BRAINERD — Cromwell-Wright made it a successful defense of its Section 5 championship in IX-Player Football on Thursday night, taking down Bertha-Hewitt 41-18 in the section final at Brainerd High School.

The Cardinals (9-1) kept steady pressure on the Bears, jumping out to an 11-0 lead after a quarter and 19-6 at halftime.

Cromwell-Wright piled on 15 more points in the third quarter, cruising home in the fourth quarter after building a three-score lead.

The Cardinals return to state after reaching the quarterfinals last year before a loss to Fertile-Beltrami. It's the 20th time the Cardinals (as Cromwell, Cromwell-Wright and the current co-op with Floodwood) have won a section title since 1988.

They'll find out their opponent over the weekend for this year's quarterfinals, which will

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