Moose Lake-Willow River's 35-14 victory over Waterville-Elysian-Morristown in Friday's Class 2A semifinal can be traced to three key moments.
Its origins, however, go back much further.
The game was a rematch of the 2009 championship game, won by Waterville.
That game was a point of emphasis in the Rebels' preparations, said coach Dave Louzek.
"We talked about that all week," Louzek said. "Last time we played them, they whipped us. That's a great team. We talked about staying competitive with them."
The Rebels have become a dominant program in the past half-dozen years on the strength of a relentless rushing attack. It didn't take them long to establish themselves. Just one play, in fact.
Junior Jake Disterhaupt took a handoff on the first play from scrimmage, veered left and outraced the Buccaneers defense to the end zone.
"That play isn't designed to be a big play," Disterhaupt said. "That really did a lot for our confidence."