Owatonna football begins their state title defense Saturday, October 27 when they host Rochester Mayo at 7 pm at the OHS football field. The Huskies had a first-round bye on Tuesday, while Mayo outscored Austin 58-32. The Huskies beat the Spartans 37-9 in week two of the season.

Can Owatonna win its third straight section championship? And their second straight state title?

  1. The Huskies have one of the top running backs in the state. Jason Williamson has 5,400 career yards which is among the top totals in state history. His ability to run through and around tacklers this season has been a weekly highlight reel.
  2. Owatonna's coaching staff is long-tenured and provides a steadying hand when the pressure mounts. The staff has a combined 226 years of experience. Jeff Williams is in his 23rd season as head coach. Several others have 20+ years on the staff.
  3. The Huskies defense has been solid at every level. Linemen Chris Lewis and Joseph Stransky have many tackles-for-a-loss and sacks. The linebacking corps of Ben Zappa, Isaac Gefre, Nick Staska and Mason Oland has been fantastic. In the secondary, Isaac Oppegard has six interceptions and opposing teams struggle to generate any consistent passing game.
  4. The team should be brimming with confidence with a better regular season record this fall (8-0) than in the 2017 title season (7-1). This is one area where the coaches will work to keep the even keel approach that Williams has mentioned many times over the years.
  5. Owatonna has avoided too many injuries or turnovers this season. If that continues, big things could be ahead.

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state tournament
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