The Mahnomen football team cruised to a seventh consecutive victory Friday night defeating New York Mills 54-0, but lost starting senior quarterback Tom Pavek, potentially for the remainder of the season, after suffering a broken leg.
“It is a shame for him,” Mahnomen head coach John Clark, Jr. said. “He's as top notch as they come in all aspects.”
Pavek was pulled down and suffered a non-displaced fracture of his fibula on a horse-collar tackle early in the second quarter.
The break is a best case scenario as far as the fracture goes, according to Clark, Jr.
“We've been told four to six weeks is the normal sit time,” he said. “We will know more in a week or two.”
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Mahnomen led 28-0 just 15 seconds into the second quarter on a pair of Pavek rushing touchdowns of 45 and 37 yards. Jake Worms and Kody Lefebvre added first quarter touchdown runs of five and 46 yards, respectively, as the Indians were in control early.
Worms scored three times in the game and Izaiah Asher added a pair of fourth quarter touchdown runs of 50+ yards as the Indians proved they can score without their leader under center.
The Eagles (1-6) put up a fight early in the game, but the Indians’ scoring machine turned around momentum with 35 first half points.
“I thought Mills played us real tough,” said Clark, Jr. “I thought they won the line of scrimmage for a good chunk of the first half. We were able to hit some big plays on offense that got us off to a good start. Their size gave us trouble on defense for a little bit. They pounded us for a chunk of the first half. I thought we adjusted well at halftime and shut them down in the second half.”
Pavek has put up big numbers in limited play this season, due to Mahnomen’s dominance of their opponents.
The Indians are outscoring the opposition 370-36 in seven games.
Pavek has thrown for 348 yards and four touchdowns this season; he has carried the ball 50 times for 621 yards and 14 touchdowns, while collecting three interceptions from his defensive back position, one for a touchdown at Lake Park-Audubon in week three.
Pavek led Mahnomen to a 2013 Class A state championship victory 46-13 over Dawson Boyd and to the state quarterfinals last season ending in a 34-20 loss to the Blackjacks.
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Backup quarterback Brian Schoenborn will get his first start at the helm for Mahnomen this season in the regular season finale at Climax against the 6-1 Polk County West Thunder Thursday, Oct. 8.
Mahnomen results
Mahnomen at New York Mills, Friday, Oct. 2.
MAH 21 14 7 12 - 54
NYM 0 0 0 0 - 0
Scoring:
1st quarter
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MAH – Pavek 45 run (Schoenborn kick)
MAH – Worms 5 run (Schoenborn kick)
MAH – Lefebvre 46 run (Schoenborn kick)
2nd quarter
MAH – Pavek 37 run (Schoenborn kick)
MAH – Worms 4 run (Schoenborn kick)
3rd quarter
MAH – Worms 1 run (Schoenborn kick)
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4th quarter
MAH – Asher 57 run (Schoenborn kick)
MAH – Asher 56 run (kick failed)
