Tomorrow night in Collegeville, on the campus of St. John's University we will watch a 2A and 1A section final. Here is a preview of the two battles we have tomorrow.
<strong>2A Section Final:</strong>
<strong>Eden Valley-Watkins (7-3) vs. Paynesville (9-1), 5:45 PM Kickoff at Clemens Stadium, Collegeville, Minn</strong>
<em><strong>Eden Valley-Watkins Eagles</strong></em>
-Eden Valley Watkins is the only program out of this bunch I have been able to watch this year. I watched them play Maple Lake early in the year in one of their 3 losses on the year. They have a solid ball thrower in <strong>QB Luke Jansen </strong>who threw 2 key TDs against a larger 3A Maple Lake program, and in my opinion, is one of the better QBs in 2A as far as arm strength. Luke was also very good in the section semifinals where he threw for 3 TD against <strong>Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta</strong>. They also have a good combo running back in <strong>Mason Molitor</strong> who played well in that Maple Lake game I attended. Last week in the section semifinals the Eagles got almost 10 yards per carry from <strong>RB Gavin Mathies</strong> so look for him to be the featured back, and to use Molitor's uphill running ability more on 3rd downs or short-yardage situations. Eden Valley-Watkins is no stranger to Paynesville as they lost to them earlier in October, 46-8 at Paynesville so it will be interesting to see if they rise in a game with them less than a month later.
<em><strong>Paynesville Bulldogs</strong></em>
Paynesville has played almost perfect football this year at 7-1 and their lone loss coming to a top tier <strong>Pierz</strong> team. They have a good QB presence in <strong>Grady Fuchs </strong>who has played well this year and also is a solid dual-threat QB who runs quite frequently. Fuchs, threw for 3 TDs against the Eagles in their regular-season matchup earlier this season. The running game is led by <strong>RB Daltin Christiansen</strong>, who rushed for over 100 yards, 2 TDs and over 12 yards per carry against Holdingford in the section semifinals and had 3 TDs against Eden Valley-Watkins in their last meeting. The guy who catches passes for Fuchs is <strong>WR Levi Bast</strong> who had 140 yards receiving against the Eagles defense in the last meeting. <strong>WR Carter Wessel </strong>is another deep threat that <strong>Fuchs </strong>will go to on occasion as well. Paynesville, in my opinion, is a stronger squad overall compared to Eden Valley-Watkins.
<strong>My Outcome</strong>
I think <strong>Paynesville</strong> wins this one by a couple of touchdowns. I have not seen as much improvement by Eden Valley-Watkins since their game with Maple Lake I witnessed to turn the corner and get a win. Paynesville Bulldogs will win.
<strong>Mayer Lutheran (9-1) vs. Browerville/Eagle Valley (9-1) 8:00 PM Kickoff at Clemens Stadium, Collegeville, Minn</strong>
<em><strong>Mayer Lutheran Crusaders</strong></em>
The Crusaders passing game is led by sophomore <strong>QB Ty Hoese </strong>who has played well most of the year, despite a rough game against the <strong>United South Central Rebels,</strong> he got this team to a now 9-1 on the season. Look for the connection between <strong>Hoese </strong>and <strong>TE Austin Crown </strong>to be key in tomorrow's game with Browerville/Eagle Valley as it was in the section semifinals against the <strong>Benson Braves.</strong> The Crusaders have a good power running back in <strong>RB Zander Flucas</strong> who is built like a truck, at 6'2 230 pounds who has carried the load most of this season. Look for the Crusaders to also run the ball with <strong>RB Cole Stuedeman </strong>on the short-yardage situations. The Crusaders have a quality win against the <strong>Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Buccaneers</strong> in the regular season, but the rest of their regular-season schedule concerns me.
<em><strong>Browerville/Eagle Valley Tigers</strong></em>
The Tigers are a huge unknown to me. There's not much stats or print on them much of anywhere, but I will say this they have improved a bunch since September. They lost a game on September 13th, to the <strong>Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg Fighting Saints</strong> 14-13, and beat that same team by 3 touchdowns in the sectional semifinals last week only about one month later. Head coach <strong>Wayne "Ribsy" Petermeier </strong>has been the head coach at Browerville/Eagle Valley since 2002 and has taken the Tigers to the state tournament three times since 2011 so I can say that he has what it takes to get this 9-1 Tigers team back to the state tournament as I believe have a chance to win this one. Let's also not forget, that legends have blessed the land in Browerville, as Galynn Brady, mother of NFL MVP and 6-time Super Bowl champion <strong>Tom Brady </strong>hail from Browerville, Minnesota.
<strong>The Outcome</strong>
This one will be a close game, in which I believe <strong>Browerville/Eagle Valley</strong> will come out winners in the end, as I feel they have had a tougher road to get to Collegeville. I like the unknown they bring.
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