Wild Card Playoff Games, 2026

played in Norfolk, VA

46 degrees, fair, 8 mph wind

Minnesota Golden Hawks	10	14	0	7	-	31
Norfolk Destroyers	0	0	8	7	-	15

Scoring Summary
1Q: 12:52 MIN - Irving Clemens 26 field goal
1Q: 01:59 MIN - Stephen Dixon 10 pass from Benjamin Lee (Irving Clemens extra point)
2Q: 05:58 MIN - Mel Stokes 18 run (Irving Clemens extra point)
2Q: 00:28 MIN - Roy Reynolds 23 pass from Benjamin Lee (Irving Clemens extra point)
3Q: 02:27 NFK - Spencer Thomer 8 run (Horace Farkas pass to Lincoln Jacobs for conversion)
4Q: 15:00 NFK - Spencer Thomer 2 run (Phillip Tchaikovski extra point)
4Q: 11:11 MIN - Bernie Sweeney 18 pass from Benjamin Lee (Irving Clemens extra point)

Scoring Summary
1Q: 12:52 MIN - Irving Clemens 26 field goal
1Q: 01:59 MIN - Stephen Dixon 10 pass from Benjamin Lee (Irving Clemens extra point)
2Q: 05:58 MIN - Mel Stokes 18 run (Irving Clemens extra point)
2Q: 00:28 MIN - Roy Reynolds 23 pass from Benjamin Lee (Irving Clemens extra point)
3Q: 02:27 NFK - Spencer Thomer 8 run (Horace Farkas pass to Lincoln Jacobs for conversion)
4Q: 15:00 NFK - Spencer Thomer 2 run (Phillip Tchaikovski extra point)
4Q: 11:11 MIN - Bernie Sweeney 18 pass from Benjamin Lee (Irving Clemens extra point)

Team Statistics MIN NFK
Record 12-5 10-7
First Downs 22 15
- by Rushing 8 6
- by Passing 14 9
- by Penalty 0 0
Total Net Yards 390 259
- Offensive Plays 66 56
- Yards per Play 5.91 4.63
Net Rushing Yards 153 60
- Rushing Attempts 35 19
- Yards per Rush 4.37 3.16
Net Passing Yards 237 199
- Att./Comp./Intrcpt 28 - 20 - 0 35 - 21 - 2
- Gross Passing Yards 258 210
- Sacks/Yards Lost 3/21 2/11
- Yards per Pass Play 7.65 5.38
Fumbles/Lost 3/1 0/0
3rd Down Conversions 7/14 3/10
- Avg. YtG on 3rd Down 9.7 9.7
4th Down Conversions 0/0 0/1
Penalties/Yards 4/38 4/26
Punt Returns/Yards 1/1 2/22
Kick Returns/Yards 2/48 5/69
Interception Ret./Yards 2/16 0/0
2pt Conversions 0/0 1/1
Red Zone Visits 4 2
- Red Zone TDs/FGs 3/1 2/0
Avg. Drive Start OWN 34 OWN 28
Time of Possession 34:25 25:35

Team Statistics	MIN	NFK
Record	12-5	10-7
First Downs	22	15
- by Rushing	8	6
- by Passing	14	9
- by Penalty	0	0
Total Net Yards	390	259
- Offensive Plays	66	56
- Yards per Play	5.91	4.63
Net Rushing Yards	153	60
- Rushing Attempts	35	19
- Yards per Rush	4.37	3.16
Net Passing Yards	237	199
- Att./Comp./Intrcpt	28 - 20 - 0	35 - 21 - 2
- Gross Passing Yards	258	210
- Sacks/Yards Lost	3/21	2/11
- Yards per Pass Play	7.65	5.38
Fumbles/Lost	3/1	0/0
3rd Down Conversions	7/14	3/10
- Avg. YtG on 3rd Down	9.7	9.7
4th Down Conversions	0/0	0/1
Penalties/Yards	4/38	4/26
Punt Returns/Yards	1/1	2/22
Kick Returns/Yards	2/48	5/69
Interception Ret./Yards	2/16	0/0
2pt Conversions	0/0	1/1
Red Zone Visits	4	2
- Red Zone TDs/FGs	3/1	2/0
Avg. Drive Start	OWN 34	OWN 28
Time of Possession	34:25	25:35

Drive Charts

Minnesota Golden Hawks
Quar	Began	Poss	From	Plays	Yards	Result
1	13:39	0:55	OPP 10	3	1	Field Goal
1	7:15	5:26	OWN 20	11	80	Touchdown
2	11:33	5:53	OWN 20	11	80	Touchdown
2	3:22	3:06	OWN 20	8	80	Touchdown
3	15:00	1:52	OWN 35	4	-10	Punt
3	11:39	1:25	OPP 42	3	3	Punt
3	8:53	2:53	OWN 14	6	18	Punt
3	2:18	0:44	OWN 33	1	-5	Fumble
4	14:51	3:46	OWN 20	7	80	Touchdown
4	8:44	1:54	OWN 20	3	0	Punt
4	5:57	3:28	OWN 20	7	45	Punt
4	1:17	1:15	OPP 39	3	-2	Punt

Norfolk Destroyers
Quar	Began	Poss	From	Plays	Yards	Result
1	15:00	1:21	OWN 6	2	7	Interception
1	12:44	5:29	OWN 34	8	22	Punt
1	1:49	5:16	OWN 22	8	38	Punt
2	5:40	2:18	OWN 19	7	31	Punt
2	0:16	0:16	OWN 21	1	-1	Half
3	13:08	1:29	OWN 33	3	13	Interception
3	10:14	1:21	OWN 21	3	5	Punt
3	6:00	3:42	OWN 42	6	58	Touchdown
3	1:34	1:43	OPP 28	5	28	Touchdown
4	11:05	2:21	OWN 28	3	1	Punt
4	6:50	0:53	OPP 40	3	4	Punt
4	2:29	1:12	OWN 1	6	38	Downs
4	0:02	0:02	OWN 7	1	0	Game

Game MVP: Benjamin Lee, Minnesota Golden Hawks

Rushing Statistics

Minnesota	Att	Yards	Avg	LG	10+	TD
Stephen Dixon	15	42	2.80	10	1	0
Mel Stokes	14	66	4.71	18	3	1
Benjamin Lee	4	28	7.00	23	1	0
Courtney Finch	1	6	6.00	6	0	0
Marcus Rodgers	1	11	11.00	11	1	0

Norfolk	Att	Yards	Avg	LG	10+	TD
Spencer Thomer	11	35	3.18	10	1	2
Horace Farkas	5	5	1.00	4	0	0
Cris Hall	3	20	6.67	8	0	0

Passing Statistics

Minnesota	Att	Comp	Yards	Sk/Yd	TD	LG	Int	Rate
Benjamin Lee	28	20	258	3/21	3	34	0	135.7

Norfolk	Att	Comp	Yards	Sk/Yd	TD	LG	Int	Rate
Horace Farkas	35	21	210	2/11	0	40	2	53.3

Receiving Statistics

Minnesota	Catch	Targ	Yards	Avg	YAC	LG	TD
WR Bernie Sweeney	5	7	82	16.40	26	32	1
WR Sean Pallansch	4	5	60	15.00	12	25	0
WR Troy Wiggins	3	4	46	15.33	30	34	0
WR Roy Reynolds	2	2	32	16.00	17	23	1
TE Lester Baskey	2	5	12	6.00	1	6	0
RB Mel Stokes	1	1	5	5.00	0	5	0
FB Courtney Finch	1	1	3	3.00	0	3	0
WR Marcus Rodgers	1	1	8	8.00	0	8	0
RB Stephen Dixon	1	2	10	10.00	4	10	1

Norfolk	Catch	Targ	Yards	Avg	YAC	LG
WR Irv Stevens	5	7	42	8.40	17	13
WR Mike Emmons	5	8	81	16.20	14	40
WR Agile Abe McWilliams	4	5	23	5.75	7	11
WR Lincoln Jacobs	4	10	54	13.50	24	27
RB Spencer Thomer	2	3	8	4.00	0	8
RB Cris Hall	1	1	2	2.00	0	2
TE Ricardo Andruzzi	0	1	0	0.00	0	0

Interception Statistics

Minnesota	Ints	Yards	Avg	TD
ILB Brandon White	1	6	6.00	0
CB Ernie Vertescher	1	10	10.00	0

Norfolk	Ints	Yards	Avg	TD

Fumble Statistics

Minnesota	Fumb	Recov
Benjamin Lee	2	0
Marcus Rodgers	1	0
Glenn Darlington	0	1
Herb Jazynka	0	1

Norfolk	Recov	Force
Reggie Baugh	1	0
Zach Welch	0	1
Bert Zook	0	1
Kenneth Crumley	0	1

Punting Statistics

Minnesota	Punt	Yards	Avg	Net	LG	In20
Jackie Scott	6	196	32.7	29.0	42	3

Norfolk	Punt	Yards	Avg	Net	LG	In20
Jerald Franklin	6	271	45.2	31.7	52	1

Kicking Statistics

Minnesota	FGs	40+Yd	50+Yd	LG	PAT
Irving Clemens	1/1	0/0	0/0	26	4/4

Norfolk	FGs	40+Yd	50+Yd	LG	PAT
Phillip Tchaikovski	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	1/1

Punt Return Statistics

Minnesota	Ret	Yards	Avg	TD
Bernie Sweeney	1	1	1.0	0

Norfolk	Ret	Yards	Avg	TD
Desmond Tucker	2	22	11.0	0

Kick Return Statistics

Minnesota	Ret	Yards	Avg	TD
Marcus Rodgers	2	48	24.0	0

Norfolk	Ret	Yards	Avg	TD
Earnest Winters	4	58	14.5	0
Irv Stevens	1	11	11.0	0

Defensive Statistics

Minnesota	Tack	Asst	Sack	RPlay	PPlay
ILB Lorenzo White	5	1	0.0	13	20
ILB Brandon White	4	1	0.0	16	33
S Emmanuel Ouellette	4	1	0.0	16	27
ILB Herb Jazynka	4	0	0.0	4	12
S Norman Haworth	4	0	0.0	14	28
OLB Bo Tanner	3	3	1.0	18	28
CB Percy Oliver	3	0	0.0	17	33
CB Ernie Vertescher	3	0	0.0	17	32
DT Norbert Borders	2	1	1.0	12	27
CB Larry Warkentien	2	0	0.0	6	16
DE Derek Holliday	1	1	0.0	13	15
DE Stephen Wilkerson	1	0	0.0	14	28
OLB Wayne Hines	1	0	0.0	1	9
OLB Hardy Stansberry	1	0	0.0	2	1
S Dean Tanner	1	0	0.0	6	16

Norfolk	Tack	Asst	Sack	RPlay	PPlay
OLB Frankie Shields	6	2	0.0	28	25
S Lincoln Wolfstone	6	0	0.0	30	26
CB Zach Welch	6	0	0.0	27	24
DT Jeff Kayton	4	2	1.0	21	21
ILB Byron Neri	4	1	0.0	7	6
DE Reggie Baugh	4	0	0.0	23	21
DE Will Temmer	3	1	0.5	19	16
DT Horace Barber	3	0	0.0	29	24
CB Ralph Burdge	3	0	0.0	32	26
DE Bert Zook	2	3	1.5	26	25
OLB Deon Schwartz	2	3	0.0	31	28
OLB Kenneth Crumley	2	0	0.0	13	17
DE Brent Churchill	2	0	0.0	6	5
S Terrell Blackmon	2	0	0.0	34	25
CB Earnest Winters	2	0	0.0	17	11
CB Tim Harden	1	2	0.0	17	16
S Steve Koehke	1	1	0.0	9	13
TE Ricardo Andruzzi	1	0	---	---	---
WR Mike Emmons	1	0	---	---	---
DE Christian Iafigliola	0	2	0.0	10	8
OLB Leroy Uusutalo	0	1	0.0	6	4

Pass Rush Statistics

Minnesota	Sack	Block	Hurry	Knock	PPlay
DT Norbert Borders	1.0	1	0	0	27
OLB Bo Tanner	1.0	0	0	0	28
DE Tyrus Ragland	0.0	1	1	0	9
OLB Wayne Hines	0.0	1	0	0	9
DE Stephen Wilkerson	0.0	0	2	0	28
DE Derek Holliday	0.0	0	1	1	15
OLB Jackie Stevens	0.0	0	1	0	10
OLB Geoff Figley	0.0	0	0	1	25

Norfolk	Sack	Block	Hurry	Knock	PPlay
DE Bert Zook	1.5	0	1	1	25
DT Jeff Kayton	1.0	0	1	0	21
DE Will Temmer	0.5	0	0	0	16
DT Horace Barber	0.0	1	0	0	24
DE Reggie Baugh	0.0	0	1	0	21

Pass Defense Statistics

Minnesota	Caught	Intrcp	PPlay
ILB Lorenzo White	4	0	20
ILB Brandon White	3	1	33
ILB Herb Jazynka	3	0	12
CB Ernie Vertescher	2	1	32
CB Percy Oliver	2	0	33
S Emmanuel Ouellette	2	0	27
OLB Bo Tanner	1	0	28
CB Larry Warkentien	1	0	16
OLB Wayne Hines	1	0	9
S Norman Haworth	1	0	28
OLB Hardy Stansberry	1	0	1

Norfolk	Caught	PPlay
CB Zach Welch	5	24
S Lincoln Wolfstone	3	26
OLB Frankie Shields	3	25
OLB Kenneth Crumley	2	17
CB Ralph Burdge	2	26
ILB Byron Neri	1	6
OLB Deon Schwartz	1	28
CB Tim Harden	1	16
DT Horace Barber	1	24
S Terrell Blackmon	1	25

Blocking Statistics

Minnesota	KeyBl	BlOpp	RPly	SckA	PPly
Brent Dennis	3	4	28	0	25
Korey Westbrook	2	6	23	0	25
James Gerhardt	1	5	26	0	24
Korey Way	1	4	30	1	28
Billy Francis	1	3	14	0	10
Stan Hastings	1	2	12	1	6
Lester Baskey	1	1	23	0	19
Glenn Darlington	0	3	29	1	22
Dustin Rhodes	0	3	6	0	9
Claude Oshiro	0	2	7	0	6

Norfolk	KeyBl	BlOpp	RPly	SckA	PPly
Rufus Stanton	3	4	15	0	29
Doug Watson	2	2	19	1	35
Martin Rhodes	1	3	19	0	34
Ricardo Andruzzi	1	1	14	0	25
Gene Turnbull	0	2	16	0	36
Max Theurer	0	1	14	0	28
Herman Fitch	0	1	2	0	4
Dexter Myers	0	0	0	1	1

Special Teams Tackles

Minnesota	Tackles	STPlays
Roy Reynolds	2	16
Bernie Sweeney	2	15
Hardy Stansberry	2	15
Courtney Finch	1	16

Norfolk	Tackles	STPlays
Kenneth Crumley	1	21
Irv Stevens	1	15
Stan Bergler	1	15

Participation

Minnesota	RPlyOff	PPlyOff	RPlyDef	PPlyDef	STPly	Total Plays
Bernie Sweeney	28	26	---	---	15	69
Benjamin Lee	35	31	---	---	---	66
Korey Way	30	28	---	---	7	65
Courtney Finch	25	21	---	---	16	62
Lester Baskey	23	19	---	---	15	57
James Gerhardt	26	24	---	---	6	56
Brent Dennis	28	25	---	---	---	53
Percy Oliver	---	---	17	33	1	51
Glenn Darlington	29	22	---	---	---	51
Brandon White	---	---	16	33	1	50
Ernie Vertescher	---	---	17	32	---	49
Korey Westbrook	23	25	---	---	---	48
Bo Tanner	---	---	18	28	1	47
Stephen Wilkerson	---	---	14	28	2	44
Emmanuel Ouellette	---	---	16	27	---	43
Norman Haworth	---	---	14	28	---	42
Mel Stokes	17	9	---	---	15	41
Norbert Borders	---	---	12	27	2	41
Geoff Figley	---	---	13	25	1	39
Marcus Rodgers	15	8	---	---	15	38
Sean Pallansch	19	16	---	---	3	38
Stephen Dixon	16	21	---	---	---	37
Lorenzo White	---	---	13	20	3	36
Troy Wiggins	19	17	---	---	---	36
Brad Bensen	10	10	---	---	13	33
Billy Francis	14	10	---	---	7	31
Dean Tanner	---	---	6	16	9	31
Larry Warkentien	---	---	6	16	8	30
Mitch Oxenby	---	---	6	22	1	29
Derek Holliday	---	---	13	15	---	28
Herb Jazynka	---	---	4	12	8	24
Wayne Hines	---	---	1	9	14	24
Roy Reynolds	1	5	---	---	16	22
Dustin Rhodes	6	9	---	---	7	22
Tyrus Ragland	---	---	5	9	7	21
Jackie Stevens	---	---	6	10	5	21
Claude Oshiro	7	6	---	---	7	20
Stan Hastings	12	6	---	---	1	19
Billy Clayton	---	---	8	10	---	18
Hardy Stansberry	---	---	2	1	15	18
Herb Newhart	---	---	2	6	6	14
Irving Clemens	0	0	---	---	7	7
Cole McCormick	2	3	---	---	1	6
Jackie Scott	0	0	---	---	6	6
Butch Campbell	0	0	---	---	1	1
Buddy Cahill	0	0	---	---	---	0

Norfolk	RPlyOff	PPlyOff	RPlyDef	PPlyDef	STPly	Total Plays
Deon Schwartz	---	---	31	28	1	60
Terrell Blackmon	---	---	34	25	1	60
Horace Barber	---	---	29	24	6	59
Ralph Burdge	---	---	32	26	1	59
Lincoln Wolfstone	---	---	30	26	2	58
Martin Rhodes	19	34	---	---	5	58
Gene Turnbull	16	36	---	---	6	58
Zach Welch	---	---	27	24	6	57
Horace Farkas	19	37	---	---	---	56
Frankie Shields	---	---	28	25	1	54
Mike Emmons	19	35	---	---	---	54
Doug Watson	19	35	---	---	---	54
Bert Zook	---	---	26	25	---	51
Kenneth Crumley	---	---	13	17	21	51
Irv Stevens	10	26	---	---	15	51
Earnest Winters	---	---	17	11	22	50
Ricardo Andruzzi	14	25	---	---	6	45
Rufus Stanton	15	29	---	---	---	44
Reggie Baugh	---	---	23	21	---	44
Max Theurer	14	28	---	---	---	42
Will Temmer	---	---	19	16	7	42
Jeff Kayton	---	---	21	21	---	42
Lincoln Jacobs	14	26	---	---	---	40
Tim Harden	---	---	17	16	1	34
Agile Abe McWilliams	6	13	---	---	14	33
Steve Koehke	---	---	9	13	9	31
Spencer Thomer	13	16	---	---	---	29
Stan Bergler	2	8	---	---	15	25
Cris Hall	5	19	---	---	---	24
Richard Diaz	6	11	---	---	6	23
Al McGarrity	9	10	---	---	3	22
Rex Farnell	0	0	---	---	21	21
Christian Iafigliola	---	---	10	8	2	20
Desmond Tucker	1	3	---	---	16	20
Herman Fitch	2	4	---	---	12	18
Byron Neri	---	---	7	6	5	18
Leroy Uusutalo	---	---	6	4	6	16
Blaine Norris	6	8	---	---	1	15
Brent Churchill	---	---	6	5	1	12
Levon Stacy	---	---	0	0	9	9
Chad Carr	0	3	---	---	6	9
Dexter Myers	0	1	---	---	6	7
Jerald Franklin	0	0	---	---	6	6
Phillip Tchaikovski	0	0	---	---	3	3
Leon Fitzgerald	0	0	---	---	---	0
Harvey Dunlap	0	0	---	---	---	0

Directional Rushing Statistics

Distance	Att	Yards	Avg
Left	12	57	4.8
Middle	8	31	3.9
Right	14	66	4.7
None	1	-1	-1.0

Distance	Att	Yards	Avg
Left	4	17	4.3
Middle	11	38	3.5
Right	3	6	2.0
None	1	-1	-1.0

Detailed Passing Statistics

Minnesota	Att	Cmp	20+	BdTh	Drop	Dfns	Hurr	Knck	Intc
Benjamin Lee	28	20	5	1	3	0	3	1	0

Norfolk	Att	Cmp	20+	BdTh	Drop	Dfns	Hurr	Knck	Intc
Horace Farkas	35	21	2	2	2	0	5	2	2

Directional Passing Statistics

Distance	Att	Comp	Yards	Avg
Screen	1	1	34	34.0
Short (0-8 Yds)	22	15	151	6.9
Medium (9-18 Yds)	2	1	10	5.0
Long (19+ Yds)	3	3	63	21.0

Distance	Att	Comp	Yards	Avg
Screen	3	2	10	3.3
Short (0-8 Yds)	22	15	121	5.5
Medium (9-18 Yds)	6	3	39	6.5
Long (19+ Yds)	4	1	40	10.0

Detailed Receiving Statistics

Minnesota	Targt	Caugt	Dropd	Yards	20+	PPlay
WR Bernie Sweeney	7	5	0	82	2	26
TE Lester Baskey	5	2	1	12	0	19
WR Sean Pallansch	5	4	0	60	1	16
WR Troy Wiggins	4	3	1	46	1	17
WR Roy Reynolds	2	2	0	32	1	5
RB Stephen Dixon	2	1	1	10	0	21
RB Mel Stokes	1	1	0	5	0	9
FB Courtney Finch	1	1	0	3	0	21
WR Marcus Rodgers	1	1	0	8	0	8

Norfolk	Targt	Caugt	Dropd	Yards	20+	PPlay
WR Lincoln Jacobs	10	4	1	54	1	26
WR Mike Emmons	8	5	1	81	1	35
WR Irv Stevens	7	5	0	42	0	26
WR Agile Abe McWilliams	5	4	0	23	0	13
RB Spencer Thomer	3	2	0	8	0	16
RB Cris Hall	1	1	0	2	0	19
TE Ricardo Andruzzi	1	0	0	0	0	25

Red-Zone Rushing Statistics

Minnesota	Att	Yards	Avg	Overall Avg
Mel Stokes	3	19	6.33	4.71

Norfolk	Att	Yards	Avg	Overall Avg
Spencer Thomer	4	12	3.00	3.18
Cris Hall	1	6	6.00	6.67

Red-Zone Passing Statistics

Minnesota	Att	Comp	Yards	Avg/Att	Overall Avg
Benjamin Lee	5	3	36	7.20	9.21

Norfolk	Att	Comp	Yards	Avg/Att	Overall Avg
Horace Farkas	2	2	14	7.00	6.00

Red-Zone Receiving Statistics

Minnesota	Target	Catch	Yards	Avg/Targ	Overall Avg
RB Stephen Dixon	2	1	10	5.00	5.00
TE Lester Baskey	1	0	0	0.00	2.40
WR Marcus Rodgers	1	1	8	8.00	8.00
WR Bernie Sweeney	1	1	18	18.00	11.71

Norfolk	Target	Catch	Yards	Avg/Targ	Overall Avg
WR Irv Stevens	2	2	14	7.00	6.00

Third Down Rushing Statistics

Minnesota	Rushes	Conversions
Mel Stokes	5	3
Stephen Dixon	3	1
Benjamin Lee	2	1

Norfolk	Rushes	Conversions
Horace Farkas	2	0

Third Down Passing Statistics

Minnesota	Att	Comp	Conversions
Benjamin Lee	4	2	2

Norfolk	Att	Comp	Conversions
Horace Farkas	8	6	3

Third Down Receiving Statistics

Minnesota	Targ	Catch	Conversions
TE Lester Baskey	1	0	0
WR Troy Wiggins	1	1	1
RB Stephen Dixon	1	0	0
WR Bernie Sweeney	1	1	1

Norfolk	Targ	Catch	Conversions
WR Mike Emmons	4	2	2
WR Irv Stevens	2	2	1
WR Lincoln Jacobs	1	1	0
RB Cris Hall	1	1	0

Section Attendance
Stadium 61,800 (79,700 capacity)
Upper Deck 18,000 (23,400)
End Zone 13,200 (17,000)
Mezzanine 7,800 (9,800)
Sideline Seats 11,700 (15,000)
Club Seats 7,500 (9,500)
Luxury Boxes 3,600 (5,000)

Section	Attendance
Stadium	61,800 (79,700 capacity)
Upper Deck	18,000 (23,400)
End Zone	13,200 (17,000)
Mezzanine	7,800 (9,800)
Sideline Seats	11,700 (15,000)
Club Seats	7,500 (9,500)
Luxury Boxes	3,600 (5,000)