Football: Field Goal Propels #1 Chatfield to State Over #8 Caledonia

Caledonia. Chatfield. Football. Not much more has to be said. A match-up of the #1 Gophers (1-seed, 10-0) and #8 Warriors (2-seed, 8-2) in the 1AA title game marked the fifth such meeting since 2012. All four previous victors won state titles. The teams combined own eight (Cal 6, Chat 2) of the nines title (competed) since 2012 (2020 didn’t have one). Field goal. Erickson’s is not the only big one in Chatfield history. It might not even be the biggest against Caledonia in a 1AA final. A slobber knocker of a game was decided by an unheralded senior specialist making a field goal. Jacob Erickson’s name will live next to, most recently Nate Skare, in Chatfield playoff kicking lore. And Chatfield’s defense sported another big defensive stand close to that in 2013 versus the Warriors. And yet, Caledonia was so close, maybe a half yard away? The first half was scoreless. The Gophers best starting field position was their own 20. Caledonia didn’t record a first down until its final drive. There were 11 combined penalties, including one negating a long Gopher TD. Neither team made the red zone. In the third, after recovering a fumble on Chatfield’s second offensive play, Caledonia marched 35 yards. On 4th and goal from the one, Carter Daniels was key to stopping an Eric Mauss run. The Gopher defense stood firm at the ½ yard line. One play later, Sam Backer went 99 ½ yards for the game’s first score and a 7-0 lead! But the Warriors replied, going 74 yards in 11 plays. Senior RB Ayden Goetzinger had six carries for 39 yards. Ethan Stendel’s one-yard plunge made it 7-6. Cal went for two, and got it, a Goetzinger run. With 1:04 left in the third, the Warriors led 8-7. On their next possession, a Warrior pooch-punt was blocked by Kail Schott and recovered at the Cal 16. The Warrior defense held. On 4th and three from

the 10, Erickson came in. The senior (former starting QB) who missed most of last year to a torn ACL nailed a 27-yard field goal to make it 10-8 Chatfield (6:54 left). Caledonia’s next possession made Gopher territory but was hampered by penalties and ended when Luke Carrier sacked Lewis Doyle, forcing a fumble Jackson Schild recovered. Caledonia’s last series started at the 11 with 1:01 left and no timeouts. It didn’t get far. In a defensive game, Chatfield claimed its second straight 1AA title, 10-8. Backer (22-213, TD rushing) led the Gophers. He was limited by his standards (21-114) other than the 99-yarder. Chatfield completed just one pass. Schott (12-46 rushing) helped on the ground. Caledonia stayed mostly on the ground, led by Goetzinger (21-78 rushing). They completed seven passes for 50 yards. Caleb Conniff caught four for 39 yards. The teams had 76 combined rush attempts. Chatfield had 258 yards offense, Caledonia 202. But the teams combined for 21 penalties for over 200 yards. The Gophers had two TDs called back. The Warriors had 13 penalties for 130 yards. Jeff Johnson’s Gophers (11-0) move on to face Blue Earth Area (9-2). Carl Fruechte’s Warriors finish at 8-3. Their three losses were to #1 Chatfield twice and 1AAA champ #5 Cannon Falls (10-1).