5 Thoughts from Friday, Week 4 of the high school football season
The high school football regular season is at the midway point and the highly anticipated matchups in Week 4 did not disappoint. Here are 5 random thoughts from Friday, the Week 4 version:
Fillmore Central is the two-time defending Section 1, Class 1A champion, a state semifinalist two years ago and it's off to a 3-1 start this season. Half of the regular season remains, but the Falcons might already be locked into the third seed in the section playoffs, which would mean only one guaranteed home game. Unbeaten Goodhue (4-0) put itself in the driver's seat for the No.1 seed with its 39-28 win against Blooming Prairie. If the Blossoms (3-1) finish with the same or better record than Fillmore Central, they'll likely be the No. 2 seed. The Falcons don't face Goodhue in the regular season, so they will would need some help to leapfrog the No. 4-ranked Wildcats. All three teams are legit section title contenders, which will make for an entertaining second half of the regular season and an entertaining section tournament next month.
Meanwhile, much is still to be determined in the local 9-Player section, and that will make the second half of the regular season even more fun to watch — and more intense for the players. LeRoy-Ostrander/Lyle-Pacelli and Spring Grove are 4-0 and ranked No. 7 and 8, respectively, in the most recent state poll. L-O/L-P's Cam Hungerholt continues to put up video game numbers: He had 408 total yards (268 rushing) and five touchdowns (three rushing, two passing) in a 48-34 win against Houston on Friday. ... Much like Section 1-1A, though, a 3-1 team just might be an equal favorite to get to state: Defending section champ and 2023 state runner-up Kingsland has obliterated three opponents since losing its opener to L-O/L-P 35-26. The Knights have averaged an incredible 59.3 points over the past three weeks. Spring Grove can score, too, at 32.3 ppg, but the Lions don't allow much. Their opponents are averaging just 9.5 ppg, the fourth-best defensive average in the state among 9-Player teams.
Joel Swanson and Mike Kesler have never gone head-to-head as head coaches. Their programs are familiar with one another, as Kesler's Lourdes Eagles and Swanson's Kasson-Mantorville KoMets were Hiawatha Valley League rivals for decades. But since the MSHSL went to District scheduling in the regular season, the K-M–Lourdes rivalry has faded. Swanson and Kesler found some common ground Friday night, though: Both were able to celebrate significant milestones. K-M beat Faribault handily, 35-12, giving Swanson his 150th victory as a head coach. His past 32 wins have come at K-M, where he took over as head coach in 2020. His brief time with the KoMets so far has also yielded one section title (2021), when K-M reached the Prep Bowl.
Kesler, meanwhile, took a more stressful path to history. When Lourdes converted a fourth-and-1 play with 1:15 to go at Red Wing Friday night, it sealed a 7-6 win against the Wingers. That was career victory No. 165 for Kesler, which moved him past legendary Eagles coach Joe Mayer (164 wins) for the most by a football coach in school history. Kesler has been wildly successful in his tenure at Lourdes. The Eagles have gone to state 10 times under Kesler, been to five state title games and won four of them (2010, 2014, 2016, 2018).
In Byron, it's the Heimer brothers. At Kasson-Mantorville, it's two guys who might as well be brothers. It's tough to discuss Caisen Thome or Jeremiah Peterson-Gordon without mentioning the other.
The two best teams in the Skyway District Platinum Division — and the two best teams in Section 1, Class 4A — are led by a couple of dynamic duos. Those four players showed up in a big way again Friday night, as Byron blew out Austin 55-0 at Byron, and K-M earned a comfortable 35-12 win against Faribault.
In Byron, Carson Heimer ran for 198 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries, while Jordan Heimer ran seven times for 97 yards and two touchdowns. At K-M, Peterson-Gordon ran for 155 yards and had three total TDs, while Thome had 110 yards and two TDs on just five carries. The KoMets ran for 418 yards as a team.
In addition to the dangerous duos in the Skyway District, there were many more big-time performances Friday night. Those performances could also be labeled "efficient" as some star players made the most of their opportunities with the ball in their hands. Nine running backs carried the ball five or more times and averaged more than 10 yards per carry. Three receivers had three or more catches and averaged more than 15 yards per catch.
Chatfield running back Ben Carrier led the pack, with 159 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just five carries, an almost unheard of 31.8 yards-per-rush average. Spring Grove's Bryce Berns nearly matched him, carrying six times for 167 yards and two TDs (27.8 average). Berns scored on back-to-back runs of 35 and 80 yards.
Kingsland's Kaaleem Reiland averaged 25.9 yards per carry, with eight rushes for 207 yards and four TDs (he also passed for two scores). LeRoy-Ostrander/L-P's Cam Hungerholt continued racking up yards at a torrid pace. He ran 22 times for 268 yards and three TDs Friday (12.2 ypc). Chatfield's D'Andre Williams was equally strong, running for 153 yards and two TDs on 13 attempts, or 11.8 yards per rush, as Chatfield ran 41 times for 476 yards.
Among the receivers who had outstanding games Friday are Fillmore Central's Greg Kennedy, who had 3 catches for 142 yards and a TD (47.3 yard per reception); Blooming Prairie's Lukas Loverink (6 rec., 180 yards, 2 TDs; 30.0 ypr); and Mabel-Canton's Kale Tollefsrud (5 rec., 88 yards, 1 TD; 17.6 ypr).
