Friday Night Lights X: the dream lives on! Jaguars heading to STATE! (VIDEOS!! UPDATES)

BY THE WAY...this blog post will be continuously updated throughout the evening!

ALSO...the area scoreboard for Friday's football games has been added at the end of this blog post on Saturday afternoon.

The dream lives on in a big way! A marvelous achievement was earned just after noon today at the FargoDome, when the B-B-E Jaguars football team put the finishing touches on a convincing 36-12 win against No. 9-ranked Upsala/Swanville Area. Much later tonight, you can watch video from the celebration that took place on the field as the team accepted their section champion trophy!

*Here's a video with the final seconds of the game clicking off...and the postgame celebration:


What went down in Fargo today...
On the game's opening drive, the Jaguars stopped U/SA after the Patriots converted one first down. Their first drive, which started on their own 30, lasted 7 plays before they punted on 4th-and-7 from their own 44-yard line with 10:26 left.

B-B-E's offense went to work starting on their own 20-yard line. They needed 7 plays to cover the 80-yard distance. Hayden Sobiech's 22-yard touchdown in tight coverage gave the Jaguars a 6-0 lead with 6:45 left in the opening quarter.

*Here's a video featuring that first touchdown today...


U/SA went three-and-out on their second series, and the Jaguars started their second possession on their own 21 with 4:37 left. They also went three-and-out, with U/SA starting their third series with 3:46 left on their own 40. The Jaguars forced them to punt for a third straight time after they gained just one net yard.

B-B-E's third series started on their 36-yard line with 2:54 left. Just three plays were needed on this drive to find the end zone, with Ryan Jensen hauling in a 43-yard pass from Luke Dingmann after he was left wide open in the right flats. His touchdown, combined with Braeden Michels' 2-yard conversion, put the Jaguars up 14-0 with 2:11 left in the opening quarter. That drive lasted just 43 seconds!

**Here's a video featuring the extra-points carry by Michels...


U/SA got a big kickoff return of over 30 yards and set up on their 35 for their fourth series of the game. The Jaguars held ground on two plays before the Patriots got a huge play by star junior wide receiver Jack Primus, who hauled in a 32-yard catch to move his team to B-B-E's 30. U/SA scored three plays later on a 25-yard reception by Primus. B-B-E's secondary forced an incomplete pass on the conversion for a 14-6 score with 11:05 left in the second quarter.

The Jaguars wasted no time to respond to U/SA's first touchdown of the game. Starting their fourth series on their 32, Dingmann ran for 14 yards on the opening play. Later on 2nd-and-10, Lundberg ran for 3 yards. Momentum was at stake on the next play, as not converting third down near midfield would have surely forced a punt. The B-B-E faithful were lifted to their feet as Luke Illies hauled in a 48-yard touchdown catch from Dingmann to cap a four-play, 68-yard drive. A failed extra-points conversion made it a 20-6 lead with 9:38 left before halftime.

Both teams scored one more touchdown each, and the Jaguars took a 28-12 lead into halftime. U/SA cut it to 20-12 on Brody Kircher's 41-yard touchdown catch with 6:52 left. The Jaguars answered with a 63-yard scoring drive finished off by Owen Paulson's three-yard touchdown carry and Harley Weber's two-point conversion run with 45 seconds remaining.

**Here's a video featuring a big part of B-B-E's fourth touchdown drive late in the second quarter...


More to come!! Time to review more game statistics. I hope to get video posted here after 7 p.m. Part of my evening is chewed up by musical practice. B-B-E's Olson Auditorium is coming alive with rehearsals of "The Addams Family - School Edition" with a cast of 17 students! This is awesome. I am thrilled to help promote their show. More on that to follow this weekend. I need to get their ticket ordering link on the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website.

Second half in Fargo - plenty of defense!
The second half included just one scoring drive. The Jaguars scored on the third quarter's first series on Lundberg's 2-yard carry. Toby Cebulla's two-point conversion run gave the Jaguars a 36-12 lead with 8:09 left in the third quarter.

B-B-E's biggest drive of the second half didn't result in points, but it chewed over 7 minutes off the clock. U/SA threatened on their first series of the third quarter on a drive that started on their 28. The first play resulted in a huge gain that brought the Patriots to B-B-E's 14-yard line. Four plays gained 8 yards to bring a turnover on downs after an incredible goal-line stand. On 4th-and-5, Josh Walstrom batted down a pass to the end zone on the biggest defensive play of the second half.

With 5:32 left, the Jaguars started on their own 6-yard line and burned off the rest of the third quarter. The drive stalled out with just under 10 minutes left in the game at U/SA's three-yard line with a turnover on downs. B-B-E then broke the last straw for U/SA when Brett DeRoo intercepted a pass on the first play of the next series. This gave B-B-E possession at U/SA's 32-yard line with 9:44 left. At this point, the coaching staffs for both teams mutually agreed to turn the game over to the JV squads. That is the epitomy of high school sportsmanship! Very classy.

With their 10-0 record, the Jaguars have set a new school record for most wins in a season. They racked up 450 yards of offense in the process! The split was almost completely even on the ground and in the air: 226 passing yards and 224 rushing yards. Luke Dingmann was 14-for-18 in the air for 220 yards and three touchdowns. Freshmen reserve quarterback Aiden Mueller was 1-for-2 for six yards. B-B-E had 7 ball carriers in the game, and Jack Lundberg scored their lone rushing touchdown.

U/SA had 75 rushing yards in the game with 190 more in the air. First team quarterback Frankie Meagher was 4-for-15 for 156 yards, his longest pass for 58 yards.

Brett DeRoo and Hayden Sobiech each earned interceptions, and Carson Savage had one fumble recovery.

NEXT! the Jaguars head to the state tournament with a quarterfinal game on Friday, November 10 at 7 p.m. at St. Cloud Apollo high school's artificial turf stadium. The opponent will be either Mayer Lutheran or Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity. Those two teams square off tonight at New Prague high school for the Section 2A championship.

The October 9 state football rankings had Mayer Lutheran at No. 7 in the top 10. LP/HT was receiving votes in 15th place. Both teams are 7-2 overall, and both had first-round byes in their six-team sections just like B-B-E and U/SA had. After Week 7, the Crusaders fell out of the Top 10 to 11th place, while G-F-W climbed to No. 9. In the Section 2A semifinals, No. 2-seeded LP/HT shut out G-F-W by a 22-0 score. Mayer Lutheran, the No. 1 seed, has a QRF ranking of No. 3. Their regular season losses came in Week 5 (14-13 to G-F-W) and Week 7 (12-6 at Norwood-Young America).

LP/HT is the defending section champion; they beat Mayer Lutheran 14-6 in the Section 2A finals last year before losing 18-16 to Fillmore Central in the state quarterfinals. In 2021, Mayer Lutheran lost their season opener 32-27 to G-F-W before rattling off 13 straight wins to claim the Class 1A state title. They beat Minneota 20-14 in the Prep Bowl. In the section finals, Mayer Lutheran avenged their season opener by thrashing G-F-W 48-12.

UPDATES from New Prague...
In the Section 2A championship at New Prague...LP/HT has a 6-0 lead with just under 9 minutes left in the second quarter against Mayer Lutheran. The Crusaders earned an interception and returned it to the LP/HT 45-yard line. The Bulldogs defense held them to a three-and-out with a punt that pinned them back at their own 5-yard line. They ran the ball a couple times as the second quarter came to a close. Halftime: Mayer Lutheran 6, LP/HT 6.

Second half updates at New Prague...LP/HT scored on a 75-yard touchdown reception and had a successful PAT kick to take a 13-6 lead early in the third quarter. The Crusaders then broke off a huge play on a drive and ultlimately scored on a one-yard touchdown carry by 5'9" senior running back Jack Grimsley on the first play of the fourth quarter. The PAT kick was good to tie the game at 13-13.

That tie was short-lived, however, as LP/HT then scored on the next possession. Trever Schauer caught a 60-yard pass and ran his way through traffic across the last 50 yards. The PAT kick was no good to make it LP/HT 19, Mayer Lutheran 13.

Mayer Lutheran's next drive started on their own 30-yard line. The Crusaders converted a first down to their 43-yard line. On the next play, the Bulldogs came up with a huge interception by defensive back Caiden Herrmann (their QB1) to gain possession at their own 40-yard line. The Bulldogs drove into Mayer Lutheran territory, but they stalled out on third-and-short and punted from inside the LP/HT 45-yard line. The punt landed in the end zone for a touchback. Mayer Lutheran put together a sustained drive and moved into the goal-to-go territory. On 3rd-and-9, goal-to-go, Grimsley weaved around the middle and appeared to have an open shot to the end zone. He was tackled at the five-yard line to bring fourth down. On a trips-left formation, Mayer Lutheran quarterback Levi Hahn hit Isaiah Ingram in the left side of the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown catch. The PAT was good to lift Mayer Lutheran on top 20-19 in the final minutes of the game.

LP/HT mounted a furious rally on the game's final series, driving all the way down to Mayer Lutheran's 20-yard line. They were held to fourth down and sent the field goal unit out. From the 20-yard line in the final minute, their 37-yard field goal kick fell short. Mayer Lutheran set up the victory formation to run out the clock as they had the state tournament bid in hand. Final: Mayer Lutheran 20, Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity 19.

That's that!! The Jaguars will take on the private school from Mayer, Minnesota. The Mayer Lutheran Crusaders take an 8-2 record into the state tournament. Just like the Jaguars, this is their second state tournament in three years. I know they also made it to state in 2012 and 2017. 

In the 2017 Section 4A championship, Mayer Lutheran shut out Upsala/Swanville Area by a 28-0 score at Husky Stadium in St. Cloud. This was one game after the Patriots tore the hearts out of B-B-E faithful with a 20-14 come-from-behind semifinal win in Belgrade. That year's No. 9-ranked B-B-E Jaguars finished 8-2 overall after winning the program's second conference title.

Area football section championship scores on November 3: Minneota 14, BOLD 6
Parkers Prairie 26, New York Mills 6
Osakis 42, Staples-Motley 13
Jackson County Central 38, Redwood Valley 7
Rocori 30, Becker 21 (the Spartans lost 20-0 in Becker in Week 5)
Albany 24, New London-Spicer 23 (Huskies avenge a season-opening 48-20 loss to the Wildcats and advance to state)
Hutchinson 30, Marshall Area 14
Eden Valley-Watkins 44, Holdingford 14
Cedar Mountain 36, Red Rock Central 22
Springfield 36, Sleepy Eye United 18
Dassel-Cokato 27, Litchfield 20
Springfield 36, Sleepy Eye United 18 (Springfield avenges a 16-14 regular season loss in Week 6 at Sleepy Eye to advance to state; they lost 38-21 last year in the Prep Bowl to Minneota)
Fillmore Central 14, Kenyon-Wanamingo 0 (Back-to-back state trips for Fillmore Central, who lost 28-27 in the state semis last year to Minneota)
Alexandria 24, Brainerd 19
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 35, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 14