It seemed as inevitable as nightfall.
Hutchinson’s irresistible offense — its backfield dynamic, its line dominant — lived up to expectations Friday, scoring touchdowns on five of its first six possessions to defeat previously unbeaten Orono 35-0.
Hutchinson looked every bit the part of No. 1 team in Class 4A. It scored on five of its first six drives. Robbie Grimsley rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown and Jayden Fleck scored three rushing touchdowns as the Tigers bulled their way to a 35-0 halftime lead.
“You can’t make a mistake against them, and we made too many mistakes,” Orono running back Blake Leischow said. “They’re so good. They have no weaknesses.”
Fleck, a senior who, like many Hutchinson players, played on the Tigers’ two previous Class 4A championship teams, said the key to the Tigers’ success is not to take any opponent lightly.
“We know we’re going to get everyone’s best shot,” he said. “So we always prepare like anyone can beat us.”
Hutchinson scored quickly on its opening possession, going 67 yards on four plays, with Fleck bursting through the middle for a 33-yard touchdown. Fleck scored again on the Tigers’ next drive, going over from 4 yards out after Grimsley, electric in the open field, carried the ball twice for 68 yards.
But Hutchinson’s third series was the breaking point for Orono.
Three consecutive penalties pushed Hutchinson into a fourth-and-25 situation from the Orono 35. But Tigers quarterback Marcus Hahn found Adam Elliott wide open on a crossing pattern to the Orono 1. Fleck scored one play later, bumping the lead to 21-0.
“If we had been at our own 30, we probably would have punted,” Hutchinson coach Andy Rostberg said of his team’s ability to convert on fourth-and-long. “But we were in their end, and even if we didn’t make it, I have confidence in our defense.”
Any hopes Orono harbored of going into halftime within striking distance were crushed when Hutchinson scored twice in the final minute of the first half.
Grimsley scored on a 5-yard run with 28 seconds left in the half followed by a botched kickoff return by Orono. Hutchinson recovered at the Orono 21. Two plays later, tight end Broderic Thompson caught an 11-yard touchdown pass, bumping the lead to 35-0. Within a span of 21 seconds, Hutchinson turned a relatively close game into another rout.
“That was big,” Fleck said. “Having a big lead really lets our defense relax and play.”
It was Hutchinson’s 30th consecutive victory, the seventh-longest recorded streak in state history. However, it’s only the second-longest current streak. Mahnomen, which defeated Lake Park-Audubon 45-7 Friday, has won 31 straight.
