NORTHWOOD — A pair of teams that advanced to the second round of the 8-Man state playoffs last year kicked off their seasons at Northwood.

Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire defeated Northwood-Kensett 32-6 Friday in a game with sprinkles in the first quarter and a downpour in the second and third.

On their first possession, the Vikings drove down to the Titans’ three-yard line, but quarterback Josh Einertson was stuffed on fourth and goal.

“We got it down inside the five (yard line) twice and never got it in,” said Northwood-Kensett interim head coach Steve Hartman. “You get those punched in, and it could be a whole different game.”

On the Titans’ second play from scrimmage, Michael Girres broke through for a 75-yard touchdown run. Girres had a game-high 225 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 29 carries.

GTRA extended its lead to two possessions in the second quarter with a two-yard scoring run by Girres, but the Vikings answered with a 30-yard touchdown run by Einertson 26 seconds later.

A Northwood-Kensett fumble with less than a minute left in the first half led to Girres’ third touchdown run with 28 seconds left in the first half, and the Titans took an 18-6 lead into the locker room.

In the second half, Einertson was replaced behind center with Mason Olson because of an ankle injury, Hartman said. Although Olson rushed for 40 yards on nine carries and completed a pass for nine yards, the Vikings were unable to make up any ground in the second half.

“We put a few kids in there not quite as experienced as we had (last year),” Hartman said. “Graettinger-Terril, they’re a good football team. They’re physical. They out-physicaled us tonight. We’ll watch film and see what we need to improve.”

Last season, the Titans beat River Valley 28-24 in the first round of the state playoffs before being eliminated 52-26 by Newell-Fonda. The Vikings beat Kee High 36-22 in the first round of the state playoffs before losing 48-20 to Don Bosco.

Vikings head coach Dave Capitani was not on the sideline because he was suspended for a comment officials heard coming from Northwood-Kensett’s sideline last season in the second round of the 8-Man state playoffs at Don Bosco.

“Everyone missed coach Capitani, and that’s the truth of the matter,” Hartman said. “We don’t need to mention a whole lot of that. It’s in the past now, and we’ll deal with it.”

Capitani will be back for the Vikings next game at 7 p.m. Friday at West Bend-Mallard. Last season, Northwood-Kensett hosted West Bend-Mallard in its season opener and lost 36-18.

Statistics in the Scoreboard: Aug. 29 post.