![]() Pankey, who led all rushers with 143 yards on nine carries, broke Tonka’s back with a 41-yard run for a touchdown that with the kick made the score 27-0 with 5:54 left until halftime. Tonka got the ball back and couldn’t do much giving right back to the Northmen’s offense. Tonka senior Amir-Ethen Bensalem rushed for 129 yards. The kick was good and instead of leading by only one score, the Northmen had a 20-0 lead with more than 10 minutes left in the first half. The Northmen’s quick-strike offense needed less than a minute to score on a nine-yard run by junior Evan Braxton. The flag not only took a touchdown off the board but was also costly on the next play when Knaak jumped a route on a pass play and intercepted the ball. Tonka junior Dean DeJesus got his first start at quarterback. However, the play was wiped out by an illegal shift penalty. Tonka thought they seized some momentum on a scramble and throw by DeJesus that was caught in the end zone by senior tight end Tavion Newton. The period ended on a 47-yard run by Bensalem to the Oak Park 29-yard line. Tonka got the ball back and began to find some rhythm on offense. weaved his way to the end zone for the Northmen's first touchdown. ![]() ![]() This time the kid was good and Oak Park led 13-0 with 1:12 left in the first quarter. Gant’s scoring play was set up by a 25-yard run by sophomore Travon Pankey. Oak Park need only three plays to drive 53 yards capped off by Gant’s second touchdown on a six-yard run. Oak Park started its second drive at the Northmen’s 47-yard line. The Tonka offense went three-and-out on its next possession and had to punt the ball away. OP senior Karl Knaak got his hand on the ball and partially blocked the punt. The kick missed wide and the Northmen led 6-0 with 6:12 left in the first quarter. It only took four plays for Oak Park to score on a four-yard run by senior Marlon Gant Jr. Oak Park senior Karl Knaak got his hand on the punt forcing a short kick that was picked up by senior Westin Hughes who returned the ball to the Tonka 16-yard line. After picking up a first down the Northmen's defense got a stop forcing Tonka to punt. The first six plays the Griffins ran were all running plays to Bensalem. Tonka got the ball first featuring its new offense behind junior quarterback Dean DeJesus and senior running back Amir-Ethen Bensalem. The Oak Park Northmen football team clicked in all three phases of the game in a 41-0 thumping of the Winnetonka Griffins in the inaugural Cardinal & Navy Game between the long-time rivals on Friday night.
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