DULUTH — After the Grand Rapids defense forced a Hermantown punt on the Thunderhawks’ side of the field, quarterback Logan McNear saw Gunnar Anderson open Friday in the Section 7AAAA final at Marv Heikkinen Field at Walt Hunting Stadium.
The Hawks corner “bit hard” on his double move, Anderson said, and it freed him up along the sideline.
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“I just put it up there because I knew he was going to get it,” McNear said.
Anderson bobbled the catch, but he “stayed with it” and raced down the sidelines to put Grand Rapids up 24-0. On the Thunderhawks' first possession of the half, McNear ran for a 69-yard score, his second of the day, and Grand Rapids won 38-7, securing its second-straight trip to the state playoffs — a first in school history.
The Thunderhawks waited to call the play that led to McNear’s second half touchdown, Greg Spahn, but he did what he needed to do when it was time.
“He got the look and he executed it extremely well,” Spahn said. “We’ve got some explosive kids and we’ve got some guys that do a job up front — which really makes that possible. There’s a chance it could hit almost every time. When it does, it’s pretty fun.”
The Thunderhawks also got touchdo...