Spring Grove scored early and often and never trailed Mountain Iron-Buhl until the final 25 seconds of the 9-man state championship football game on Dec. 3 at U. S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Ultimately, the 28-25 Ranger win, was decided by extra points with the Lions going 1 for 4 and MIB 2 for 4. When state-ranked No. 3 Spring Grove soared out to a 19-0 first quarter lead, it did not appear extra points would be a factor. No. 4 MIB overcame five turnovers but rallied by scoring in the fading seconds of each half.
Photo by Paul Trende
Despite four early turnovers, MIB trailed only 19-14 after scoring on back-to-back possessions, the latter a 20-yard TD pass just six seconds before intermission. Later, still down by five, 25-20, an interception gave the Rangers the ball with 3:20 remaining in the game, needing to go 58 yards to take the lead. It took eight plays, all rushing, with Damian Tapio scoring from the 11 to make it 26-25 before adding the two-point conversion pass with 0:25 on the clock. SG completed 2 of 4 passes before time expired.
Each team operated out of a shotgun spread formation with a running and passing quarterback wearing a No. 2 jersey, who led his team in rushing. Lion signal-caller Elijah Solum passed for 186 yards (17 for 35, 1 TD) and rushed for 80 yards (15 carries, 2 TD). For MIB, Asher Zubich passed for 157 yards (11 for 22, 2 TD) and rushed for 129 (28 carries). Each was intercepted twice; Zubich was sacked once (by Zach Brumm).
On the game’s first possession, Solum completed 5 of 7 passes before scoring on foot from the 5 yard-line. Four plays later, Solum forced a fumble recovered by Noah Blackburn. On the next play, Solum hit a wide-open Tysen Grinde (6 catches, 102 yards) with a 43-yard TD pass for a 13-0 lead. When MIB fumbled a punt return, Brandon Jahnke recovered at the Ranger 20. Two plays later, it was the carry of the game when Hunter Holland (12 carries, 74 yards) broke several tackles while running 14 yards to the end zone for the 19-0 lead. SG had added two touchdowns with only three offensive plays.
But after scoring on three of their first four possessions, the Lions scored on only one of their final 10. Their fourth TD was much like the previous two, coming soon after a Ranger fumble. Only two plays after Solum recovered a fumble at the Ranger 24. Solum scored on a 12-yard run to create a little breathing room with a 25-14 lead. But SG’s next possession ended on downs at MIB 37. One play later, Zubich passed 63 yards to Riley Busch and suddenly, it was 25-20.
Two late MIB threats were both foiled both by Jaxon Strinmoen, who first broke up a fourth-down pass and then ended the next threat with an interception at the goal line at 6:25. But the Lion offense would not be able to run out the clock or stop the Rangers on their game-clinching drive.
The Lions averaged 5.1 yards per play and the Rangers 5.3. Overall, MIB outgained SG by only 50 yards (378 to 328), but when the Rangers did not have turnovers, they converted 9 of 13 third downs. SG managed only 3 for 11 on third downs.
The MIB pass defense, after giving up the early long TD toss, finished with two interceptions and 10 pass break-ups. Each team gave up only two big-yardage plays. The Lion ”D” featured Solum (17 tackles), Jacob Olerud (12) and Grinde (8). Strinmoen and Caleb Griffin had interceptions.
Not to be overlooked was Tapio blocking the second Spring Grove point-after kick. Thereafter, the Lions opted to go for two-point conversions, coming up short on a run and a pass. Had the Lions successfully kicked all four extra points, it might have been 28-28 and on to overtime.
The Lions opened with a long 77-yard sustained touchdown drive that consumed 12 plays, more than twice as many needed for their last three touchdowns combined. Spring Grove took advantage of good field position after three MIB fumbles. Those TD drives covered 43, 20 and 24 yards, needing only five plays combined.
After Griffin’s outstanding interception of a long pass at the Lion 7 yard-line, the Lions were not able to drive the ball out of their own end of the field. They punted out to their 41 and later held on downs – again taking possession at the 7. The second punt put MIB in business at the Lion 33, setting up the first Ranger TD. MIB then forced another SG punt and drove 59 yards in 6 plays to make it 19-14 at halftime. LIon head coach Kody Moore said the touchdown just before halftime changed the momentum, “They just made some adjustments and got the momentum back in the second quarter.”
The Rangers’ only lightning strike was a 1-play, 63-yard TD medium-range pass and run to make it 25-20. It appeared routine as MIB rolled 58 yards in eight rushing plays to take the lead for the first time with only 25 seconds to play. MIB closed at 13-0. SG at 13-1.
It would be an emotional finish, win or lose, especially for the seven Spring Grove seniors. Lineman Ty Cleven said “It didn’t end up the way we wanted it to, but I’ll remember this moment for the rest of my life,”
It was the fifth state tournament appearance and third time in the Prep Bowl for Spring Grove with state championships in 2017 and 2018. It was the ninth state appearance for Mountain Iron-Buhl co-op after three trips for Mountain Iron (only). It has been a half century since the only state crown, achieved in the very first tourney appearance for Mountain Iron in 1972.
Extra points
The three-point loss was reminiscent of Spring Grove’s first state tourney, when in the 2003 semi-finals at the Metrodome, the Lions led 16-0 in the fourth quarter before falling late by three points, 19-16. Extra points were in Spring Grove’s favor that time, but Hillcrest Lutheran had three touchdowns to the Lions’ two. In the second trip to state, there was a controversial, 8-7 extra-point loss to Wheaton/Herman-Norcross in the 2011 quarterfinals.
There was an extra-points 36-35 victory in 2017 versus Cleveland/Immanuel Lutheran in the Section One championship finals. The Lions then claimed the state crown by roaring through three state tournament games by wide margins: 34-6, 27-7 and 32-0.
On the way to the 2018 repeat state title, the Lions edged Russel-Tyler-Ruthton, 27-26, in the unforgettably frigid state quarterfinals at New Ulm. SG won the semi-finals 48-12 and then the Prep Bowl vs. Mountain Lake, 40-18.
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PREP BOWL 2022 (3 Dec. 2022
#3 Spring Grove 25, #4 Mountain Iron-Buhl 28
Records: SG 13-1, MIB 13-0
SG 19 0 6 0 = 25
MIB 0 14 0 14 = 28
Team totals
YARDAGE (rush+pass): SG 328 (142+186); MIB 378 (221+157)
RUSHING: att.-yards (avg.): SG 28-142 (5.1) 3TD; MIB 48-221 (4.6) TD +PAT
PASSES: comp-att-int, yds. (TD): SG 17-36-2, 186, TD; MIB 11-23-2, 157, 2TD + PAT
Sacks allowed: SG 0, MIB 1
TD: SG 4 (rush 3, pass 1); MIB 4 (rush 2, pass 2)
PAT: SG 1-4 (1-2 kick, 0-1 rush, 0-1 pass); MIB 2-4 (rush 1-1, pass 1-3)
TOTAL PLAYS: SG 64, MIB 71
AVG. yards per play: SG 5.1, MIB 5.3
FUMBLES – LOST: SG 3-0, MIB 4-3
TURNOVERS: SG 2, MIB 5
PENALTIES: SG 5-51, MIB 3-15
3rd downs: SG 3-11, MIB 9-13
4th downs: SG 0-1, MIB 0-3
Red zone: SG 3-3, MIB 3-5
First downs: SG 20, MIB 24
Plays of 20+ yards: SG 2, MIB 2
LION INDIVIDUALS:
RUSHING 28-141, 3 TD: Elijah Solum 15-80, 2TD; Hunter Holland 12-74, TD; team 1-(-12)
PASSING 17-36-2, 186, TD; Elijah Solum 17-35-2, 186, TD; Caleb Griffin 0-1-0
RECEIVING 17-186, TD: Tysen Grinde 6-102, TD; Ethan Crouch 6-42; Caleb Griffin 2-25; Hunter Holland 1-13; Jaxon Strinmoen 2-4
KICKOFF RETURNS: Caleb Griffin 2-20
PUNT RETURNS: Tysen Grinde 1-5
SCORING 25: Elijah Solum 12, Hunter Holland 6, Tysen Grinde 6, Caleb Griffin 1
PUNTING: Tysen Grinde 50-135 (27.0)
INTERCEPTIONS 2: Caleb Griffin 1, Jaxon Strinmoen 1
PASS BREAKUPS: Jaxon Strinmoen 1, Tysen Grinde 1, Logan Brumm 1
FUMBLES FORCED: Elijah Solum 1
FUMBLE RECOVERIES 3: Brandon Jahnke 1, Noah Blackburn 1, Elijah Solum 1
SACKS: Zach Brumm 1
TACKLES for LOSS (incl. sacks) 4: Tysen Grinde 1.5; Emmet Engeldinger 1.0; Zach Brumm 1.0; Elijah Solum 0.5
TACKLES (solo + assists): Elijah Solum 17 (9+8), Jacob Olerud 12 (8+4), Tysen Grinde 8 (4+4), Zach Brumm 7 (4+3), Caleb Griffin 7 (7+0), Emmet Engeldinger 7 (3+4), Ethan Crouch 6 (3+3), Logan Brumm 5 (5+0), Jaxon Strinmoen 2 (1+1), Noah Blackburn 2 (0+2), Jacob Solum 1 (1+0)
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MIB INDIVIDUALS
RUSHING 48-221, 2TD +PAT: Asher Zubich 28-129; Damian Tapio 17-85, 2TD +PAT; Riley Busch 3-7
PASSING 11-23-2, 157, 2TD +PAT: Asher Zubich 11-22-2, 158, 2TD +PAT; Damian Tapio 0-1-0
RECEIVING 11-158, 2TD +PAT: Riley Busch 3-71, TD +PAT; Nik Jesch 4-49, TD; Damian Tapio 3-23; Braylen Keith 1-14
SCORING 28: Damian Tapio 14, Riley Busch 8, Nik Jesch 6\
PUNTING: Damian Tapio 1-34
INTERCEPTIONS 2: Micaden Clines 2- 9 yards
PASS BREAKUPS 10
BLOCKED PAT: Damian Tapio
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: none
FUMBLES FORCED: none
SACKS: none
KICKOFF RETURNS: 5-93 (18.6)
PUNT RETURNS: 1-5
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Spring Grove football 2021
>>13 wins, 1 loss (8-0 sub-district champion)
W vs. Houston 60-30
W at Lyle/Pacelli 48-20
W vs. Mabel-Canton 56-14
W at Grand Meadow 47-16
W at Southland (Adams) 33-14
W vs. LeRoy-Ostrander 50-21
W at Kingsland 41-20
W vs. Lanesboro 28-6
SECTION
W vs. Houston 48-16
W vs. Grand Meadow 47-6
W vs. Lanesboro 35-0
STATE
W vs. Hancock 40-22
W vs. Fertile-Beltrami 27-6
L vs. Mountain Iron-Buhl 25-28