×

No. 5-ranked Fairmont hosts St. Peter in sectional football semifinal

FAIRMONT — An old southern Minnesota prep football rivalry renewed.

St. Peter head coach Brian Odland and his No. 4-seeded Saints (6-3) venture to Mahoney Field today to face mentor Mat Mahoney’s Class AAA No. 5-ranked and top-seeded Cardinals (7-1) in a 3 p.m. Section 3 semifinal.

“Even though we haven’t played each other since the 2016 regular season due to changes in our (South Central Red) district schedules, we’re familiar with St. Peter’s program,” Mahoney said in reference to the Cardinals’ former formidable foe in the now defunct South Central Conference. “Coach Odland, however, looks like he has changed his offense from run-oriented to more of a spread formation this season.”

Indeed. Quarterback Wyatt Olson, a 6-foot-5, 216-pound junior, went to the airwaves for an impressive 342 yards and three touchdowns to propel St. Peter to a 40-26 sectional quarterfinal victory over No. 5-seeded Luverne on Tuesday night at Floyd B. Johnson Field in St. Peter.

“It’s a bit ironic when the tallest kid on your football team is your quarterback,” Odland said with a chuckle. “Wyatt has done a nice job of running the show for us, and utilizing all four of our receivers.”

“After scouting them live on Tuesday night due to earning a (first-round) bye, we know that St. Peter wants to throw the football first,” said Mahoney. “(Split end Joey) Baron is quick, athletic and runs nice routes, (split end Matthew) Pettis has good hands, and (tight end Brock) Hanson sets the formation for them. Our defense needs to know where he’s at on the field at all times.”

Hanson made seven catches for 120 yards, Baron caught six Olson passes for 70 yards and a score, while Pettis converted both of his receptions into TDs of 61 and 21 yards, respectively, in the playoff win over Luverne.

“Our receivers are very similar to Fairmont’s except the fact that our guys are 5-9, 5-10, while their receivers are like 6-2, 6-3,” Odland said wryly. “We like to spread out defenses like Fairmont, but Mat runs more unbalanced formations and gives you a lot of motion to contend with.”

Dustin Schultz, a 6-4 senior, and 6-2 senior Hayden Berhow top the Cardinals’ receiving charts with 25 and 23 catches, respectively. Schultz leads the team with 567 yards receiving and six TDs, while Berhow brings 236 yards and four more scores to the air attack.

Senior quarterback Garrett Myren enters today’s postseason game with 1,276 passing yards and 16 TDs and forms a team-leading 1-2 punch on the ground with halfback Jordan Wolter. Wolter has generated 436 yards and six TDs on 68 totes, while Myren has produced 415 yards and eight scores on 90 carries.

“St. Peter’s 4-3 defense has good size up front, and their linebackers pursue to the ball well,” Mahoney said in reference to outside linebackers Hunter Wilmes and Ryan Wilmes, and Hanson in the middle spot.

While Mahoney will look to counter the Saints’ edge in size defensively, Odland will seek a solution to help offset the Cardinals’ 5-2 — aka floating 4-3 — defensive scheme’s quickness.

“No. 28 (tackle Dominick Ortiz) gets off the ball in a hurry, their linebackers (Wolter and Zac Ringnell) pursue to the ball and know how to wrap up, while their secondary breaks to the ball quickly to create turnover opportunities,” Odland added.

Now, the question at hand: “Is it better to receive a bye and rest up, or is it better to gain momentum in the first round and look to carry it over into today’s semifinal round?”

“The layoff is a two-edged sword. It was nice to have time to rest up physically and clear our minds over the weekend, but you can’t really put together a solid game plan until you find out which team you’re playing,” said Mahoney. “Just like St. Peter, our coaches will have only three days to implement our new game plan.”

“It’s a quick turnaround for our kids, but you just hope to get healed up, put together a new game plan and figure out how to get it done,” said Odland. “If you don’t stay focused on the task at hand, your season ends, but we’d like to keep playing — like everyone else.”

The winner between Fairmont and St. Peter faces either No. 9-ranked and No. 2-seeded Jackson County Central (8-1) or No. 3-seeded Tri-City United for the Section 3AAA championship at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, on the turf at New Ulm Public High School. JCC plays host to TCU in a 3 p.m. sectional semifinal today in Jackson.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.65/week.

Subscribe Today