It's Thanksgiving week and in the Minnesota high school sports scene that means one thing – Prep Bowl. The annual state championship games take place Friday and Saturday at Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis.
The 2010 finals – officially Prep Bowl XXIV – will be broadcast live on KSTC-TV, Channel 45, with programming available throughout most of Minnesota. The Prep Bowl games will also be simulcast live and free on 45.GrandStadium.tv.
Click here to view MaxPreps' Minnesota football playoff brackets.Let's take a look at the 12 teams fighting for state titles in 6 different classes:
Class 5A: Rosemount (12-0) vs. Wayzata (Plymouth) (10-0)
Friday, 7 p.m.Wayzata advanced to its fourth state championship game in the last six years with a 21-16 win over Mounds View. Wayzata won state titles in 2005 and 2008 and were second in 2004.
The Trojans are led by a defense that is big, fast and strong. They held opponents scoreless for 15 straight quarters this postseason and only allowed Mounds View 47 total yards on 27 plays in the first half in the semifinals. Running back
Aaron Roth and quarterback
Sasha Doran lead a balanced offensive attack for coach Brad Anderson's Trojans.
Rosemount is in the state finals for the first time since 1981 after a 28-14 win over Brainerd.
Nicholas Liska rushed 24 times for 131 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Irish, while quarterback
Kevin Larson added a 2-yard touchdown run, 68 yards rushing and 80 yards passing (completing 4 of 9 attempts).
David Morgan,
Marius Lewis and
Nolan Behrens were among the Irish defensive leaders in Rosemount's win over Brainerd.
This game will feature one of the state's elite programs - Wayzata - against a Rosemount team that has always been good, but not great - until this year.
Class 4A: Totino-Grace (Fridley) (11-1) vs. Rogers (12-0)
Saturday, 3 p.m.The defending state champion Eagles will face a Rogers team ripe for a rematch. TG defeated Rogers 56-14 in last year's state quarterfinals, and the teams will meet again in the Prep Bowl.
TG defeated St. Thomas Academy, the top-ranked team in 4A, 28-21 to make it back to defend its title.
Tom Laventure rushed 11 times for 111 yards and
Alex Kreuser threw two touchdown passes in that win. TG overcame a 14-0 deficit to make it back in an attempt to win its sixth Prep Bowl since 2003.
Rogers advances to the Prep Bowl for the first time in school history.
Josh Wickoren rushed 16 times for 116 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown scamper, to help Rogers roll up 498 yards of offense in a 45-28 win over Mahtomedi in the state semifinal win. Quarterback
Bjorn Bloom was highly efficient and effective, completing 15 of 19 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns.
The Eagles are the premier 4A program in the state, while Rogers has improved every season and in its eighth year is in the mix for a state title.
Class 3A: Holy Family Catholic (Victoria) (13-0) vs. Lourdes (Rochester) (12-1)
Saturday, noonThe trio of quarterback
Jeff Soule, running back
Peter Vakulskas and wide receiver
Peter Westerhaus powers the undefeated Fire from Victoria. Soule enters the Prep Bowl with 2,040 rushing yards, while Vakulskas rushed for 105 yards and Westerhaus caught two touchdown passes in the Fire's 35-29 semifinal win over DeLaSalle.
Adam Lentz rushed 33 times for 250 yards and two touchdowns in a 22-7 semi-final win over Albany to help Rochester Lourdes advance to the state title game for the first time since 1979.
Class 2A: Caledonia (13-0) vs. Triton (Dodge Center) (13-0)
Friday, 4 p.m.Jason Jennings rushed 20 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Dodge Center school back to the Prep Bowl, which they have won three times (1994, 2000, 2006).
Josh Gran leads a potent Caledonia offense that defeated Ottertail Central 55-7 in the semifinals. Gran completed 12 of 16 passes for 273 yards and five touchdowns and ran for two touchdowns in that game. Caledonia racked up 436 total yards of offense. The fast playing surface of Mall of America field is a boost to the speedy Caledonia team and receivers such as
Lucas Lampert and
Travis Frank.
Class 1A: New Ulm Cathedral (12-1) vs. Barnesville (13-0)
Friday, 1 p.m.NUC advanced to the Prep Bowl with the most thrilling – and exhilarating – semifinal win. The Greyhounds defeated defending state champion Minneota 34-33 behind
Kevin Larson's passing and some last-minute heroics. Larson completed 14 of 18 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns while throwing a 23-yard touchdown pass to
Brian Nosbush to help the Greyhounds come within one point after trailing 33-20 after three quarters. Then, Larson completed a 2-point conversion pass to
Nick Simon to give the Greyhounds the thrilling one-point victory.
Barnesville enters the Prep Bowl led by the passing of quarterback
Robbie Strand (386 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-30 semifinal win over Goodhue) and running of
Zach Hochhalter, who ran for 161 yards and two touchdowns in that same game against Goodhue. The offense is explosive and has big play capabilities – as
Austin Martz and
Adam Rice proved with 84- and 72-yard touchdown runs against Goodhue.
Nine-Man: Cromwell (8-4) vs. Lanesboro (11-2)
Friday, 10 a.m.Jordan Suhonen is the workhorse for Cromwell, which enters the Prep Bowl with the most losses of any team remaining. But they have won when it counts most, and came back from 12 down in the fourth quarter to defeat Underwood 18-12 in the state semifinals. Suhonen ran 32 times for 172 yards and added a 40-yard touchdown pass to
Tyler Sulkowski in the win.
Quarterback
Lucas Johnson leads a Lanesboro team that was won 11 straight games since Johnson switched from tight end to quarterback. In a 34-26 state semifinal win over Goodridge/Grygla-Gatzke Johnson rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown and caught two touchdown passes in the win.
Jake Reed added 67 rushing yards and a touchdown, and a key interception, in the same game.
