MARQUETTE — None of this year’s football players at Felch North Dickinson High School were around when the Nordics made their first trip to the state finals.

It was 1998 when the Nordics traveled to the Pontiac Silverdome where they dropped a 26-8 decision to Fowler in a Class D state final.

The Nordics made a second trip possible by outlasting Onekama 44-28 in an eight-player, Division 2 state semifinal contest here Saturday. The Portagers finished 11-1.

They won’t have to travel nearly as far this time.

The Nordics will be inside Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome to face Portland St. Patrick (12-0) in a 2 p.m. (EST) contest.

The Nordics executed a fake punt in a fourth-and-22 situation and turned it into a 64-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Brady Jungwirth to

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