Football: SG, FC, and Chatfield Win District Titles

The last week of the regular season had football teams cinching up district titles. Spring Grove took the South-East courtesy of a huge ranked-versus-ranked win over Lanesboro. Fillmore Central romped to the Mid-Southeast Blue title. Chatfield got out of Goodhue with a win to ensure the Southeast-White title.

Spring Grove Defense Shows up for State-Ranked Showdown with Burros

Defense delivered as #5 in 9-Man Spring Grove defeated #2 Lanesboro, 28-6, in a regular-season finale that decided the 2022 East Sub-District championship. It was the Lions’ first regular-season title in four years. The Burros were unable to defend their 2021 championship. Both high-powered offenses came in averaging over 40 points per game. Both faced their stiffest defensive test. Each defense achieved a goal, but the balanced Lion attack was able to compensate. The Lanesboro secondary did not allow receivers to get past them for a long, lightning-strike touchdown pass. But Spring Grove quarterback Elijah Solum was efficient (10 of 14, 71% passing, 141 yards, 2 TDs passing) with no interceptions and only one early sack. Tysen Grinde (6-73 receiving) caught both TD receptions (4 yards, 7 yards). Caleb Griffin (3-51 receiving) had the longest gainer, a 41-yarder down to the Burro 7 yard-line. Solum, the sub-district leader in total offense, was also the game’s leading rusher (9-83 rushing). Hunter Holland (14-66 rushing) scored both Lion rushing TDs (4-yards, 1-yard). It was a typical balanced attack for the Lions who gained 152 yards on the ground and 141 through the air. Grove had 11 plays go for double-digit yardage (including seven runs). With blocking up front from Ty Cleven, Brandon Jahnke, Logan Brumm and Ethan Crouch, the Lions outgained LHS 293 yards to 169. While the Lanesboro defense did not allow the Lions to execute one of their usual long-pass touchdowns, the Spring Grove “D” did not permit the Burros to enjoy any of their big-play runs. Only three Lanesboro plays went for double-digit yardage. Two, a 23-yard pass from Mason Howard to Luke Ruen and a 10-yard scamper by Howard, came late during the lone Burro scoring drive. On fourth-and-goal, Orion Sass then scored from one yard out. Sass (20-49 rushing), the sub-district’s leading rusher (1,177 yards), had little room to run. Howard rushed for 50 yards on 17 carries

and completed 5 of 9 passes for 48 yards. Ruen caught three for 40 yards. SG linebacker Jacob Olerud had 16 tackles, Solum 10 stops, Noah Blackburn 10, and Griffin nine. Lanesboro had three promising drives but did not score until trailing 28-0 in the fourth. After Cole Sass forced a Lion fumble near midfield on the opening kickoff, Lanesboro ran 13 plays before running out of downs at the Lion 11. Trailing by two touchdowns at halftime, the Burros began the second half with another 13-play possession that ran out of downs at the Lion 32. Two LHS possessions ended with fumbles. Spring Grove did not take advantage of its best opportunity. The lone Lion possession to begin in Burro territory came when Ethan Crouch fell on a fumble at the Lanesboro 32. Grove gained only six yards in four plays. But after running only five plays in the first period, Spring Grove took advantage of a short 15-yard Burro punt and went 55 yards in only five plays to lead 7-0 early in the second quarter. A 60-yard drive made it 14-0 at halftime. The Lions then went 78 yards in six plays for a 21-0 lead in the third quarter. On the first play of the fourth quarter, SG completed a three-play, 53-yard scoring blitz to make it 28-0. SG (8-0, 8-0) is Section 9-Man’s 1-seed, will host 8-seed Houston (1-7). Lanesboro (6-1, 7-1) is the 2-seed, will host 7-seed Southland (1-7).

#1 Gophers Escape Dodge, Down Goodhue 28-20

It was the tortoise versus the hair offensively. Goodhue took their time. Top-ranked Chatfield scored quickly with lightning-fast Sam Backer. And despite the Gophers running 25 offensive plays to Goodhue’s 71, and the Wildcats racking up 16 first downs to Chatfield’s eight, the Gophers prevailed to claim their second straight Southeast-White title. Up 28-20 with around two minutes to play, Chatfield stopped Goodhue on three straight plays all from the Gopher five-yard line. Kail Schott halted a run play for zero yards on 2nd and two. Luke Carrier deflected a third and two pass. Carrier, Blake Thompson, and Isaac Stevens all got pressure to force an incompletion on a fourth down. The Gophers then ran out the clock, to get out of Dodge with the 28-20 win. The Wildcats led 14-6 at halftime. Goodhue ran 39 offensive plays to Chatfield’s 12 in the first half. The Gophers had three turnovers, two on the very

first play of a series. Goodhue opened the game with a 17-play, 65-yard trek that ate up 8:35 off the clock. The Wildcats converted three third and mediums and a fourth and eight. It ended with a Gavin Schafer 17-yard TD run. It was one of four 10-plus-play Wildcat drives. Chatfield didn’t lead until early in the third. After a fumble, Sam Backer dashed 32-yards to the Wildcat four, then scored a 2-yard TD run. A conversion run made it 16-14 Gophers. After a defensive stop, Backer sped 80-yards to glory, taking advantage of blocks by Carter Daniels and Cole Johnson. The conversion failed, leaving it a one-score game, 22-14. But Goodhue scored on their next possession early in the fourth. They went 79 yards in 10 plays. A Will Opsahl to Carson Roschen 8-yard TD pass on 4th and one made it 22-20. The conversion play was blown up the Carrier, leaving it a two-point game (7:59). Backer then again scored quickly, fielding the ensuing kick-off and heading up the left side of the field, then reversing ground and outsprinting everyone for a 79-yard return TD. Chatfield’s conversion failed, leaving the score 28-20, setting up Chatfield’s late defensive stop and clock grinding. The game was a contrast to last year’s meetings won 40-15 and 46-15 by the Gophers. The latter was the 1AA title game. Backer amassed most of the Gophers offensive stats (16-280, 3 TDs rushing, 76-yard kick-off return TD). In addition to his 80-yard TD run and 79-yard kick-off return TD, he had 57-yard TD run in the second quarter on the Gopher’s first play of a series. Chatfield completed just one pass. Goodhue put forth a game effort, led by Opsahl (15 of 27, 190 yards, 2 TDs passing), Adam Poncelet (4-106 receiving), Roschen (6-62, 2 TDs receiving), Malakye Parker (23-91 rushing), and Schafer (16-50 rushing). The White champion #1 in AA Gophers (6-0, 8-0) are 1AA’s 1-seed. They get a quarterfinal bye. Cotter decided not to play. Backer went over 6,400 career yards rushing which is third in Minnesota rushing history. He surpassed Spring Grove’s Alex Folx (6,247) with his effort versus Goodhue. Tyler Evans (7,503) of McLeod West and Jason Williamson (7,009) of Owatonna are one and two. Backer also unofficially has 108 total career TDs. He is amongst very select company in that department too.

42-Point First Quarter Propels #3 FC to MSE-Blue Title

The deck was stacked in Fillmore Central’s favor to win the Mid-Southeast-Blue heading into their season finale. Chris Mensink’s Falcons (6-0, 7-0) came in undefeated, while foe Cotter (1-5, 1-6) has struggled to find wins. FC left no doubt early, scoring 42 first quarter points. FC started the game with offensive scores on its first three possessions. Jake Fishbaugher’s 23-yard TD run capped the first. Bryce Corson (12-yard run) and

chatfieldMabel-Canton’s Robert Michels carries a Southland defender for yardage in the teams’ South-East sub-district finale. The short-handed Cougars got the 22-16 win, capping off a 6-2 regular season (their best since 2016). Michels and Cayden Tollefsrud each ran for over 100 yards in the game.
Photo by Heather KleiboerKyle Daniels (3-yard TD run) capped the next too. The defense (Lincoln Iverson) then blocked a punt and Garrett Gossman recovered it, returning it 16 yards for a TD. The special teams then scored, as Corson returned a punt 48 yards to paydirt. A Jacob Mandelko TD run (9-yards) capped the massive quarter. The Falcons cruised to a 69-21 victory. FC needed to complete just one pass. Eleven different Falcons recorded a carry. Ten had 20 or more yards: Anthony Kiehne (6-99 rushing), Josh Haugerud (6-51, TD rushing), Corson (4-41, TD rushing), Noah Rothering (4-40 rushing, 10-yard reception), Mandelko (4-35, 2 TDs rushing), Kane Larson (6-30 rushing), Daniels (2-26, TD rushing), Fishbaugher (23-yard TD run), Tyson Sprenger (3-21, TD rushing), and Cody Serfling (2-20, TD rushing). FC had 388 yards on the ground. The Falcons (7-0, 8-0) clinched the MSE-Blue over Faribault B.A. (6-1, 6-2), which beat Rushford-Peterson (5-2, 6-2) in week eight. The Falcons have won every game by at least 14 points. They are averaging 41 PPG. Class A third-ranked FC is the #1-seed and will get a first-round forfeit from 8-seed W-K (0-8). Corson had 18 non-passing TDs. O’Connor has thrown 20 TDs.

Knights Post Best Season in Over a Decade

It’s a middling season; 4-4. For most teams, it would be nothing to stop an eye at. Kingsland football hasn’t been like most teams for 11 years. The Knights’ last .500 finish to a regular season came in 2010. Under Coach Matt Kolling, the lead player from maybe Kingsland’s best ever team, the Knights have ascended back to respectability. Just ask their week eight foe Grand Meadow. Kingsland ended the season with a bang, rolling past the Larks in a track meet, 68-32! The Knights scored the first 22 points of the game and then never led by less than 16. They scored 22 points in the first and second quarters to lead 44-18 at intermission. Thousand-yard-plus back Beau Wiersma led the way with another huge game (20-201, 4 TDs rushing). All four scores came in the first half. The Knights also got two kickoff return TDs in the first half. Acelee Kohn returned the opening kick-off 70-yards. Kaaleem Reiland returned a second quarter kick-off 75-yards. Ayden Howard (5-65, TD rushing, 3-85, TD receiving) also had big game. Kale Mensink (9 of 17, 136 yards, TD passing) helped. Caden Reiter added a 62-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. GM was led by dual-purpose QB Corbin Ludemann, who carried a heavy load (30-207, 3 TDs rushing, 10 of 21, 95 yards, 2 TDs, INT passing). He had his hand in all five GM scores. Connor Munson (4-40, 2 TDs receiving) caught both TD passes. Jace Kraft (5-19 rushing, 3-32 receiving) chipped in some offense. It was a slight upset, as Kingsland (3-3, 3-4) came in below the Larks (4-2, 5-2) in the standings. GM had won three in a row. The Knights (4-3, 4-4) move up to 11-man for the playoffs. They are 1A’s 7-seed, will play at 2-seed Faribault B.A. (6-2). GM (4-3, 5-3) is Section 1 9-Man’s 4-seed, will host 5-seed L/P (4-4).