The first 24 minutes and the last 24 minutes were like night and day on Friday for the NRHEG football team.

Spencer Tollefson had a pick six and a kick return for a touchdown in the first half to keep NRHEG in the hunt, and the Panthers’ offense came alive in the second half.

NRHEG only scored one offensive touchdown at halftime and trailed Medford 26-20. However, the Panthers’ shut out the Tigers 26-0 in the second half on Friday to win 56-26.

“In the first half, we made far too many mistakes, and Medford played with far more intensity than us,” said NRHEG coach Dan Stork. “They loaded the box and made it difficult for us to run the ball, but coach (John) Schultz came up with some adjustments at halftime that really made the difference.”

The Panthers rushed for 298 yards, and Trey Hoppe led the team with 121 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Hoppe was one of four NRHEG backs to score a rushing touchdown. Alex Merritt, Perry Peterson and Trevor Tracy also found the end zone on the ground.

“We were able to control the clock in the second half,” Stork said.

Tracy also led the Panthers’ passing attack. Half of his completions were for touchdowns. He was 4-of-9 for 150 yards. John Cole and Karter Sletten were on the receiving end of the scoring passes.

Defensively, Nick Bartness led NRHEG with six solo tackles and four assists. Hoppe had 6.5 tackles, and Zeke Erickson had 4.5. Tollefson’s pick six was one of five turnovers the Panthers forced. Palmer Peterson had two interceptions and the Panthers came up with two fumble recoveries.

The 56 points NRHEG scored were the most Medford has given up all season. The Tigers are winless, but they’ve been within two possessions in three of seven losses.

Next, NRHEG (3-4 overall, 2-3 Gopher Valley AA Conference) will host Blooming Prairie at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The Awesome Blossoms are 7-0, and their closest game of the season was a 33-14 win at Waterville-Elysian-Morristown.