Kingsland maintains perfect mark, wins Section 1, 9-Player football championship

Nov. 3—AUSTIN — One year after finishing with a sub-.500 record, the Kingsland football team is going to the state tournament.

The Knights, 4-5 last season, maintained their perfect campaign in 2023 with a 44-14 victory over Spring Grove in the Section 1, 9-Player championship game Friday night in Austin.

"We worked really hard in the off-season, worked together every single play and now we're here," Kingsland standout senior running back Beau Wiersma said. "The hard work pays off and it feels amazing."

Kingsland was the top seed in the section. Coach Matt Kolling said his squad had been on a mission since the end of last season. Finishing with a losing mark in 2022 left the Knights with a bitter feeling and it was one that they didn't want to repeat.

And now for the first time in 20 years, the Knights are back in the state tournament.

"It's a lot of emotion," Kolling said. "It's a lot of time and hard work and energy put into it. And these kids have done absolutely everything that we've ever asked them to do. And I'm proud of them."

Sophomore quarterback Kaaleem Reiland said the coaches and players all bought into the off-season program which resulted in all the hard work and effort to make the 2023 season so special.

"We put in a lot of work just to be here," Reiland said. "We got the train rolling and the train isn't going to stop here."

Wiersma and Reiland were a lethal 1-2 offensive punch for the Knights on Friday, much like they have been all season long.

Wiersma scored three touchdowns against Spring Grove while Reiland ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more. Wiersma rushed for 134 yards on 24 carries and had scoring runs of 13 and 3 yards. He added a 5-yard TD grab from Reiland.

"Early practices, early weight room (sessions) and all of that," Wiersma said of the key for the team's success. "Everyone was focused and disciplined. Also that family bond that we had this year that we didn't have last year really helped us out. That's why we're here today."

Reiland was 8-for-11 passing for 115 yards and two TDs. He rushed for 129 yards on 15 carries and two scores, both in the second half. His 45-yard touchdown pass to Samuel Snitker in the first minute of the third quarter made the score 30-7 and all but sealed the victory. Reiland added a 46-yard TD run on a fourth-and-6 scramble later in the third quarter.

"I usually try to stay patient in the pocket, but I saw a gap and I just went," he said. "We came here to win."

Third-seeded Spring Grove is used to playing in big games. The Lions were the 9-Player state runner-ups a year ago. They played hard, but couldn't keep pace with Kingsland's powerful offense.

The Knights were ready from the start and their defense also held the Lions to just 36 yards rushing.

"We talked about it before the game," Kolling said. "Yeah, it's the big stage, but it's still football."

Reiland says the Knights were focused and well prepared during the week leading up to the game.

"I would say communication is a very big thing this year," he said. "Preparing this week, we spent a lot of time communicating and working on the little details."

Kingsland finished with 397 yards of total offense, 282 on the ground. Spring Grove was limited to 208 yards. Jaxon Strinmoen was 6-for-9 passing for 117 yards and two TDs for the Lions, which ran just 28 offensive plays to 57 for Kingsland.

"This group really wants it and wants it bad," Kolling said. "We've got weapons at every end of it. If they try to take one away, it opens the door for somebody else. We had a lot of guys step up tonight."

The Knights are now 11-0. They will face Hills-Beaver Creek in the state quarterfinals at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Albert Lea. Kingsland's last state berth was in 2003 when it was the state runner-up in Class 2A. The Knights were the 2002 Class 2A state champs.

Spring Grove finishes the season 8-3.

Kingsland 44, Spring Grove 14

Spring Grove 0-7-7-0 — 14

Kingsland 6-16-16-6 — 44

SCORING

First quarter

Kingsland — Beau Wiersma 5 pass from Kaaleem Reiland (pass failed), 0:32.

Second quarter

Spring Grove — Zach Brumm 28 pass from Jaxon Strinmoen (Ben Udstuen kick), 11:52.

Kingsland — Wiersma 13 run (Reiland run), 6:08.

Kingsland — Wiersma 3 run (Parker Johnson pass from Reiland), 4:51.

Third quarter

Kingsland — Samuel Snitker 45 pass from Reiland (Wiersma run), 11:02.

Spring Grove — Jacob Olerud 20 pass from Strinmoen (Udstuen kick), 6:55.

Kingsland — Reiland 46 run (Wiersma run), 4:28.

Fourth quarter

Kingsland — Reiland 1 run (run failed), 7:03.

TEAM STATISTICS

S.G — Kingsland

First downs 7 — 18

Total net yards 208 — 397

Rushing yards 14-36 — 48-282

Passing yards 172 — 115

Pass att-comp.-int. 9-14-0 — 8-11-0

Fumbles lost 2-1 — 2-0

Penalties yards 2-25 — 4-32

Punts/ave. 3-37.3 — 0-0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

Spring Grove — Jaxon Strinmoen 9-27 Jacob Olerud 3-6, Brandon Jahnke 1-2, Braedon Solie 1-1. Kingsland — Beau Wiersma 24-134, Kaaleem Reiland 15-129, Samuel Howard 2-15, Acelee Kohn 1-5, Ayden Howard 3-0, Bentley Wiersma 3-(-1).

Passing

Spring Grove — Jaxon Strinmoen 6 completions, 9 attempts, 0 interception, 2 touchdowns, 117 yards; Bryce Berns 3-5-0-0, 55 yards. Kingsland — Kaaleem Reiland 8-11-0-2, 115 yards.

Receiving

Spring Grove — Jacob Olerud 3-51, Zach Brumm 2-72, Jaxon Strinmoen 2-11, Ben Udstuen 1-30, Ethan Couch 1-8. Kingsland — Beau Wiersma 3-3, Ayden Howard 2-47, Samuel Snitker 1-45, Samuel Howard 1-21, Parker Johnson 1-1.