
Penalties/yds. 3/30 8/50
Individual Stats
NRHEG rushing: Parpart 31/225 (3 TDs), Logan 17/47 (1 TD), Tracy 3/30, Tollefson 2/15, Hoppe 2/9, Jongbloedt 2/4.
NRHEG passing: Tracy 2-7 (2 TDs, 0 intcp.), 114 yds.; Tollefson 0-1 (0 TDs, 0 intcp.), 0 yds.
NRHEG receiving: Peterson 2/114 (2 TDs).
GFW rushing: Schmidt 11/39, Metzger 6/10, Opitz 2/6, Munoz 4/5, Schroeder 1/0, Katzenmeyer 1/-12.
GFW passing: Katzenmeyer 2-9 (0 TDs, 1 intcp.), 11 yds.
GFW receiving: Pingeon2/11
NRHEG defense: Krell-9 tackles, Parpart-8, Hoppe-4, Peterson-3 (1 intcp.), Weller-3, Fitterer-2, Tollefson-1, Sletten-1, Bartness-1, Logan-1, Merritt-1, Darcy-1.
