After a year's hiatus from The Prep Bowl, the Rochester Lourdes Eagles returned to the Class AAA championship game and got two touchdowns from Jake Groteboer that included the game winner with :25 left to play which led them to a 42-35 win over the St. Croix Lutheran Crusaders Saturday afternoon at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
It was the fourth state title for the Eagles and their first since 2014 in their 12th trip to state.
In the first quarter, Carter Greguson set the tables for Rochester Lourdes by intercepting an Isaac Tietz pass and the Eagles cashed in with an 11 yard touchdown pass from Noah Hillman to Matthew Ustby to put them ahead 6-0.
The second quarter went back and forth like traffic going down the West St. Paul section of Robert St. The Crusaders would strike first on a 31 yard touchdown pass from Tietz to Garett Maag. Greguson would play a big role in the Eagles next score as he picked up his second interception and scored on a 24 yard run up the middle. Mike Stern would score for St. Croix Lutheran on a two yard run with 1:29 left in the first half. Both teams would tally in the first half's final minute. Greguson would score his second touchdown on a 30 yard pass from Hillman with :35 to go for the Eagles and the Crusaders would end the half with a one yard touchdown run from Daniel Rust. The halftime score was all even at 21.
The score would stay tied in the third quarter as both teams would score a touchdown. Rochester Lourdes got their score that started when Chol Angok recovered a St. Croix Lutheran fumble and finished with Groteboer's second touchdown, an eight yard run. Rust would score his second touchdown as time expired in the third quarter on a four yard run. It was 28-28 at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Hillman also excelled on defense, intercepting Tietz's pass at the Eagle one yard line. He would later put Rochester Lourdes ahead with a 66 yard keeper touchdown. The Crusaders would tie the game at 35 as Rust scored his third touchdown on a 37 yard run with 5:29 left in regulation time. Would there be a championship overtime game since the Class AA final in 2014? Not according to Eagle head coach Mike Kesler's trickery. Hillman threw a completion to Ed Caples, who lateraled to Pat Leary and Leary threw to Greguson and he was brought down at the Crusader five yard line. On the next play, Greguson scored the eventual game winning touchdown. St. Croix Lutheran had a chance tosend the game into overtime or go for the win but Tietz fumbled and it was recovered by Angok to clinch the win.
Hillman was 12 for 16 for 270 yards and had 102 rushing yards for the Eagles. Greguson caught five passes for 127 yards. The Crusaders were led by Rust's 17 carries for 134 yards and Stern had 23 carries for 109 yards.
Rochester Lourdes ended their season with a 13-0 record and St. Croix Lutheran concluded their season at 12-1.
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