Stewartville Football repeats as Class AAA State Champions over Dassel-Cokato, 43-22

(ABC 6 News) — The Stewartville Tigers looked to repeat as State Champions as they faced Dassel-Cokato for the Minnesota Class AAA Football Championship on Saturday.

Stewartville won its first ever State Championship in 2023 while the Chargers looked to claim the Class AAA again after winning it all in 2021.

The Tigers got the party started first at U.S. Bank Stadium, driving all the way to the endzone on their opening drive, Malik Abdi running it in on 3rd & Goal for the touchdown.

Down 7-0, Dassel-Cokato responded in kind, scoring off a pitch to Caleb Smock for a 7-yard touchdown.

The ground game continued to shine as Stewartville’s Dylan Scanlan tore off a 58-yard run to the house, Stewartville missed the 2-point conversion, making the score 13-7 with 1:23 in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Stewartville’s defense managed to get a 4th down stop with 10:40 left, but the Chargers’ defense held strong in the endzone, limiting the Tigers to a field goal, 16-7.

Stewartville flexed its defensive muscles again with a major 4th down at 5:10 mark of the second. Head Coach Garrett Mueller’s bled the clock down to the final seconds of the half trying to punch in another score.

On 4th & Goal, the Tigers managed to break the Chargers line for a rushing touchdown by Parker Wangen. However, it was not without controversy as it took a booth review to determine if Wangen broke the plane or not. Ultimately, there wasn’t enough evidence to turn over the call, so the score stood, making it 23-7, Tigers.

Out of the halftime break, Stewartville padded the lead thanks to a 2-play drive, culminating in a Wellik to Wangen touchdown pass for 30 yards, 29-7, Tigers.

Dylan Scanlan added his second rush TD of the afternoon on 20-yard dash, the ensuing 2-point attempt was good, making the game 37-7 in Stewartville’s favor.

Wangen added his third total TD of the day later in the 4th as Stewartville finished the job, repeating as Class AAA Champions once again, 43-14, the final.

ABC 6 News will update this article with more information.