TOTAL DOMINATION
Several years of frustration disappeared quickly Saturday, Nov. 16, at U. S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis when the Awesome Blossom football team pitched a shutout over Ada-Borup 41-0 in the state playoff semifinals of Class 1A.
The win earned the Blossoms a second meeting against BOLD in the title game on Friday, Nov. 29. The Warriors defeated BP in the state semi-finals last year.
The Blossoms have taken great pride in the team balance over the season, but this victory gives major credit to the defense. “This was probably our best defensive effort of the season,” commented Coach Chad Gimbel.
Linebacker Mitch Fiebiger led the defense with 10 tackles, as BP held the Cougars gained just 91 yards on the ground and only 141 total yards in the game.
BP began its offense early in the first quarter. A short drive was triggered by a 14-yard pass to Karson Vigeland that brought the ball to the 11-yard line, and Matthew Pryor ran a draw play the last 11 yards for the touchdown. BP led 7-0 after Colin Jordison’s point after.
In the second quarter, Gabe Hagen snagged a –yard pass from quarterback Kaden Thomas for a crucial first down, and Vigeland caught a 10-yard pass from Thomas for a touchdown. With Jordison’s extra point kick, the Blossoms led 14-0.
This was a game in which Thomas didn’t have to carry the whole offensive load, and he finished 12 for 20 and 137 yards and two touchdowns.
The Blossoms continued to roll up points. A 10-play drive culminated in a 2-yard push by Pryor and a 21-0 edge. The biggest play of the quarter went to Hagen after he rose up for a pass and burst down the sideline for 48 yards for a touchdown. The extra point kick was blocked and BP took a 27-0 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, Pryor ran a draw play for 30 yards to highlight an 11-play drive, and Tyler Archer ended the scoring with a run of a yard after an 11-play drive by the second string. The extra point kick failed. At the end of the third quarter, the Blossoms were coasting to a 33-0 lead.
BP added another insurance touchdown in the final quarter with about 4:07 left in the game when Archer scored on a 1-yard run. Drew Kittelson scored on a 2-point conversion run, giving the Blossoms a commanding 41-0 lead.
Besides Fiebiger’s big defensive day, Jarrett Larson added eight tackles, and Luke rennie finished five tackles, two behind the lines.
The win continued 12 straight wins for the Blossoms, the second year in a row they have gone undefeated over the regular schedule and set up the title 1A contest in the battle of unbeatens Friday, Nov. 29, in a hard-fought battle of unbeaten.
GAME SUMMARY
Blossoms 41, Ada-Borup 0
Blooming Prairie 7 20 6 8— 41
Ada-Borup 0 0 0 0— 0
PASSING Comp-Att Yds. TD Int
Kaden Thomas 12-20 137 2 2
RECEIVING No. Yds. Avg. TD
Gabe Hagen 2 53 26.5 1
Karson Vigeland 2 24 12 1
Alex Baldwin 2 21 10.5 0
Bradley Simon 3 19 6.3 0
Matthew Pryor 2 15 7.5 0
Colin Jordison 1 5 5 0
RUSHING No. Yds. Avg. TD
Matthew Pryor 18 181 10 3
Bradley Simon 5 35 7 0
Tyler Archer 6 33 5.5 0
Cade Christianson 1 19 19 0
Drew Kittelson 4 15 3.8 0
Mitchell Fiebiger 1 9 9 0
Gabe Hagen 1 3 3 0