By Matt Krumrie
MaxPreps.com
First Five
1. Dome Ball: The 2008 state tournament has reached the semifinal stage and all games will be moved indoors and played Friday and Saturday at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Of the 24 remaining teams (four each in six classes), there are seven remaining unbeatens, including Cretin-Derham Hall (12-0) and Wayzata (11-0) in 5A; DeLaSalle (12-0) in 3A; Moose Lake Willow River (12-0) and Hawley (12-0) in 2A; and Houston (12-0) and Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley (12-0) in 9-man.
2. Blaine Halts Eden Prairie: There will be a new champion in 5A, home of Minnesota’s biggest schools. Blaine defeated Eden Prairie 28-24 in quarterfinal action, ending the Eagles’ reign and 39-game winning streak in the process. Blaine quarterback James Peterson was up to his old tricks again, completing 17-of-23 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 129 yards and a touchdown in the win. Blaine plays Cretin in the semifinals at 8:15 p.m. Friday.
3. Northfield Advances: The Northfield Raiders might not have the big names of Twin Cities and fellow 4A state participants like St. Thomas Academy and Mahtomedi, but they have one thing those teams don’t: A trip to the state semifinals planned. Northfield defeated Mahtomedi 21-13 to advance to Friday’s game against unbeaten Orono. Northfield running back Cody Schmidt did most of the damage in this one. He returned the opening kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown and added a two-yard run in the second quarter and finished the game with 123 yards rushing. The Raiders are now 9-3 after losing 3 of its first four games.
4. Holy Family On Fire: Holy Family advanced to the 3A semifinals with a 41-32 win over Perham in the 3A quarterfinals. The Fire were led by a couple of sparkplugs – Brenden Hamrick and John Westerhaus. Westerhaus ran for 163 yards and scored three touchdowns – including two on the first two Fire possessions (25 yards and 35 yards) and Hamrick ran for 184 yards and two touchdowns – including an 89-yard scamper in the third quarter in the win to lead HF to victory. Next up? Defending state champion Glencoe-Silver Lake Saturday at 3:15 p.m.
5. DeLaSalle Gets it Done: DeLaSalle rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to defeat Rochester Lourdes 48-36 in a 3A quarterfinal game. The undefeated Islanders – the 2007 state runner-up, used a number of big plays to emerge victorious. Among them: Donzell Bell’s 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the game; Michael Van Leer – the quarterback – catching a 39-yard touchdown pass from running back Evan Williams, a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown by Van Leer, a 49-yard touchdown on fourth down by Van Leer, and a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown by Walter Franklin.
Three to Watch
1. Mark Alt, Cretin-Derham Hall: On Wednesday, Alt signed with the University of Minnesota to play hockey. On Friday, he will lead the unbeaten Raiders in a big school showdown with Blaine. He warmed up for his big week with an efficient and effective performance in the Raiders 49-7 win over Lakeville South in the state quarterfinals. Alt completed 8-of-10 passes for 247 yards and five touchdowns in the win. Alt, the son of former Kansas City Chiefs lineman John Alt, has thrown 25 touchdown passes this season and only three interceptions.
2. Ray Teachout, Mankato West: One of the most versatile and exciting quarterbacks left in the state tournament, Teachout completed 19 of 33 passes for 328 yards and two touchdown in West’s 28-7 win over St. Thomas Academy.
3. Wayzata: The Trojans rolled over St. Cloud Tech, 39-0 in a 5A quarterfinal. The defense was as dominant as ever, and a number of big plays sparked the Wayzata offense, including touchdown runs of 60 and 28 yards by John Reis, an 80-yard run by Garrett Engelhardt and a 98-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Kramer Berg to AJ Troup.
Two Hot Too Handle
1. Alex Schleich, Caledonia: The defending 2A state champs are heading back to the Dome after a 21-0 win over Norwood Young America, and Alex Schleich played a key role in that. He ran 22 times for 133 yards and two touchdowns to lead Caledonia to a state semi-final matchup with unbeaten Moose Lake/Willow River Friday.
2. Brady Diamond, Kittson County Central: Diamond leads KCC back to the Metrodome for the first time since 1994 with four touchdowns in a 54-14 win over Northland in a 9-man quarterfinal game.
Inside the Numbers
2,087 – Total yards for Moose Lake-Willow River running backs Nate Zuk and Austin Jacobson on the season.
224 – Rushing yards for Moose Lake-Willow River running back Nate Zuk in a 46-0 win over Breckenridge. Zuk ran three touchdowns in the win.
60 - Rushing yards by Rosemount quarterback Chase Vogler before leaving the state quarterfinal game with Mounds View in the second quarter with an injury. Voglerhas passed for over 1,500 yards this season for the Lake Conference champion Irish.
2 – Touchdowns scored by Mankato West defensive lineman Jake Schoettler in a win over St. Thomas in the state quarterfinals. Schoettler recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown and blocked – then intercepted – a St. Thomas pass from his defensive line spot and returned it 1-yard for the touchdown.
2 – 2007 state champions remaining: In addition to GSL, Caledonia is still in the hunt in 2A.
1 – The number of semifinalists back in 4A from 2007. That team is St. Michael Albertville.
0 – Points given up by Rosemount in its 12-0 quarterfinal win over Mounds View in 5A action.