Southern Minnesota Football Teams Enjoy Success in Prep Bowl

Rochester Lourdes capped a run of success for southern Minnesota teams at the first Prep Bowl to be held at US Bank Stadium. Three won championships. Two finished second.

The Eagles won the Class 3A title 42-35 over St. Croix Lutheran in an eventful seesaw game with the teams trading touchdowns throughout the game. They combined for more than 850 total yards of offense. Several players made stellar catches. The biggest play was saved for the end. Lourdes executed a trick-play hook-and-lateral that involved two backward pitches on their game-winning drive. The second lateral actually went forward but officials didn't penalize the team. The Eagles finished the drive with a short touchdown run.

Elk River ran their way to their first state football title 42-14 over Spring Lake Park. The Elks rushed for nearly 450 yards. Owatonna gave Elk River their closest game of the season during the semifinals on November 18. The Huskies limited the Elks to about half their averaging rushing total. Four of the Elk River touchdowns in the title game came on runs of 50 or more yards. OHS only allowed one run of over 30 yards and that did not come on a touchdown.

Minneapolis North captured the Class A title 30-14 over Rushford-Peterson. The Trojans' Noah Carlson had 161 yards rushing, but only 21 of those came in the second half.

The Minnesota State High School League reported record attendance for the two-day event at 47,309. That breaks the previous mark of 38,089 set in 1986. The Prep Bowl debuted in 1982.