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CROMWELL-The two-time defending Section 5 Nine-Man football champion Cromwell-Wright Cardinals are into another section final, thanks to another big performance from their backfield.

Seniors Cameron Cahoon and Kannon Korpela each rushed for three touchdowns as the Cardinals won big at home Saturday night over the Carlton Bulldogs, 57-14.

"We came out and took care of business. Cameron and Kannon ran well, [quarterback] Drew [Libbon] threw some nice balls and our defense shut them down," said Cromwell-Wright head coach Jeff Gronner.

It took about half the opening quarter before Cromwell-Wright got onto the scoreboard first, when Cahoon found the end zone from 7 yards out to make it 6-0. The two-point conversion failed. Korpela followed that up with a 3-yard TD run four minutes later. The two-point conversion made it 14-0 the first quarter.

The Cardinals broke the game wide open with a 22-point second quarter, which included a Taye Anderson 24-yard touchdown catch from senior quarterback Drew Libbon, a 28-yard Korpela touchdown run and a 5-yard touchdown throw from Libbon to senior WR Isaac Shelton.

After a 15-yard Cahoon touchdown run a couple minutes into the third quarter made it 43-0, Carlton found the scoreboard on an 11-yard touchdown throw from junior quarterback Ryan Gray to senior receiver Jacob Santkuyl. The Cardinals then answered with an 80-yard touchdown run from Cahoon and a 70-yard scamper by Korpela to put C-W up by 50 points.

The two big Cardinal touchdowns late in the third and early in the fourth came after Libbon was ejected from the ballgame halfway through the third for what the officials thought was a punch thrown during a Carlton rushing play up the middle. Video replay later had coaches, players and fans of Cromwell breathing a sigh of relief. Said Gronner, "Drew was thrown out for throwing a punch that did not happen. The Carlton coaches told the refs after the game that no punch happened. The ref told us he wanted to see the play, so he came into my room after the game and watched the play on film and determined it was not a punch, just a hand to the face as we spun off a double team. So he (Libbon) is not thrown out for next game."

Carlton closed out the scoring late in the fourth quarter on a 9-yard touchdown carry by freshman Joey Solomon.

For Carlton, Gray and Solomon threw a combined 101 yards on seven for 17 passing and rushed for 119 yards total, led by junior Tanner Anderson with 64 yards. Defensively, junior Sawyer Thorman led the Bulldogs with seven tackles, and four others had four stops apiece. Carlton head coach Jason Crane had only good things to say about his opponent after Saturday's game.

"Cromwell has an excellent team. We could not force them into a punting situation, or maintain sustained drives to keep up with them on the scoreboard. They have a complete team that plays all parts of the game well."

Carlton finishes at 6-4 on the season, but Crane says the future of Bulldog football is bright. "This season we had some injuries, which allowed us to play several athletes that might not have received the playing time if we had not had the injuries. We had several sophomores and a freshman step up and make an impression this season, which will help us for years to come. If healthy and our returning players all come back, Carlton should have another impressive season next year."

Dan Saletel/Pine Knot Sports

Carlton Jacob Santkuyl (86) reaches for a pass that is just beyond his grap during Saturday night's playoff game against the Cromwell-Wright Cardinals.

For Cromwell-Wright, Cahoon finished with 180 yards on nine carries, while Korpela gained 161 on 10 carries. Libbon was eight of 11 passing for 99 yards and rushed for 23 more. Cahoon led the way with 10 tackles defensively, followed by Libbon with nine. A.J. House had seven tackles (and a sack), and Jaden Gronner counted six tackles.

While the No. 2 seed Cardinals (10-0) were taking care of business at home, top-seeded South Ridge (9-0) was doing its part by handing Floodwood a 41-6 loss to set up a battle of unbeatens Friday night at 7:15 p.m. in Esko for the Section 5 Nine-Man title. The winner will advance to the state quarterfinals Friday, Nov. 9 in Bemidji and will face either NCE/U-H or Win-E-Mac.

"We're looking forward to the South Ridge game," Gronner said, "a battle of unbeatens; they are big and physical, we are small and quick. It's a contrast in styles of offense, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out. I expect a hard-hitting, good contest."

The Section 5 Nine-Man championship game will be broadcast live on WKLK 96.5 FM.