High School Football Focus: Red Wing is 1-0 and expecting more

Sep. 4—RED WING — Oh, that winning feeling.

It's one that the Red Wing football team had so rarely experienced the past seven years. But it is savoring a win now after stunning La Crescent-Hokah 24-12 in the season opener for both teams on Friday.

In the last seven years, Red Wing had never won more than once in a season.

The strong guess from Red Wing second-year coach Brent Stinson is that this winning thing is not going to be fleeting. He says his team is way too together for that.

And though most regarded Red Wing as the underdog going into its battle at La Crescent, it was not how the Wingers saw it.

"Our guys didn't see themselves as underdogs because of all of the hard work they'd put in and because of the standard that had been set by last year's seniors," Stinson said. "Now these guys are taking the reins of chasing excellence, being the best player and person they can be, and competing in multiple sports. This just shows our team what cohesiveness can do. It showed these kids what can happen when 11 guys play as one. Then incredible things can happen."

It would have been easy for Red Wing to doubt itself. Not only had winning been rare for it the last decade, but the Wingers were in a particularly tough spot for this opener, down to their third-string running back. That guy was Adam Roe, who began the season hoping he'd be the team's starting quarterback, only to see Reid Hartmann win that job.

But after first-string halfback Oliver Jensen hurt his shoulder in a preseason scrimmage and then second-stringer Isaac Wiles broke his collarbone in a scrimmage, the starting job went to Roe.

And did he ever deliver.

A 155-pound junior, Roe ran for a team-high 128 yards on 22 carries. That included a 53-yard touchdown sprint in the fourth quarter that sealed Red Wing's win.

Roe hadn't discovered that he'd be starting until last Tuesday. But his being ready to go was a perfect representation of what Stinson is after.

"We talked about how this was going to take all of us this season, not one of us," Stinson said. "We had some iron Wingers out there who never came out of the game. There were just a lot of times when we really responded to adversity."

Red Wing has a chance to go 2-0 on Friday, Sept. 8, when it hosts Pine Island. And after pulling off what it did against La Crescent-Hokah, the Wingers will likely have a different status heading into this game — favorites.

1. Beau Wiersma, running back, Kingsland

Five-foot-nine, 195 pounds, running a 4.6 40-yard dash, squatting 455 pounds and bench pressing 295 pounds. That is Kingsland running back Beau Wiersma, who unleashed all of that frightening stuff in Friday's opening 40-34 win over Mabel-Canton. The result was that Wiersma rushed for a mammoth 341 yards and four touchdowns, the TD runs going for 56, 38, 60 and 35 yards.

2. Ayden Helder, quarterback, Stewartville

Helder is likely the top returning quarterback in southeastern Minnesota. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior was immediately up to great stuff in his team's impressive season-opening win over powerful Waseca. Helder threw for 246 yards on 17-for-25 accuracy, with four touchdowns and no interceptions. His favorite target was Parker Wangen (three TD catches).

3. Chase Christianson, quarterback, Fillmore Central

Eight passes by Christianson, seven completions. Not a bad opening game. And, oh yeah, he also threw four touchdowns passes and had 194 total air yards. It all came in a 46-0 win over Hayfield.

4. Isaiah Beale, running back, Mayo

The junior has a lethal combination of quickness, moves, power and will. All of that helped him total 164 crucial rushing yards and two touchdowns in a 29-18 come-from-behind win over Burnsville. Beale ran for 113 of those yards after halftime. It was Mayo's first time playing in Class 6A.

5. Dominic Mann, running back, Kasson-Mantorville

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Mann ripped up the Delano defense with his hard-nosed running. A fullback, Mann rushed for more than 200 yards on approximately 18 carries. He had two touchdowns, one a 60-yard sprint. That was part of a 400-yard rushing day for the KoMets in their 49-35 win.

6. Jayce Kiehne, receiver, Fillmore Central

Kiehne did a lot with a little. The 6-foot-3 senior touched the football just six times in Fillmore Central's 46-0 win over Hayfield. But he sure made the most of those touches. Kiehne finished with four touchdowns and 101 yards receiving. He also ran the ball twice, both times for scores (11 and 6 yards),

(Editor's note: These rankings are considered "pound-for-pound" rankings, similar to many rankings systems in boxing and mixed martial arts. They represent the best teams in southeastern Minnesota, relative to the class they play in.)

1. Stewartville (1-0)

The Tigers didn't have to wait around to prove their mettle. Served up to them in Week 1 of their schedule was none other than Waseca, a perennial state football power. Stewartville was way more than good enough against the Bluejays, pushing to a 27-13 win. The Tigers, who have moved down from Class 4A to 3A this season, lost just one game a year ago, that in the state quarterfinals. With star quarterback Ayden Helder (246 yards passing against Waseca) returning as a starter this team looks like the real deal all over again.

2. Caledonia (1-0)

It wasn't long ago that Caledonia was an automatic to put at the top of this poll. Going into the 2021 season, the Warriors owned the nation's longest winning streak — 71 games. Caledonia went on to finish 4-5 in 2021 and 8-3 in 2022. The Warriors are hinting that they are now completely back. Behind overwhelming offensive and defensive performances, they roared to a 61-0 win over Zumbrota-Mazeppa in Friday's season opener.

3. Cannon Falls (1-0)

The Bombers entered their opening game on Friday angry and with something to prove. Then they proceeded to take it to Plainview-Elgin-Millville, proving plenty along the way in the 51-16 South District win in Elgin. P-E-M had at times held the Bombers' prolific offense down over the years. But there was none of that in this opener, Cannon Falls running for more than 350 yards. It also had success throwing, which could make it a complete handful. The Bombers had four TD passes.

4. Fillmore Central (1-0)

Yes, the Falcons graduated a bunch of talent from a team that lost just once all season last year, that in the state Class 1A semifinals. That list includes receiver Bryce Corson, quarterback Dillon O'Connor, linebacker Garrett Gossman and defensive lineman Gunner Benson. All of them were stars. But there is still plenty of star power remaining and Fillmore Central showed that by starting its season with a dynamic 46-0 win over Hayfield.

5. Blooming Prairie (1-0)

Blooming Prairie had an aberration season in 2022, going just 6-4. The Blossoms tend to be more of the eight-win variety and not long ago (2019) were state champions. Blooming Prairie's biggest issue last year was injuries. It is mostly healthy now and showed that it has returned to form with an opening 43-8 drubbing of usual standout team Rushford-Peterson. Blooming Prairie had 232 yards rushing, 190 passing.

6. Chatfield (1-0)

Chatfield was a state champion two years ago and a state runner-up last season. Much of that work was done behind what was the area's best player, running back Sam Backer, the second most prolific running back of all time in Minnesota. Backer is now a freshman at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Still, the Gophers remain plenty good even without him and the rest of the 2023 graduates. Quarterback Parker Delaney is a great place for this team to start. He threw for 131 yards and three touchdowns in the Gophers' 49-6 opening win over Pine Island. Kail Schott looks like he is also going to be a load (155 yards rushing against Pine Island).

7. Mayo (1-0)

The Spartans have taken a major leap, from Class 5A to 6A where the state's largest schools reside. Mayo had a winning start in this class, using a comeback to beat Burnsville 29-18. The Blaze, who finished 3-6 last year, won't nearly be Mayo's toughest competition this year. That starts on Friday, Sept. 8, when the Spartans host an Eagan team that went 5-4 last year.

8. Spring Grove (2-0)

The Lions finished as 9-Person state runner-ups last year, losing 28-25 in the final to Mountain Iron-Buhl. Though graduation hit Spring Grove hard, the Lions are formidable all over again, with wins over Mountain Lake Area and a vastly improved Southland team, 13-12. Spring Grove is doing it without one of the area's best players, quarterback Elijah Solum, who is out for the season after tearing his ACL last school year.

9. Kasson-Mantorville (1-0)

The KoMets have some things to figure out in defending the pass, judging from their opening win against Delano. But K-M, behind fullback Dominic Mann, sure looks like it can run the football. It totaled nearly 400 rushing yards in its 49-35 win, Mann with 200 of the.

10. Dover-Eyota (1-0)

That figured to be a serious first test for Dover-Eyota, taking on a Lourdes team that returned 16 starters from last year's seven-win team. Well, D-E passed it, edging their fellow Eagles 18-16. Dover-Eyota's defense was stout all game, with some dominance up front.