ROCHESTER — Things didn’t start well for the Grand Meadow football team in the Class nine man state quarterfinals, but they were able to recover and cruise to a 36-0 win over Edgerton-Ellsworth in RCTC Stadium Friday.

GM junior Zach Myhre, a standout running back and linebacker, was banged up on the first play of the game and he sat for most of a first quarter that saw both teams go scoreless. Myhre returned to the game on GM’s third possession and he blasted through a Flying Dutchmen defender on his way to a 49-yard run that set up a 12-yard TD run by Christophor Bain to make it 8-0 with 10:27 left in the second quarter.

“We knew they were going to come out really physical and we were going to have to play hard,” said Bain, who ran for 223 yards and four TDs in the win. “Myhre going down right away was kind of a shock, but we had to play through adversity like our coach always says. Other people had to step up and we had to play our game.”

GM’s defense yielded just 178 yards of offense and Edgerton-Ellsworth (11-2 overall) had just one drive reach inside GM’s 20-yard line. The Flying Dutchmen did get a lot of production out of their fullback, Blake Van Dyke, who rumbled his way to 111 rushing yards.

“To be honest, he ran a lot harder than I thought he would,” GM senior lineman Blake Benson said of Van Dyke. “I wasn’t expecting that and he’s a really good full back.”

After being held to less than 15 yards on all of his first 10 carries, Bain started to wear down the defense as four of his last 12 carries were for more than 15 yards and two went for more than 40 yards. Bain said he had to make a simple adjustment to one of GM’s bread and butter plays to find running space.

“Most of the time when we run [that play], I like to cut it outside,” Bain said. “They must have been watching film and they saw that I like to cut it out. Then the middle was wide open and I just had to cut it back and it was there.”

The Superlarks (12-0 overall) have now won a school-record 48 straight games and that winning streak is the longest active streak in the MSHSL. GM head coach Gary Sloan said he liked what he saw from his team when Myhre, and a few other players, had to battle bumps and bruises in a very physical game.

“I give Edgerton-Ellsworth a lot of credit. They battled us really hard and it was closer than the final score,” Sloan said. “We were scrambling a little bit [early on], but I think the guys did a good job of keeping their composure and the coaches did a good job of moving people around. These is really our first game all year of having adversity and you never really know how you’re going to handle it until you have it.”

The Larks will now play either Waubun or Stephen-Argyle in the state semifinals in US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis 9 a.m. Nov. 18. If GM wins that game, it will play in fifth straight state title game and have a chance at its fourth straight state title.

“We’ve been wanting to make it there, but our goal is not just to make it there, it’s to keep going,” Benson said.

SCORING SUMMARY

E-E 0    0  0  0   —   0

GM 0  16  6 14  —  36

First quarter

No scoring

Second quarter

(GM) Christophor Bain 12 run (Bain run) (4 plays, 69 yards) 10:27

(GM) Bain 7 run (Bain run) (7 plays, 54 yards) (7 plays, 54 yards) 3:51

Third quarter

(GM) Bain 41 run (run failed) (2 plays, 53 yards) 6:28

Fourth quarter

(GM) Bain 9 run (Bain run) (9 plays, 88 yards) 11:08

(GM) Jacob Oehlke 9 run (run failed) (6 plays, 41 yards) 4:40

GM STATS

Rushing: Chistophor Bain, 22-for-234, 4 TDs; Zach Myhre, 7-for-79; Wes Ojulu, 1-for-25; Brenn Olson, 8-for-24; Nolan Skifter, 3-for-7; Drew Copley, 2-for-5; Rian Leichtnam, 1-for-3

Passing: Olson, 0-for-7, INT

Defense: Connor King (2 sacks); Grant Skifter (sack); Kyle Oehlke (sack); Wes Ojulu (interception)

Penalties: 3-for-20

EDGERTON-ELLSWORTH STATS

Rushing: 150

Passing: 28

Penalties: 3-for-20