Hill-Murray is 'special' and earned a trip to State

Game stories always focus on the big plays on offense. Sometimes, the defense gets its due when something big happens on that side of the ball. Special teams always get the short end of the stick. This is not one of those game stories that will short-change the kicking game. Without it, Hill-Murray might not have beaten Chisago Lakes 42-36. The Pioneers might not be going to State.   Special teams made a splash on the first play. Hill-Murray's [player_tooltip player_id='105378' first='Simon' last='Seidl'] made a house call on the opening kickoff to give his team a 7-0 lead before the fans settled into their section finals seats.   "Coach told me, 'The first play, we've got to go,'" Seidl said. "We had to go out there and score. That is what I had to do to try to get the team going."   The Wildcats offense answered – quickly. On the second play from scrimmage, Chisago Lakes quarterback Gavin Lewis kept the ball on the triple option and didn't stop until he was knocked down at the one-yard line. One play later, he was in the end zone, and his team was only down one point.   The Pioneers' offense was not going to be outdone by its special teams. They moved right down the field, including a fourth and one quarterback sneak by [player_tooltip player_id='1582430' first='Jackson' last='Reeves'] for three yards. Reeves would use his legs to convert on a third and long later in the drive. He was accurate with his arm early, too – finding Gavin Berg multiple times on short, chain-moving passes. Seidl helped his quarterback by making a diving catch for a first down and then by picking up a first down on an end-around. Three bruising inside runs by Alex Gross topped off the drive – giving the home Pioneers a 14-6 lead.   After the defense forced a turnover on downs, the Hill-Murray offense went back to work. Gross picked up big yardage with two impressive runs to get the drive started and broke into the clear on his next run – a 46-yard touchdown run – untouched.   Down 21-6, the Wildcats were in danger of getting run off the field, but they rode the legs of running back Evan Lavalle. His inside running set up a one-yard touchdown run by Carson Langevin.   After both teams turned the ball over on downs, Chisago Lakes positioned itself to try a 50-yard field goal with less than ten seconds in the half. Hill-Murray's special teams perfectly bookended the first half. Berg came flying off the corner to block the kick. The Pioneer's Decario Brown scooped up the ball. Sixty yards later, the home team had a two-score lead.   "That was huge," Seidl said. "We knew going into the half being up two scores we could hold them and get this win."   Chisago Lakes would continue to answer. After a good kickoff return to start the second half, Lewis tucked the ball on the option and sprinted 55 yards before he was tackled just short of the goal line. One play later, Lewis was in the end zone.   Reeves converted two-fourths and shorts with quarterback sneaks, setting up the outside passing game that was effective in the first half. Berg and Brown both made quality catches on low throws. Berg then got into the air to pull down a first-down catch on third and long. Reeves' best throw of the game resulted in a 24-yard touchdown pass to Berg.   "We came into the game wanting to run outside," Seidl admitted, "but we did the total opposite. We ran downhill and inside."   Early in the fourth quarter, it looked like the Pioneers would put the game away. They had first and goal at the three-yard line, but a penalty and a couple of defensive stops by the Wildcats turned first and goal from the three into third and goal from the eleven. Reeves rolled out and didn't see a receiver, but he saw a lot of green field turf – scoring the team's final touchdown of the game.   Again, the Wildcats would not end their season without a fight. Lavalle – who was giving the Pioneers' defense fits between the tackles all night – ripped off a forty-yard run, and then Lewis finished the drive with another short touchdown run.   "We knew we could bend, but we couldn't break," Seidl – who plays defensive back on defense as well as wide receiver on offense – said. (Lavalle) is a really good player, and they ran good offense, but we came together when we had to." Lavalle would score one more time, but the Pioneers secured the on-side kick – securing a Section 3AAAA championship.

Game stories always focus on the big plays on offense. Sometimes, the defense gets its due when something big happens on that side of the ball. Special teams always get the short end of the stick. This is not one of those game stories that will short-change the kicking game. Without it, Hill-Murray might not have beaten Chisago Lakes 42-36. The Pioneers might not be going to State.