Polars' perfect offense keys win over SMB

The Minneapolis North Polars’ offense had the ball seven times Friday night against the SMB Wolfpack. They scored six touchdowns and on their seventh possession, they ran out the clock to secure a 38-33 home victory. In a wild first half, the Polars forced a punt on SMB’s first possession. For the rest of the half, neither offense blinked. North quarterback started the scoring with a deep ball down the sidelines to wide receiver . The ball was slightly underthrown, but Sanders was so wide open it didn’t matter. Down 6-0, the Wolfpack’s offense got on track. Facing a third and seven, Judah Thomas – who was filling in at quarterback for SMB – rolled out and threw a dime to the front corner of the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown. The extra point would give the Wolfpack a 7-6 lead. Yeager found Sanders on nearly an identical play as their touchdown pass, covering 35 yards and setting up running back ’s first touchdown run of the game. SMB would put together their best drive of the game. A bad play on special teams forced the Wolfpack to start at its own 12-yard line, but the Wolfpack wore out the edges of the Polars’ defense. After converting two third downs, The Wolfpack were faced with a third and long. They not only picked up the first down but re-took the lead with a 28-yard touchdown run from Sanjay Redd. North took advantage of a good kick return, and behind the running of Kamara and a scramble by Yeager, the Polars were back in the end zone thanks to Kamara’s short run. The success on the edges of the defense opened the middle for the Wolfpack. Redd found a huge hole between the tackles and ran untouched 55 yards to tie the score at 20. Kamara’s exceptional feet turned a loss into a first down. His quick cutback picked up thirty yards. Yeager would convert on a third and short to the tune of 19 yards to set up his own one-yard touchdown run. The fourth North touchdown of the half would allow the Polars to take a 26-20 lead into halftime. Possibly because they realized they were not going to stop the Polars’ offense, the Wolfpack gambled right out of the locker room. An onside kick to start the second half caught North off guard and gave the Wolfpack the ball. However, for just the second time in the game – not including the end of the first half – the Polars’ defense stood tall. SMB would convert on one fourth down but would not convert a second. Kamara and North went right back to work. The running back caught a swing pass and started up the sidelines. It looked like the defender had an angle on him, but Karmara’s speed made the angle irrelevant. Fifteen yards later, the Polars had a first down. A few plays later, Kamara blew through the Wolfpack defense for his third touchdown of the night - a 68-yard touchdown run giving his team a 32-20 lead. Late in the third quarter, SMB cut into the Polars’ lead again. The Wolfpack converted a fourth and seven to keep the drive alive. Thomas threw another great pass on the run, connecting with for the first down. It looked like the Polars’ defense had SMB running back Rob Grace bottled up for a short loss, but he made a cut and hit pay dirt from 19 yards away. Down 32-26, the Wolfpack recovered their second onside kick of the quarter to keep the pressure on the Polars. Like the first time, the North defense had to go back onto the field unexpectedly; they came up huge. Facing yet another fourth down, Thomas tried to squeeze a throw in near the sticks. North safety cut in front of the receiver for an interception. "In the second half, we made adjustments," Polars’ head coach Charles Adams said of his defense, who were on the field most of the second half and only gave up two scores. "Our guys have been really good at adjusting. We knew once we got our feet under us and made our adjustments, we would be fine." It would only take one play for the Polars to create a big play after the interception. Sanders took an end-a-round, should have been dropped for a loss, but got the corner and used his speed to pick up 76 yards and his second touchdown of the game. "Our o-line went crazy," Yeager said of his – on this night – perfect offense. "Our playmakers were making plays, and it was just up to me to get the ball in a position where they could make plays. Our offense was clicking and came out with the dub." Thomas, Grace, and Redd would not let the Wolfpack go down without a fight. They would get the offense to midfield. Converting the first of three fourth downs on the drive, Thomas rolled to his right and threw back to his left to complete the pass to his tight end – . Thomas would keep the drive alive again – this time converting with his legs a fourth and seven. Redd would run for a first down on the third fourth down of the drive to set up a first and goal. Redd would punch it in from the four. Down 38-33, SMB lined up for its third onside kick of the half, but the third time was the charm for the Polars’ special teams. They recovered the kick and were able to pick up a first down to run out the clock and preserve a 38-33 victory. Next week the Polars (4-0) travel to take on Fridley, and SMB (2-2) will return home to play Providence Academy.