#3 Fertile-Beltrami Finds Wright Answer Versus #5 L-O/L/P
For three-plus quarters, it was literally back-and-forth. In a state semifinal contest at U.S. Bank Stadium, #5 LeRoy-Ostran-der/Lyle/Pacelli (South 1-seed, Section 1 Champ, 12-0) and #3 Fertile-Beltrami (North 2-seed, Section 6 Champ, 11-0) matched each other score for score. But then in the final 2-plus minutes of the third quarter, and the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, the Falcons ripped to 22 unanswered points. And that was all she wrote. Or moreover, that was all she Wright. As in, Falcon senior running back Isaiah Wright, who had a game for the ages. The first 10 scores of the game were all posted in alternating fashion. L-O/L/P quarterback Camden Hungerholt mostly used his arm in the first half to inflict damage. He had the Cardinals first score, a 43-yard first quarter TD run (done after tiptoeing the sideline), but it was his only rushing TD of the game. Hungerholt threw deep a lot, but hooked up with brother Reid Hungerholt for scoring strikes of 36 and 66 yards in the first half, plus a 45-yard to Ryder Stern. It came in the waning seconds of the second quarter, as the senior tight end was open down the middle, ran into congestion, broke a tackle, and then broke free. Said score put L-O/L/P up 27-22 at intermission. Meanwhile, Fertile-Beltrami’s Wright ran for scores of 46, 59 and 13 yards. The 6’0” 200-pound senior had 181 yards rushing at the half and he was not nearly done. After stopping L-O/L/P’s first drive of the second half, Wright ripped another lengthy run, a 43-yard score, to put the Falcons ahead 30-27. The Cardinals answered immediately, going 59 yards in 10 plays. Tyson Stevens’ 3-yard plunge capped the series and gave Trevor Carrier’s squad the lead at 33-30 with 4:30 left in the third. It looked as though the team with the ball last might be the victor, or the first team with a key turnover would be the loser. But then a six-minute stretch of football that will haunt the Cardinals. F-B got a big 64-yard pass from QB Easton Petry to tight end Drew Gullickson to reach the L-O/L/P red zone. Wright capped the series with a 6-yard TD run, making it 38-33 F-B with 2:18 left in the third. The Cardinals’ next series was stopped on 4th down near midfield. Wright then ripped a 56-yard TD run on the Falcons first play, making it 44-33 with 0:45 left in the third. Wright then intercepted C-Hungerholt two offensive plays later. Three plays after that, he burst 38 yards to pay dirt for his seventh TD and third in four-minute span. And F-B added a two-point conversion on two of the three unanswered scores. The scoreboard suddenly read 52-33 with 10:32 to go in the game. Another interception led to another F-B score. Led by Wright, who ran for 363 yards and seven TDs on 24 carries, Fertile-Beltrami notched a 60-33 victory. The Falcons as a team ran for 474 of their 551 total yards. Jonah Harstad chipped in 15 carries for 75 yards in their last score. Their 64-yard pass play accounted for most of their 77 yards through the air. Hungerholt, a Mr. Football finalist, led L-O/L/P (12-29, 238 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs passing; 23-152, TD rushing). But he came in averaging over 200 rushing yards per game and the sole rushing score matched a season low each time done in blowouts of Westbrook-Walnut Grove and Lanesboro. Reid Hungerholt (3-117, 2 TDs) had all his receptions in the first half. Carter Sweeney led L-O/L/P with five receptions totaling 49 yards. But after passing for 187 yards and 3 TDs in the first half, the Cardinals threw for 51 yards, 0 TDs, and two interceptions after halftime. Stevens chipped in some offense (9-24, TD rushing; 2-20 receiving) while notching a team-high 13 tackles. C-Hungerholt and Stern added 10 stops each. L-O/L/P had just one tackle for a loss. L-O/L/P gave up an easy season high in points while scoring a season low. The Cardinals’ excellent co-South-East and 9-Man Section 1 champs season ends in the state semifinals with a 12-1 record. Coach Carrier lamented it being the last game for his eight seniors C-Hungerholt, Sweeney, Stevens, Stern, Gabe Nagel, Dylan Christianson, Landon Meyer, and Joseph Anderson; “Losing is not fun … … but losing seniors is more difficult. I have been in LeRoy now for 12 years and these guys were in kindergarten my first year. So, I have dealt with these guys my whole life there. It’ll be tough to say goodbye to these guys. If my son is half the kids these guys are, I will be one proud dad.” In regards to F-B’s Wright, “If somebody is not recruiting him by now, I endorse him. You might want to get on that… get that kid on a college team.” He continued, “This is tough. This is really tough for us. But credit to them (Fertile-Beltrami). They are a very good football team.”
#10 Staples-Motley’s First Half Blitz Leads to Win Over #2 Chatfield
Staples-Motley (North 3-seed, Section 6AA Champion, 11-0) stormed out the gates versus Chatfield (South 1-seed, Section 1AA Champion, 11-0) and the Gophers could never completely recover in a state semifinal contest at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Cardinals’ offense was near unstoppable in the first half, piling up 287 yards of offense. The only time they were stopped (save the last possession of the half), was by a fumble on the Gopher goal line. S-M jumped out to a 16-0 first quarter lead, sandwiching a 12-play, 58-yard sequence, and a 4-play 39-yard sequence, around a Gopher failed 4th down conversion at their own 39-yard line. The Cardinals’ first drive converted two 4th downs including Alex Schultz’s 29-yard contested reception on 4th and 13 to the two-yard line. Colbe Tappe than had a 1-yard TD run. The conversion pass also succeeded. S-M’s second drive, on a short field, was capped by 7-yard Eli Rutten TD pass to Conner Kuhns. The Cardinals again converted. With 3:41 left in the first, Chatfield trailed 16-0 and they fought from underneath the rest of the game. The teams then exchanged scores the next five series. Ben Carrier got Chatfield on the board with a 26-yard TD run following a six-play, 63-yard drive (16-6 S-M). S-M replied with a 7-play, 63-yard drive, capped by a Rutten to Tappe 14-yard scoring play on 4th down (22-6). The Cardinals were three of three on fourth down in the half. The Gophers then went 61-yards in seven plays. Carson Rowland hit Tobin McMahon for 21-yard pitch and catch (22-14). S-M answered in just three plays, as Tappe ripped a 51-yard TD run (30-14). Chatfield answered with a two-play drive, as Rowland hit Carrier for a 54-yard TD reception (30-22). S-M then had their sole unsuccessful drive of the half, making the Gopher 1-yard-line before Rutten fumbled and McMahon recovered (a play that was originally called down, but changed by replay). Chatfield then had one of four drives to try to tie the game. As the half waned, they got a couple chunk plays to make the Staples-Motley 14-yard line. But a sack, and then a pressure-induced interception, ended the series. A wild first half that saw the teams combine for over 500 yards total offense and seven total TDs ended with the Gophers trailing 30-22. And after all those first half points, only eight were scored after intermission. Jeff Johnson’s crew had three third quarter possessions to try to tie the game, trailing 30-22. The latter two ended in interceptions, as the teams combined for four third quarter turnovers. The second pick occurred at the Gopher 13. Three plays later, the Cardinals retook a multi-possession lead courtesy of a Tappe 1-yard run. It was the only TD of the second half, and it gave the Cardinals a 36-22 lead. Chatfield’s only points of the second half came on a 4th quarter safety when a S-M punt snap went through the end zone. The Gophers subsequently made the S-M 9-yard line, but the series then ended on downs with 4:27 left, effectively ending the game. Staples-Motley moved on to the state finals courtesy of a 36-24 victory. After 252 yards in the first half, Chatfield had 69 in the second half. After 287 yards in the first half, S-M had 126 in the second half. Carrier (11-104, TD rushing; 2-85, TD receiving) led the Gophers. Rowland (8-17, 171 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs passing) had a big first half throwing the ball (6-9, 152 yards, 2 TDS, INT), but was less successful after halftime (2-8, 19 yards, INT). Kaisen Johnson (4-52 receiving) and McMahon (2-34, TD receiving) joined Carrier in catching passes for the Gophers. McMahon added an interception and a fumble recovery. Tappe (25-171, 3 TDs rushing, 14-yard TD reception) led S-M with his consistent rushing presence. Schultz, a 6’3” junior wide receiver, was S-M’s preferred target (5-126 receiving), all in the first half. Rutten (13-19, 195 yards, 2 TDs, INT passing), like Rowland, had most of his success in the first half (10-14, 168 yards, 2 TDs) versus the second (3-5, 27 yards, INT). Chatfield had three turnovers in the game. They entered with five total on the season with only one over the previous five games. The teams also met in last year’s state wrestling final, a dominating 47-7 Gopher win. Each team had multiple combatants from that involved including Tappe versus Rowland, which happened in both the team wrestling finals (a 3-2 Rowland win) and the 152-pound individual final (5-3 Rowland win). Chatfield’s excellent season thus ends at 11-1. It was their 11th overall state appearance and fourth under Jeff Johnson. It was the first time a state trip did not end in the state finals under Johnson. His state record is 9-2. Chatfield will graduate an excellent senior class including Carrier, Rowland, McMahon, Ethan Cole, Jake Stevens, Ayden Miner, Westin Nolte, Ethan Eickhoff, Cole Ramaker, Chase Johnston, Gage Anderson, Wyatt Jacobson, Masyn Kreter, Keegan Patten, Thane Schild, Carson VanDeWalker, and Caleb Austin. S-M ended the season ranked #10, Chatfield #2. The Cardinals thus can boast to beating #1 Barnesville and the #2 Gophers at the state level. They will face #3 Jackson County Central for the title. Coach Jeff Johnson on Staples-Motley’s line play (negating the Gophers’); “We have been very good up front all year. We have got some pretty salty kids on the offensive and defensive line. Yeah, (Staples-Motley) did a good job taking some of our lineman out on offense … … they held their own. There is a reason why they are here. We just did not come up with as many big plays as they did.” In regards to his team, “Probably the most coachable, unselfish group I have ever had …. … these kids would do anything for the team. They are battlers.” On Staples-Motley’s offense; “They got a lot of moving parts. There are running a lot of motions. For the most part, our kids stayed with it. Just a couple of jump balls that did not go our way. Nobody was extremely wide open. We had decent coverage on them. Their kid was 6’3”, our kids are 5’10. Their kid made two very good plays on the ball in the first half.”
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