Mountain Iron-Buhl defeats Wheaton/Herman-Norcross in Nine-Man semifinals

When two teams so evenly matched as Nine-Man semifinalists Mountain Iron-Buhl and Wheaton/Herman-Norcross play, one significant absence is more than enough to tip the balance.

Wheaton/Herman-Norcross starting quarterback Marshall Tolifson was knocked out of the game by a hard hit in the second half Thursday. Mountain Iron-Buhl took advantage of Tolifson's absence to qualify for the Prep Bowl with a 36-15 victory in U.S. Bank Stadium.

Tolifson had thrown for 151 yards and a pair of touchdowns when he left the game with the Warriors (12-1) trailing by two points. They managed only three points thereafter, a 34-yard field goal as the first half ended to briefly give them a 15-14 lead.

"It turned in the second quarter when their quarterback got hurt," Mountain Iron-Buhl coach Dan Zubich said. "He's a hell of a player. It was a totally different game [after that]. In Nine-Man, [when] you have to put a backup quarterback in, that's tough to deal with."

Mountain Iron-Buhl quarterback Asher Zubich, the son of the coach, was the game's dominant player. A four-year starter who led the Rangers (12-0) to the Nine-Man semifinals when he was a freshman, he completed 12 of 17 passes for 141 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 99 yards and another touchdown.

The younger Zubich said having played in U.S. Bank Stadium before helped allay the nervousness he and his teammates might normally have felt.

"We were used to the atmosphere, they weren't," he said. "That was a slight advantage, getting rid of some of the nerves."

Wheaton/Herman-Norcross coach James "J.P." Paul was hesitant to use the loss of Tolifson as an excuse, but he did admit it made a difference.

"It was a factor," he said. "Marshall was a 34-touchdown passing quarterback. Any time you lose that out of your offense, that's a pretty big hit."

Mountain Iron-Buhl will play for a state title for the second time in school history. It was called Mountain Iron in 1972, when it beat Dassel-Cokato 54-6 for the Class B championship. That was before the inauguration of the Prep Bowl in 1982.