Prep Football Roundup: NLS wins 'Rock-em-sock-em dog fight'

Oct. 31—ALBANY — Fourth-seeded New London-Spicer upset top-seeded Albany 14-12 on Saturday at Michael Field to advance to the Section 6AAA championship.

The Wildcats' will play second-seeded Pierz at 7 p.m. Friday. The location is to be announced, but it will be a neutral site.

Every score occurred in the first half..

With Albany failing on both of its two-point conversions, the Wildcats escaped with the victory.

"It was a rock-em-sock-em dog fight all night long," NLS coach Chad Gustafson said.

NLS took the lead on a 15-yard connection between senior receiver Brycen Christensen and quarterback Kyle Doty. Following a successful kick attempt by Gabe Rohman, the Wildcats' took a 7-0 lead into the second quarter.

Albany answered with a 6-yard touchdown run in the second by Carter Birr, but failed on a two-point pass attempt to trail 7-6.

NLS scored its second touchdown on a 3-yard run by senior Connor Rothwell, with another successful kick by Rohman.

Albany scored its final touchdown with receiver Carter Voss connecting with Birr for a 15-yard score. Albany failed on a two-point run attempt, leaving it at 14-12.

"I told them you have to want it more than they want it, you have to play together and play for each other," Gustafson said.

NLS successfully converted on a 4th-and-1 near the end of the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

"We're super excited," Gustafson said. "People counted us out because we lost some close games in a tough conference.

"But the kids never gave up and kept fighting and scratching. Now we're excited to be in the section championship."

It's NLS's first section championship game since 2018, when the Wildcats lost to Pierz 44-6.

"I know they have a great program. But we're going in there to try and win that game, not just play for it," Gustafson said.

Section 6AAA

NLS 14, Albany 12

NLS (5-5) 7 7 0 0 — 14

Albany (6-3) 0 12 0 0 — 12

Scoring Plays

NLS — Brycen Christensen from Kyle Doty 15 (Gabe Rohman)

ALB — Carter Birr 6 run (pass fail)

NLS — Connor Rothwell 3 run (Rohman kick)

ALB — Carter Voss from Carter Birr 15 pass (run fail)

NLS

First downs: 19 ... Penalties: 2-15 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Mason Delzer 29-159, Connor Rothwell 13-58, Gabe Rohman 1-13, Brycen Christensen 2-10, Hunter Downey 1-3, 51-239 ... Passing (Individual and team): Doty 12-22-1 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Christensen 4-22 ... Interceptions: Coahran 1 ... Fumble recoveries: none ... Tackles (solo-assist): Brody Lien 7, Trevin O'Malley 6, Brandyn Anderson 6, Hunter Downey 6, Lawsin Dechon 5, Sam Gabrielson 5, Peyton Coahran 4-1 ... QB sacks: Downey 1.

Albany

First downs: 11 ... Penalties: 3-24 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Carter Birr 19-89, Hunter Tate 7-28, Laque Jefferson 3-7, Carter Voss 2-0. 32-124 ... Passing (Individual and team): Carter Voss 6-13-1 44 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Birr 2-13, Isaac Evenson 1-12, Mason Bierbaum 1-10, Tysen Gerads 1-9, Jefferson 1-0 ... Interceptions: none ... Fumble recoveries: none ... Tackles (solo-assist): Unavailable ... QB sacks: Unavailable

Section 5AA

Royalton 32,

Paynesville 22

Top-seeded Royalton avenged its lone loss by beating No. 4 Paynesville in the Section 5AA semifinals at Jim Langer Field in Royalton.

Leading the Royals was Will Gorecki, who had touchdown runs of 74, 79 and 7 yards.

For Paynesville (7-3), Grayson Fuchs had both a passing and rushing touchdown. He ran for 45 yards on 11 carries while also completing 17 of 35 passes for 134 yards and two interceptions.

Back in Week 5, the Bulldogs beat Royalton for a 22-16 homecoming win.

With the victory, the Royals (8-1) will face Eden Valley-Watkins at 7 p.m. Friday at St. John's University in Collegeville for the 5AA title. The No. 2 Eagles advanced after beating No. 3 Kimball, 16-6.

Paynesville (7-3) 6 0 16 0 — 22

Royalton (8-1) 6 6 6 14 — 32

Scoring Plays

R — Will Gorecki 74 run (2pt failed)

P — Name unavailable 5 pass from Grayson Fuchs (2pt failed)

R — Connor Carlson 1 run (2pt failed)

P — Fuchs 2 run (Gus Johnson run)

R — Gorecki 79 run (2pt failed)

P — Name unavailable 8 run (2pt good)

R — Cal Ollman 19 run (Zach Ellerbusch run)

R — Gorecki 7 run

Paynesville

First downs: 19 ... Penalties: 5-45 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Dalton Lahr 21-94, Grayson Fuchs 11-45, Spencer Eisenbraun 1-6, Tafadzwa Juma 1-(-1), Austin Pauls 2-(-1). 45-161 ... Passing (Individual and team): Fuchs 17-35-2 134 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Juma 4-62, Lahr 2-19, Gus Johnson 3-10 ... Interceptions: Juma 1 ... Fumble recoveries: N/A ... Tackles (solo-assist): N/A ... QB sacks: N/A

Royalton

Stats not available

Section 2AAA

Litchfield 17,

Providence Academy 14

Logan King ran in a 4-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds left to lift fifth-seeded Litchfield to an upset over top-seeded Providence Academy in the Section 2AAA semifinals at Plymouth.

"The kids played well; played their tails off," said Dragons head coach Jim Jackman.

King had a hand in both of Litchfield's touchdowns. In the third quarter, he hit Tanner Kohls for a 55-yard TD pass in the third quarter. King finished the game with 211 yards on 13 of 20 passing while also running for 51 yards on 13 carries.

"Offensively, we had to find a way to add and gain yards, whether that was one, two, three or even 10," Jackman said.

Jacob Meissner scored twice for the Lions, with a 34-yard TD reception on a pass from Jack Reller in the first along with a 3-yard run in the third. Providence Academy led 7-3 at halftime.

Beau Weseloh was Litchfield's leading receiver with five catches for 85 yards. Kole Bartlett (11), Wyatt Larson (11) and Lukas Kuehl (10) each had double-digit tackles for the Dragons.

For the second straight year, Litchfield plays for a section title. The Dragons take on No. 2 seed Dassel-Cokato after the Chargers knocked off No. 3 Watertown-Mayer 39-14.

The section title game is 7:45 p.m. Friday at Crown College in St. Bonifacius.

"D-C, they've done a tremendous job the last few years; Ryan (Weinandt, D-C's head coach) has done a great job," Jackman said. "They're good.

"They've gotten better as the season's gone on. They've got a powerful backfield and have a big and quick offensive line. And they swarm like crazy to the ball on defense."

Litchfield (7-3) 0 3 7 7 — 17

Providence Academy (8-1) 7 0 7 0 — 14

Scoring Plays

PA — Jacob Meissner 34 pass from Jack Reller (Logan Ahlers kick)

L — Garrison Jackman 21 field goal

PA — Meissner 3 run (Ahlers kick)

L — Tanner Kohls 55 pass from Logan King (Jackman kick)

L — King 4 run (Jackman kick)

Litchfield

First downs: 14 ... Penalties: 1-15 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Logan King 13-51, Lukas Kuehl 12-34, Beau Weseloh 1-3, Tanner Kohls 2-5, Kole Bartlett 2-3, Ryan Schutz 2-(-2). 32-94 ... Passing (Individual and team): King 13-20-0 211, Garrison Jackman 0-1-0 0. 13-21-0 211 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Weseloh 5-85, Schutz 4-19, Blake Aller 1-38, Kohls 2-67, Kuehl 1-2 ... Interceptions: None ... Fumble recoveries: None ... Tackles: Bartlett 11, Wyatt Larson 11, Kuehl 10, Kohls 8, Dom Dietel 7 ... QB sacks: None

Providence Academy

First downs: 13 ... Penalties: 5-62 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Jacob Meissner 13-42, Jack Reller 11-58, Kaden LaComb 2-3, Ty Lovcik 1-1, Stormy Knight 1-(-1). 28-103 ... Passing (Individual and team): Reller 16-25-0 181 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Nick Fahnlander 6-64, Josh Mogeni 2-23, Anthony Lanari 2-35, Jeremiah Lavelle 3-27, Lovcik 1-(-1), Meissner 2-33 ... Interceptions: None ... Fumble recoveries: None ... Tackles (solo-assist): N/A ... QB sacks: N/A

Section 4A

USA 40, KMS 16

Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg saw its season end at Upsala.

The fourth-seeded Fighting Saints fell to the top-seeded Upsala/Swanville Area Patriots.

KMS quarterback Jared Cortez completed 10 of 21 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns along with two interceptions. Cortez connected for scores on a 20-yard pass to Hunter Kallstrom and a 71-yard pass to Isaac Rudningen.

KMS (3-7) 0 0 16 0 — 16

USA (7-2) 8 16 8 8 — 40

Scoring Plays

USA — Name unavailable pass (2pt good)

USA — Name unavailable run (2pt good)

USA — Name unavailable pass (2pt good)

KMS — Hunter Kallstrom 20 pass from Jared Cortez (2pt good)

USA — Name unavailable run (2pt good)

KMS — Isaac Rudningen 71 pass from Cortez (2pt good)

USA — Name unavailable run (2pt good)

KMS

First downs: 10 ... Penalties: 2-10 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Jared Cortez 4-15, Malaki Lee 1-5, Hunter Kallstrom 1-3, Masyn Olson 5-1. 11-24 ... Passing (Individual and team): Cortez 10-21-2 239 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Kallstrom 5-112, Isaac Rudningen 4-111, Olson 1-16 ... Interceptions: x ... Fumble recoveries: None ... Tackles (solo-assist): Rudningen 15-1, Kallstrom 6-0, Owen Kidrowski 6, Jason Jones 6 ... QB sacks: None

USA

Stats not available

Section 5A

Minneota 34, D-B 13

Top-seeded Minneota rushed for 247 yards and allowed Dawson-Boyd minus-10 yards rushing on 19 carries in the victory at Minneota.

The Vikings (10-0) play second-seeded BOLD (9-1) at 4:30 p.m. Friday for the section championship at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall.

Connor Sik led Minneota with 97 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

For Dawson-Boyd (7-3), Brayton Hahn completed 13 of 25 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Braxton Hahn had five catches for 83 yards and two TDs.

D-B (7-3) 0 0 0 13 — 13

Minneota (10-0) 7 7 13 7 — 34

Scoring Plays

M — Connor Sik 2 run (Peyton Gillund kick)

M — Max Rost 17 pass from Isaac Pohlen (Gillund kick)

M — Sik 2 run (2-point conversion failed)

M — Sik 1 run (Gillund kick)

M — Jonah Gruenes 55 pass from Pohlen (Gillund kick)

DB — Braxton Hahn 32 pass from Brayden Hahn (Pau Clemens Suau kick)

DB — Brax. Hahn 5 pass from Bray. Hahn (kick failed)

D-B

First downs: 7 ... Penalties: 3-15 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Aiden 1-(-1), Bray. Hahn 7-(-10). 19-(-10) ... Passing (Individual and team): Bray. Hahan 13-25-1 146 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Brax. Hahn 5-83, Swenson 1-23, Caleb Torke 3-19 ... Interceptions: Brax. Hahn 1 ... Fumble recoveries: none ... Tackles (solo-assist): Keaton Haas 6-3, Torke 4-5, Garret Kostad 4-2, Brax. Hahn 3-2, Swenson 1-4 ... QB sacks: n/a

Minneota

First downs: 18 ... Penalties: 3-7 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Sik 17-99, A.J. Josephson 2-53, Jonah Gruenes 7-34, Anthony Rybinski 6-31, Zach Fier 7-22, Max Roster 2-8, Isaac Pohlen 2-2, Ryan Dalager 2-(-2). 45-247... Passing (Individual and team): Pohlen 7-12-1 116 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Gruenes 2-58, Rost 2-28, Sik 1-13, Rybinski 1-13, Cale Sorensen 1-4 ... Interceptions: Rost 1 ... Fumble recoveries: none ... Tackles (solo-assist): Sik 4-3, Fier 3-3, Rost 2-1, Jackson Epsing 2-2, Rybinski 0-6 ... QB sacks: Sik 3, Fier 1

BOLD 34, Lakeview 12

Hudson Vosika had another big game as BOLD overcame an early deficit to Lakeview at Olivia.

Lakeview led 12-7 in the first quarter after Owen Louwagie ran for one touchdown and hit Nathan Fenske for a 37-yard pass reception for another.

Vosika then scored the next three touchdowns. The ninth-grader finished with 29 rushes for 250 yards and three TDs.

Lakeview (8-2) 12 0 0 0 — 12

BOLD (9-1) 7 7 7 13 — 34

Scoring Plays

B — Stevie McMath 5 pass from Jack Gross (Gross kick)

L — Owen Louwagie 1 run (pass failed)

L — Nathan Fenske 37 pass from Louwagie (pass failed)

B — Hudson Vosika 1 run (Gross kick)

B — Vosika 2 run (Gross kick)

B — Vosika 30 interception return (pass failed)

B — David Garcia 1 run (Gross kick)

Lakeview

First downs: 8 ... Penalties: 1-2 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Clayton Kosel 16-48, Gregory Schafer 3-9, Owen Louwagie 4-5. 23-62 ... Passing (Individual and team): Louwagie 10-31-2 141 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Nathan Fenske 4-85 ... Interceptions: None ... Fumble recoveries: None ... Tackles (solo-assist): N/A ... QB sacks: N/A

BOLD

First downs: 16 ... Penalties: 8-58 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Hudson Vosika 29-250, David Garcia 8-25, Jack Gross 2-(-5). 39-270 ... Passing (Individual and team): Gross 6-17-0 114 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Stevie McMath 2-40, Matthew Jacobs 1-15, Ryan King 1-19, Vosika 1-10, Connor Plumley 1-30 ... Interceptions: Vosika 2 ... Fumble recoveries: None ... Tackles (solo-assist): George Garcia 3-4, D. Garcia 3-4, Plumley 0-5, Ethan Sullivan 0-4, Owen Flann 2-3 ... QB sacks: None

Section 2, 9-Man

RCW 27, SESM 16

Renville County West moved into the Section 2 final by beating Sleepy Eye St. Mary's at Danube.

Second-seeded RCW (7-3) plays No. 4 Cedar Mountain (6-4) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. Cedar Mountain surprised top-seeded Hancock 20-14.

Against St. Mary's (8-2), RCW took a 20-0 lead on a 30-yard Isaac Haen touchdown pass from Tyler Amsden and two TD runs from Jason Jansen.

Jansen would score again and finished with 127 yards and three TDs on 20 carries.

St. Mary's, the third seed, finished 8-2. Both losses were to RCW.

SESM (8-2) 0 0 16 0 — 16

RCW (7-3) 7 6 14 0 — 27

Scoring Plays

RCW — Tyler Amsden 30 pass from Isaac Haen (Eddie Morales kick)

RCW — Jasen Jansen 4 run (kick failed)

RCW — Jansen 28 run (Morales kick)

SESM — Jonathan Petermann 62 pass from Mark Anderson (Brandon Tauer pass from Anderson)

RCW — Jansen 16 run (Morales kick)

SESM — Talan Helget 65 pass from Anderson (Tauer from Anderson)

SESM

First downs: 11 ... Penalties: 0-0 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Trent Steffensmeier 15-46, Carson Domeier 3-11, Anderson 1-2. 22-24 ... Passing (Individual and team): Anderson 10-27-1 199, Domeier 5-12-1 21. 15-39-2 220 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Helget 7-121, Petermann 1-62, Steffensmeier 3-21, Kaleb Wait 2-13, Jack Heinrichs 2-3 ... Interceptions: Petermann 1 ... Fumble recoveries: n/a ... Tackles (total): Hayden Zarn 12, Jacob Stevens 10, Tauer 8, Anderson 7, Steffensmeier 6 ... QB sacks: n/a

RCW

First downs: 12 ... Penalties: 4-35 ... Rushing (Individual and team): Jansen 20-127, Jack Wertish 10-46, Haen 9-13, Amsden 5-10. 48-180 ... Passing (Individual and team): Haen 4-6-1 56, Amsden 0-2-0 0 ... Receiving (Individual and team): Amsden 3-51, Jansen 1-5 ... Interceptions: Jansen 1, Adam Schrupp 1 ... Fumble recoveries: Carter Rice 1 ... Tackles (total): Jansen 11, Luki Hale 7, Ethan Haen 4, Isaac Haen 4, Rice 4, Hunter Ridler 3, Schrupp 3 ... QB sacks: Amsden 1, Noah Gullickson 1