A “roller coaster” season that had heart-stopping victories and actually started with a loss ended, finally, with a championship for head coach Jared Essler and the St. Michael-Albertville football team.
Quarterback Jacob Veire overcame a St. Thomas Academy defense by orchestrating two third quarter drives (the second ending on the first play of the fourth quarter) and surging STMA to a 28-14 lead.
Veire hit Isaiah Weston for the first time all night on a drive that broke a 14-14 tie, with Weston catching a perfectly placed ball for a 25-yard touchdown.
The Knights capitalized on a defensive stop and took over deep in Cadet territory on their last scoring drive, which ended with a Mitch Kartes 1-yard dive. The key play on that drive came when Veire connected with his brother, Austin, on a big third down.
STA kept the game close with its passing game, which hadn’t been a strong suit much of the season. The Cadets racked up nearly 270 yards, unofficially, through the air.
But the Knight defense clamped down just in time, getting three sacks on the last two possessions and stifling the Cadet running game. A hit also knocked a key player out the game, as both teams juggled lineups due to injuries.
“This was a team that had a look in its eye back when we started the season,” Essler said. “We’d been knocked out in the semifinals two years in a row. It’s a testament to our section and our district. The games we’ve played really prepared us for a battle like this.”
Despite the tight game, STMA never trailed. Eric Sjelin started the scoring after an STA turnover, scoring on a 13-yard run. But Sjelin was injured in the first half, and Kartes was left to carry the load.
The Knights finished with 12 straight wins after dropping its home opener to Moorhead, including walk off wins over Monticello and Spring Lake Park. They also avenged last season’s loss to Mankato West along the way to the title.
“We believe we can do all the things we’ve set out to accomplish this season, and that’s to win two more games and finish what we started,” Weston said prior to the run. “I think at the end of the season we can be where we want to be.”
