Four football teams from SE Minnesota headed to state championship

Winona, Caledonia, Rushford-Peterson and Grand Meadow move on

MINNEAPOLIS — What a season it’s been for football out of the Southeast corner of Minnesota.

Caledonia, Winona, Rushford-Peterson and Grand Meadow high schools are all headed back to U.S. Bank Stadium looking for state championships.

In Class 4A, the sixth-ranked Winhawks (11-1) are in the state title for the first – and only other – time, since it finished the runners-up in 1987. At 4 p.m. Friday, Winona will play unranked Benilde-St. Margaret’s (9-3).

In Class 2A, top-ranked Caledonia (13-0) goes for back-to-back undefeated seasons. At 1 p.m. Friday, the Warriors play fourth-ranked Eden Valley-Watkins (11-1), looking for their ninth state title.

In Class 1A, sixth-ranked R-P looks for its eighth state title. At 10 a.m. Saturday, the Trojans (12-1) play last year’s state runners-up, second-ranked Minneapolis North (12-0).

And, in nine-man, top-ranked Grand Meadow looks for its fourth consecutive state championship and 37th win in a row. At 10 a.m. Friday, the Superlarks (12-0) play second-ranked Cleveland/Immanuel Lutheran (13-0).

RUSHFORD-PETERSON 49, Browerville-Eagle Valley 0

This was all about running back Noah Carlson and, of course, the R-P defense. 

The 6-2, 170-pound senior had 236 yards, four touchdowns … in the first half. He also finished with that because he didn’t play in the second, as the Trojans were up 49-0.

The performance moved Carlson up four spots on the single-season all-time rushing yards list. 

He’s now sixth all-time with 2,592 yards (right). And, unless he has the world’s greatest game ever, he’s not taking down Tyler Evans’ record 3,673 yards set in 2001. He could, however, move past Evans’ second-place record of 2,762 yards in 2000 with a 171-yard game.

Carlson also has 46 total touchdowns on the season (40 rushing), which is likely a record but the MSHSL’s site isn’t up to date.

Carlson scored on runs of 4, 24, 13 and 60 yards – his last carry.

The Trojans forced two fumbles – scored on one of them (Jake Paulson for 42 yards) – and an interception, holding B-EV to 244 total yards. They also got a 59-yard punt return for a touchdown by Lukas Rasmussen.

https://t.co/UMxWwsgltZ – Photos: @RPTrojans roll in Class A semifinal pic.twitter.com/mPKpRnlziT

— Andrew Link (@alinkphoto) November 19, 2016

WINONA 34, ROCORI 30

In the state semifinal, in a game littered with turnovers (11 in all), everything came down to the final two possessions. It’s hard to say which was more important, as they needed each other.

Down 30-27 with 3:54 remaining, the Winhawks needed to score. They did, rushing seven consecutive times, capped off by a Dan Jonsgaard 2-yard touchdown with 1:21.

That 1:21, however, was enough. The Spartans took over on their own 36 and, in five plays, were looking at 2nd-and-goal from the 7 with 37 second left.

That’s when it all ended, however. Rocori quarterback Connor Schoborg thought he had just thrown the ball away – with two more plays to work with. 

Instead, 6-foot-5 junior Logan Smith reached high and came up with an interception inches from the sidelines. Winona ran out the clock after that and moved on to the title.

Winona escapes with win over Rocori after four second-half lead changes https://t.co/F8E7SftAFe via @StribSports #mshsl #prepbowl #winona pic.twitter.com/JJsKuiJ1UT

— Aaron Lavinsky (@ADLavinsky) November 19, 2016

Statistically, the two teams were fairly equal – Winona led the ground game 284-141, while Rocori won in the air 309-160.

Heading into that last drive, both teams had five turnovers so, of course, No. 6 made all the difference.

Winona was coming off, not just an upset of top-ranked South St. Paul, but a 24-0 shutout in the state quarterfinals. Getting up on Rocori 14-0 midway through the first quarter was, perhaps, the worst thing that could have happened to it.

Robert Warren had 224 yards and two touchdowns (71 and 54 yards)  on 17 carries to lead the Winhakws, while teammate Dakota Matthees had four catches for 96 yards and a 25-yard score.

GRAND MEADOW 35, WAUBUN 0

Christopher Bain had 23 rushes for 173 yards and three touchdowns for the Superlarks. No other statistics were provided.

CALEDONIA 55, BARNESVILLE 13

After being down 13-7 three minutes into the second quarter, Caledonia scored 48 unanswered.

To read about this semifinal matchup, click here.