Spring Grove, according to head football coach Kody Moore, “kept the state tournament tradition alive.” The 13-1, state runner-up season was surprising to some casual observers, considering the 2022 Lions were coming off a 3-5 record in 2021. But those close to the program, especially the coaching staff with state tournament experience, realized that potential was present. And that previous losing record was more the exception than the rule, being the only sub-.500 campaign in the last 13 years.
Photo by Lee Epps
While last season’s (2021) district frontrunners, including the state champion, had experienced heavy graduation losses, Spring Grove returned three All-District skill-position standouts on a highly experienced squad. So, the Lions figured to be a sub-district contender, but could they become a contender for state honors, too?
Moore said this group of Lions, who were middle school age when they witnessed the Spring Grove state titles of 2017 and 2018, set a goal to make it back to state. What’s more, they had the dedication during the off-season. Early-morning workouts in the weight room would eventually result in the physical strength needed compete on the big stage (U. S. Bank Stadium). And it was a group effort. Moore told the Post Bulletin, “This team was as tight-knit as it gets. It was a big family; it was a bunch of brothers working their tails off with one goal in mind.”
Prior to the season, Moore expressed the need for more physicality and after the season, credited physicality with the improved performance in the line on both offense and defense. And there was more depth than usual in the trenches; not everyone would have to play every down on both offense and defense. Credit seniors Ty Cleven, Logan Brumm, Cooper Olson and Noah Blackburn along with junior Ethan Crouch plus sophomores Emmet Engeldinger and Brandon Jahnke.
Moore noted the strides achieved on defense. “The greatest improvement we made was in our run defense. We play a lot of great power running teams, and we were extremely stout throughout the entire season.”
However, Spring Grove again became a running threat, too. The passing attack was proven. But in the previous season, only 27% of the offensive yardage had come on the ground. This fall, with improved blocking up front, it was back to a balanced attack with the ground game supplying 47% of the yardage. In the eight-game 2021 season, SG rushed for a total of 507 yards. A year later, after eight games, the Lions had more than tripled that total with 1,562 rushing yards.
Overall, there were 42 rushing touchdowns and 39 passing scores. On offense, the boys came up big on big downs. They improved their third-down efficiency to 49% from the previous year’s 33%.
That physicality surely contributed to the drastic improvement in turnover margin, from a program-worst minus-17 to this year’s plus-11. The defense recovered 18 enemy fumbles, compared to only four the year before. The Lion “D” intercepted 12 passes, compared to only three the previous season.
The Lions roared unscathed through the first 13 games before coming up a half-minute and just extra-points short in the 9-man state championship game, 28-25. That was the only Spring Grove contest to be competitive until the end. True, it had been close in the fourth quarter of the state semi-final, but it ended up with Spring Grove winning by three touchdowns, 27-6.
Until the final 25 seconds in Minneapolis, the Boys in Black trailed only three times all year – twice by one point early in a game. Their greatest deficit was 6-0 in that state semi-final, but two minutes and 21 seconds later, SG led 14-6. One reason the Grove guys rarely trailed was they scored on their first possession in 11 of the 14 games, including the Prep Bowl. They scored on their first three possessions in five games.
It began with, a 60-30 win in the highest-scoring game ever played versus Houston. Next was the 15th straight victory over Lyle/Pacelli, 48-20, followed by the 18th consecutive win against Mabel-Canton, 56-14.
The Lions then snapped a four-game losing streak to Grand Meadow, 47-16, and then ended a two-game slide versus Southland, 33-14, and a three-game losing streak to defending state champion LeRoy-Ostrander, 50-21.
Grove has won all four games played against Kingsland, this year, 41-20. The Lions had dropped two in a row to defending sub-district champion Lanesboro before downing the Burros, 28-6, in this year’s state-ranked, sub-district showdown between teams with 7-0 records.
There were three rematches in the Section One Tournament. It was an 18th straight win versus Houston, 48 -16, before the Lions eliminated Grand Meadow, 47-6. In the title game, again a state-ranked matchup, the Lions defeated Lanesboro, 25-0.
With a No. 3 state ranking, Spring Grove traveled to St. Paul for the state quarterfinal, a 40-22 win over once-defeated, state-ranked No. 8 Hancock. The next stop was U. S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis and the exciting 27-6 state semi-final victory over previously undefeated, state-ranked No. 2 Fertile-Beltrami. It was back to “the Bank” for the state championship Prep Bowl against undefeated, state-ranked No. 4 Mountain Iron-Buhl. The Lions never trailed until the final 25 seconds of the game ultimately decided on the scoreboard by extra points, 28-25.
After the game, Moore said he told the team, “When you look back on this season 15 to 20 years from now, you will remember all the great memories from this season. Most kids only ever get to dream about playing in a state championship game … There were a lot of young football players in the stands watching this game and will be hungry to do what you guys did.”
It was the third season as head coach for Moore, who had been the offensive coordinator calling plays during the state championship seasons in 2017 and 2018. The successful 2022 campaign was the Lions’ 12th regular-season championship, fifth section title/ trip to state and third time in the state championship Prep Bowl.
The emphasis of this article is the team. Individual players will be highlighted in upcoming awards coverage.
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