Hermantown watched Northeast Red subdistrict and Class 4A, Section 7 rival Cloquet win 12 in a row to reach the Prep Bowl last year, where the Lumberjacks fell to Holy Angels 14-0.
The Hawks have rebounded from their three-victory season in 2017 and are ready to topple the No. 10-4A Lumberjacks' hopes of repeating as league and section champion with a statement win on Wednesday.
The bounce-back season for No. 8-4A Hermantown (7-0, 6-0) can be credited to a lock-down defense, which was key in a 15-7 win over Proctor last week.
On offense, senior running back David Cornelius shouldered the load with 32 carries for 184 yards.
Another balanced performance may be what Hermantown needs when visiting Cloquet (6-1, 5-1), the top-scoring team in the league and section at 35.7 points per game.
Junior running back Markus Pokornowski leads the team with 587 rushing yards but has shown to be utilitarian — scoring two rushing and two receiving TDs while also compiling 125 total yards in a 30-28 win over Duluth East last week.