FOOTBALL CHAMPS

The Blooming Prairie offense struck early and often and the defense held Randolph scoreless for the first three and a half quarters to propel the Awesome Blossoms to a 49-6 win in the Section 1A Championship Friday night.
Blooming Prairie quickly took the lead when Bradley Simon caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Drew Kittelson. Carson Brennecke's extra point attempt was good so the Blossoms led 7-0 with eight minutes left in the first quarter.
Coach Chad Gimbel said his offense was able to score quickly thanks to its balance offense.
"We were able to stay balanced with run and pass. We got the ball on the edges using sweeps and short passes. The wide receivers did a good job blocking on the edge," he said.
The Blossoms then punted, but the Rockets' punt returner fumbled the ball and Blooming Prairie recovered it.
Gimbel said recovering that fumble was a "huge" play for his team.
"When you are playing an underdog, if you can get them down, you create a lot of uncertainty of whether they really can win the game," he said. "It [also] gives our kids a lot of momentum and confidence. Our kids did a good job of capitalizing on that turnover. It's one thing to get the turnover, [but then] you have to turn that into points, which they did.
They did that less than a minute later when Mitchell Fiebiger caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Kittleson. The extra point was good and the Awesome Blossoms led 14-0 midway through the first quarter.
In addition to good field position, he explained that the Awesome Blossoms' offensive game plan helped them score quickly.
"We used a lot of double teams in the run game to get movement on the defensive line. Tyler did a good of making one man miss to make a modest gain into a big game. Our passing game [was successful because] we did short passes to get the ball out of Drew's hands quickly. The strength of their defense was their interior players so we mitigated that by again getting the ball out of Drew's hands quickly and running the ball to the perimeter," he said. 
After Blooming Prairie's second touchdown, the Blossoms' defense finally got on the field and it didn't take long for them to work their way off the field.
"Our kids were aggressive. The linebackers did a good job od read and filling the holes. We were able to get them behind the chains early on downs which allowed our defensive line to focus on the pass rush on third down," Gimbel said.
Blooming Prairie scored its third touchdown of the first quarter when Tyler Archer ran the ball into the end zone from 13 yards out. The extra point attempt was good and the Awesome Blossoms led 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.
He explained that the keys to Blooming Prairie scoring three touchdowns on its first three possessions are strong offensive line play and having multiple playmakers.
"It starts up front with the offensive line being solid in what we do. Balance [in whether we] run or pass and balance with who we run with and who we pass the ball to. We have three to four different players who can run the ball on any given play and five different players that we can throw the ball to so the defense can't focus on just one thing," Gimbel said.
In the second quarter, Blooming Prairie scored just once but it was a beauty as Archer broke free from Randolph's defense and ran 63 yards for his second touchdown of the night. The Brennecke extra point attempt was good so the Awesome Blossoms led 28-0 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Kittelson got the scoring started when he turned a broken play into his third touchdown pass of the night and second to Simon. The extra point attempt was successful so the Blossoms led 35-0.
He explained that that touchdown was made possible due to Kittelson's ability to run.
"Drew made that play go by using his speed and athleticism to run away from the defensive line and getting his eyes down field to find Bradley Simon wide open in the corner of the endzone," he said.
Gimbel also lauded Kittelson's decision-making.
"He has made great decisions all season long, having only one interception," he noted. 
For all of the third quarter and the first half of the fourth quarter, the Blooming Prairie defense continued to hold Randolph scoreless.
He explained that his defense is so stout because his defensive coaches and defensive players both put a lot of time into knowing and executing the game plan.
"Matt and Justin do a great job getting guys into the right spot. Matt watches a ton of film and takes away what teams do well. The kids do a great job of being coachable and executing that plan. The guys do a great job of trusting the man next to the, knowing their job, doing their job, listening and doing the details. The most important key on defense is being disciplined," he said.
The Awesome Blossoms took a 42-0 lead after Fiebiger caught his second touchdown pass of the night, this one a 36-yard reception.
Then, with less than eight minutes left in the game, Randolph caught Blooming Prairie on a blitz and scored a 77-yard passing touchdown. The Rockets attempted a two-point conversion, but their run failed so the Awesome Blossoms led 42-6.
In the final minutes, Blooming Prairie scored its seventh touchdown of the night when Brennecke ran it in from seven yards out. He also nailed the extra point attempt to give the Awesome Blossoms a 49-6 win.
Gimbel mentioned that a couple student-athletes stood out as having really good games.
"I felt Drew had a great game both offensively and defensively with the interception and taking their best wide receiver out of the game. Mitchell Fiebiger [also had a big game] at wide receiver and linebacker. He is just a heck of a football player. He plays the game the way it's supposed to be played, with a passion and intensity that is unparalleled," he said.
With the help of those two, Blooming Prairie not only won the section championship, they also finished the season undefeated.
Gimbel said what makes this team special is its ability to overcome adversity.
"This year has been difficult, missing games and practices, [but they've been] understanding of circumstances," he said.
He also applauded this team for all its hard work and unselfishness.
"They work hard, know the system, were a very cohesive group, display good leadership on the field, play for each other and are willing to do whatever it takes to make the team successful," he said.
Thanks to all those attributes this season and winning the state championship last season, Gimbel said this year's seniors are the most winning group of seniors in Blooming Prairie football history!
Blooming Prairie statistics: Passing -- Drew Kittelson completed 11 of 21 passes for 138 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT. Rushing -- Tyler Archer ran the ball 11 times for 116 yards and 2 TDs while Carson Brennecke ran the ball 5 times for 36 yards. Receiving -- Mitchell Fiebiger caught 6 passes for 87 yards and 2 TDs while Bradley Simon caught 3 passes for 34 yards and 2 TDs.