Komets, Cardinals, Gophers advance to State Title Games

(ABC 6 News) – Three area teams looked to punch their ticket to State Football Championship games at US Bank Stadium Thursday.

It was a big day for the community of LeRoy-Ostrander as students, parents, and fans alike made their presence known in Minneapolis.

The (10-2) Cardinals took on the (10-2) Kittson County Central Bearcats in the Class 9-man state semi-finals Thursday morning. Cardinals Chase Johnson helped carry his team with a huge day on the ground netting 229 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Tanner Olsoon also found his way into the end zone with two touchdowns of his own, along with 111 yards. Meanwhile, the Cardinals defense held the Bearcats to 191 yards and recovered two fumbles.

The Cardinals advance to their first Prep Bowl since runner-up finishes in 1993 and 1995 Kittson County Central 49-0.

Leroy-Ostrander will face the winner of Fertile-Beltrami/Hills-Beaver Creek in the Class 9-Man State Finals on Saturday, November 27 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

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(ABC 6 News) – In Class 2A, Chatfield Gophers faced Barnesville Trojans in a tightly contested semi-final game at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Barnesville opened the game with two first-quarter scoring drives, leading the Gophers 12 -0. Chatfield capped off a late 2nd quarter drive with a 3-yard rushing touchdown from Sam Backer to pull the Gophers within a score. Backer had 69 yards and one touchdown on the day.

The second half was an explosive through the air for quarterback Parker Delaney, who had two touchdowns, netting a total of 175 yards.

Delaney found Isaac Erding for a 32-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

A late 4th quarter touchdown pass from 47 yards to Luke Carrier with just over 2 minutes left helped seal the game for the Gophers.

Gophers advance to the Prep Bowl in a close one beating Barnesville 22-18. Gophers will be without Sam Backer after being tossed from the game in the third quarter after collecting his second unsportsmanlike penalty.

Gophers will face the winner of West Central-Maple River in the Class 2A State Finals on Friday, November 26 at 1 p.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium.

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(ABC 6 News) – In Class 4A, the Kasson-Mantorville Komets took on No. 1 Becker Bulldogs in the state in the semi-final game on Thursday at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Becker looked to flex its muscle by pushing out to a 10 zero lead thanks to a 7yard touchdown pass to Logan Eisele from quarterback Ryan Bengston

The bulldogs had its sights on playing in the state championship, that is until the 4th quarter, when Komets Matthew Donovan tacked on two red-zone rushing touchdowns to tie the game at 17-17.

Donovan went 7 for 18 with 66 yards and a touchdown through the air, as well as a dominating 134 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground.

Trailing 20 to 17 late in the game, Donovan marched the Komets down the field inside the red zone with just under 30 seconds remaining. Donovan would then hit senior running back Brooks Buchanan for a 7-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-20 KoMets with just nine seconds left in the game, to propel Kasson-Mantorville the victory.

KoMets advance to their first Prep Bowl upsetting Becker 24-20 in dramatic fashion, and will face the winner of Friday’s Orono/Hutchinson game in the Class 4A State Finals on Friday, November 26 at 4 p.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium.

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Rushford-Peterson will take on Minneota in Class A semi-final game at 9 a.m.on Saturday, November 20. In Class 3A Plainview-Elgin-Millville faces Annandale at 2 p.m.on Saturday, November 20, as both teams look to make it a clean sweep for section 1 teams to reach the championship games.