Spring Grove football extended winning ways with an 8-3 record (5-2 sub-district) and second straight appearance in the 9-player section championship game. It was at the 13th winning record in the last 14 seasons. But it was not easy with nearly half (five of 11) of the games decided by single-digit margins. The Lions earned a winning record by prevailing in four of those five close encounters. The Boys in Black greatly depended on defense while overcoming fumbles, turnovers and injuries. Their early-season No. 2 state ranking was a holdover from the previous 13-win, state-runner-up season. Two of the three Lion losses in 2023 came against this year’s eventual state runner-up Kingsland.
File photo by Lee Epps
It was a season of high expectations, but also with unexpected uncertainty after injury and surgeries struck a pair of offensive/defensive starters, junior lineman Emmet Engeldinger and All-State senior Elijah Solum, before the first kickoff. Mid-season injuries eliminated others, including starting center Shawn Crouch.
Solum, the Lion MVP who broke three school passing records, attracted statewide attention as the state’s most-respected 9-man quarterback while running and passing Spring Grove to a state runner-up finish as a junior. He was also the team’s leading tackler.
Quarterbacking was thus a preseason concern, but despite another injury, there would be strong production at that position. Junior signal-caller Bryce Berns stepped into the varsity spotlight with the program’s ninth-best season of total offense (1,843 yards), averaging 73 yards rushing (8 TDs) and 125 yards passing (9 TDs) in his eight complete games at quarterback. Berns finished with 1,256 yards passing with twice as many touchdowns (10) as interceptions (5). After his injury during game nine, Jaxon Strinmoen went from catching passes to throwing passes and averaged 185 yards rushing through the Lions’ last two victories. He passed for 234 yards and five touchdowns with a solid 55% completion percentage down the 3-game stretch.
The Lion offense was too often hobbled by fumbles and turnovers. With five more turnovers than takeaways, the Lions had a rare season (only twice in last 15 years) with a negative turnover ratio. The boys averaged 3.5 fumbles a game. They were lethal in the low point of the season when Mabel-Canton ended an 18-game losing streak against Spring Grove. The Cougars had no fumbles, no turnovers in the 20-12 upset of state-ranked Lions, who were saddled with seven fumbles, two lost, and the season’s first interception adding up to three turnovers. Later in the playoffs, Grove won the turnover battle 3 to 2 and the Mabel-Canton rematch, 32-6.
In addition to that redemptive postseason decision against the Cougars, another high-point of the season was the 27-20 section semi-final win at state-ranked No. 9 LeRoy-Ostrander. The Lions and Cardinals had not met during the regular season, but due to the Lion loss at Mabel-Canton, L-O had finished as sub-district runner-up (6-1) with Spring Grove (5-2) in third place. Likewise for the playoffs, the Cards received the No. 2 section seed and hosted No. 3 seed Spring Grove on a cold snowy afternoon. The Lions overcame three turnovers but won the turnover battle, 3 to 4, with a trio of interceptions, two by Zach Brumm. The seven-point win sent Spring Grove into the section championship game for a second straight season.
But the ensuing rematch with sub-district champion Kingsland confirmed the Knights as the juggernaut of this season – the best team in the section and sub-district. In the regular-season game, Spring Grove had contended well early (trailing only 16-13 at halftime) before suffering a 38-13 setback. In the section rematch at Austin, the Lions led, 7-6, but Kingsland would earn the state-tournament berth with a 44-14 final count.
Kingsland was the only team that the Spring Grove defense could not contain, but no other squad defended as well. The 38 points scored against Spring Grove were the fewest for the Knights as they headed into the state tournament, averaging 51 points per game. After a 40-34 shootout season-opening win versus Mabel-Canton, Kingsland waltzed through the rest of the regular season and the section tournament by blowout margins.
The Lions allowed only 16.8 points per game, but leaving out the two Kingsland encounters, the Grove guys limited their other opponents to a meager 11.4 points per game. The Lion defense benefited when Lanesboro and LeRoy-Ostrander self-destructed with critical red-zone penalties. Defense was enough in a pair one-score decisions. The Lions needed only 13 points to sneak past Southland, 13-12, and Lanesboro, 13-8. They needed another touchdown to edge Houston, 20-18, and yet another to upend LeRoy-Ostrander, 27-20.
The season began with the longest regular-season road trip in program history – an intriguing matchup and satisfying 28-7 victory at Mountain Lake Area. The defense allowed no points with the Wolverine touchdown coming on a kick return. A young MLA squad would finish at 5-5 in the Section 3 semi-finals. The Lions had walloped the Wolverines, 40-18, in the 2018 state championship game.
Spring Grove would add a third straight win over both Grand Meadow, 34-12, and Lanesboro, 13-8. The Lions blanked Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons, 35-0, with Spring Grove now having handily taken both games against the shared program. Previously, Spring Grove had won all 13 games versus G-E and all four against A-C. The 20-18 close call at Houston made 19 straight for the Lions in that series. The exciting 27-20 win at LeRoy-Ostrander evened that series at 14 wins apiece. The 13-12 win over Southland was the second straight for SG in a series the Rebels lead, 12 to 5. It was the first two losses to Kingsland with the Lions leading that series, 4 to 2.
Spring Grove was no longer the “Beast of the East” (sub-district), but finished among the top three. Five valuable 2023 starters plus 2022 All-State Solum will graduate. Reinforcements will come from a B-team that went 4-1.
———————————————-
Spring Grove Varsity Football 2023
8-3 (5-2 East Sub-District)
W at Mountain Lake Area 28-7
W vs. Southland 13-12
W vs. Grand Meadow 34-12
W at Lanesboro 13-8
W vs. Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons 35-0
L at Mabel-Canton 12-20
L vs. Kingsland 13-38
W at Houston 20-18
SECTION #3 seed
W vs, #6 Mabel-Canton 32-6
W at #2 LeRoy-Ostrander 27-20
L vs. #1 Kingsland 14-44
——————
Spring Grove B-team Football 2023
4 wins -1 loss
W at Kingsland 14-6
W vs. Lanesboro 44-0
W at Southland 36-14
W vs. Grand Meadow 12-8
L at Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons 20-30
——————
Spring Grove Junior High Football 2023
2 wins, 4 losses
W at Kingsland 33-13
L vs. Lanesboro 19-26
L at Southland 13-26
L at Mabel-Canton 19-26
W vs. Grand Meadow 42-0
L at Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons 6-13
Leave a Reply