Saturday, November 30 is a big day of football in Minnesota as the Minnesota Golden Gophers host the Wisconsin Badgers and the 2019 Prep Bowl wraps up at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Here's a preview of the three championship games.
10:00: Nine Man-Hancock vs. Mountain Lake Area. The Hancock Owls make their first trip to the Prep Bowl and fifth state tournament appearance. It will be the Owls second straight game against a team with Mountain in its name. In the semifinals, Hancock routed the Mountain Iron-Buhl Rangers 65-36 as Tyler Timmerman ran for 240 yards and scored three touchdowns. The senior running back has scored eight touchdowns in two state tournament games, including five in the quarterfinals against Renville County West. Can he aim for 10? However, the Owls will have to go up against the top ranked team in Nine Man football almost the entire season, the Mountain Lake Area Wolverines. The Wolverines have scored more than 40 points in all but one game this season, when they beat Hills-Beaver Creek 28-6 in the Section 3 finals. MLA is led by senior quarterback Abraham Stoesz, who threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more in a 45-6 rout of the Win-E-Mac Patriots. The Wolverines also have an outstanding junior running back in Mace Herrig, who reached the end zone three times against the Patriots. It has potential to be a high scoring game between two teams who have an great future ahead with many players returning next season.
1:00: Class AAA-Dassel-Cokato vs. Pierz. The Chargers head down Highway 12 for their first trip to the Prep Bowl and they beat a couple of good teams to clinch a championship berth. They beat the Cannon Falls Bombers in the quarterfinals and the Annandale Cardinals in the semifinals. But it isn't the first time Dassel-Cokato has played for a state title in football. They played in the Class B finals in the inaugural state tournament season of 1972 and lost to Mountain Iron 54-6. The Pioneers began a new era in 2019 after long time head coach Leo Pohlkamp retired. Dan Saehr took over the coaching reigns and Pierz has had a memorable season for the first year mentor, going undefeated. They almost got eliminated in the semifinals, trailing 14-0 against Jackson County Central. But lo and behold, the Pioneers came back with 20 unanswered points, including Michael Leidenfrost's game winning touchdown with 1:19 left in regulation time. Pierz has won the Class AAA title in 2015 and 2017. Can the even numbered year progression continue?
4:00: Class AAAAA-Chaska vs. St. Thomas Academy. The 2019 Prep Bowl concludes with the Chaska Hawks playing in their first state title game since 1974, when they lost to the Alexandria Cardinals in the Class A final 26-7. The Hawks were four points away from an unbeaten regular season, losing to the Rogers Royals 40-36. Chaska is led by quarterback Grif Wurtz and wide receiver Nic Snuggerud. In the backfield, there's Stevo Klotz, who ran for 103 yards and three touchdowns against Coon Rapids in the semifinals. As for the Cadets, it's their second straight trip to the AAAAA finals and they beat the team they lost to last year in the quarterfinals the Owatonna Huskies. St. Thomas Academy used solid defense and got three touchdowns from Danny McFadden to beat the Elk River Elks in the semifinals. Last time the Mendota Heights based school took home a championship trophy was when they won the Class B title by beating the St. Peter Saints 21-14. Since then, the Cadets have gone 0-4 in title games and have a shot to end that drought.
There you have it. Two outstanding days of Minnesota high school football. It could be a Super Football Saturday with a Gopher win and three exciting state final games to wrap up the 2019 Prep Bowl.
No comments:
Post a Comment