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GRAND RAPIDS — Hermantown’s explosive offense finally ran into a defense capable of slowing it down.
Grand Rapids handed the Hawks their first loss of the season Friday night, defeating Hermantown 24-15 in a battle of unbeaten Northeast Red teams at Noble Hall Field.
The loss dropped Hermantown to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in Northeast Red play, while Grand Rapids improved to 5-0 and strengthened its position atop the subdistrict. For a Hermantown team that had overwhelmed its first four opponents, the nine-point loss represented its first significant setback of the season and its first game in which the Hawks failed to score at least 35 points.
Hermantown had entered the night averaging 45.3 points through four games. The Hawks defeated Duluth Denfeld 48-13, Proctor 50-8, Duluth East 48-27 and Cloquet 35-6, outscoring those opponents 181-54.
Grand Rapids changed the equation.
The Thunderhawks limited Hermantown to 15 points, more than 20 below its previous season low, and won the kind of physical, lower-scoring game that could have significance well beyond the Northeast Red standings. Both teams compete in Section 7, Class 4A, where their paths could cross again during the postseason.
Grand Rapids has become a particularly difficult matchup for Hermantown. The Thunderhawks also defeated the Hawks twice last season, including a 41-0 victory in the Section 7AAAA championship game that ended Hermantown’s 2025 season.
This time, Hermantown arrived in Grand Rapids with one of northeastern Minnesota’s most productive offenses and senior running back Martin Sleen coming off another remarkable performance. Sleen rushed for 248 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 carries against Cloquet and returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for another score. Hermantown rushed for 294 yards in that victory and committed no turnovers.
Friday’s game offered a considerably different challenge. Grand Rapids kept the Hawks from generating the steady stream of long scoring plays that had defined their September run and became the first opponent this season to hold Hermantown below three touchdowns.
Still, one loss does little to diminish what Hermantown established during the opening half of its schedule. The Hawks are 4-1, remain firmly positioned as a Section 7AAAA contender and have scored 196 points in five games, an average of 39.2.
What changes now is the urgency.
Hermantown has three regular-season games remaining, beginning with another demanding northern Minnesota opponent Friday when Esko visits Centricity Stadium for a 7 p.m. nonconference game.
Esko will arrive with momentum.
Esko improved to 3-2 Friday by routing Proctor/Maris Academy 61-14, its most productive offensive performance of the season. Esko opened with a 19-12 victory over Pequot Lakes, lost 41-18 at Cloquet, edged Hibbing 22-21 and dropped a 30-28 decision at Mora before breaking loose against Proctor.
That makes the next assignment considerably more interesting than the records alone suggest.
Esko has shown it can score, putting up 28 points against Mora before its 61-point performance Friday. Esko has also played Cloquet, giving both coaching staffs another common opponent for comparison. Hermantown defeated Cloquet 35-6 one week after the Lumberjacks beat Esko 41-18.
Hermantown also knows Esko well. The programs regularly meet despite competing in different classifications, with Hermantown in Class 4A and Esko in Class 3A.
For the Hawks, however, Friday night will be less about comparisons and more about response.
Hermantown had played almost flawless football through September, winning four consecutive games by an average margin of nearly 32 points. Grand Rapids forced the Hawks into an entirely different kind of game and delivered the first reminder this season that the road through Section 7AAAA will not be easy.
The schedule does not offer much time to dwell on it.
After Esko, Hermantown remains home for a Northeast Red game against Rock Ridge on Wednesday, Oct. 14, before closing the regular season at North Branch on Oct. 21. Those games will help determine postseason positioning and whether the Hawks can regain the momentum they carried into Grand Rapids.
One loss ended the perfect record. It did not end Hermantown’s larger opportunity.
