Pierz running back Brayden Foust forced Esko out of the Section 7AAA football playoffs on Saturday, Oct. 25, scoring four first-half rushing touchdowns as the unbeaten pioneers rolled to a 42-6 win in Pierz.

Pierz ranked third in the state in Class AAA but seeded second in the section bracket, will face No. 2-ranked and No. 1-seeded Pequot Lakes in a section final on Thursday night that has been moved to Brainerd High School. The Patriots blanked Hibbing 29-0 on Saturday.

Pierz scored on its first three possessions, the second of which came with a short field after a botched punt snap.

Esko got on the board in the second quarter on a nine-play, 65-yard drive ending in a 2-yard Graham Hartlieb touchdown run, but they accumulated just 39 yards of total offense and had no play bigger than

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