FAIRMONT — Wyatt Quiring had made 52 catches for 779 yards to establish himself as one of the top prep football receivers in southern Minnesota this fall.

The Fairmont senior triple-threat, however, displayed his prowess on both defense and special teams, while safety Brady Allen pocketed two interceptions to power the Class AAA No. 4-ranked Cardinals to a 42-19 Section 3 semifinal triumph over the Luverne Cardinals on Saturday at Mahoney Field.

Fairmont (8-1) advances to face Jackson County Central (8-2) for the sectional championship at 7 p.m. Friday night on the artificial turf in New Ulm.

The Huskies gained the Section 3 finals by downing Tri-City United (3-7), 26-6.

Luverne ended its season with a 5-5 record.

“I thought Luverne stepped up and made plays during the first half to stay close at halftime,” Fairmont head coach Mat Mahoney said in reference to his lineup’s 14-12 edge at intermission. “So we (coaching staff) challenged our guys to do the same in the second half.”

Quiring heeded Mahoney’s words and did exactly that in the form of recovering a pivotal momentum-turning muffed punt at Luverne’s 1-yard line to open the third quarter.

“That play really changed the game,” Mahoney said in reference to Quiring’s special-teams gem that set up quarterback Nate Kallenbach’s 1-yard keeper and Kallenbach’s third of six PAT kicks for a 21-12 margin at 10:29 in the third.

Unfortunately for Fairmont, the hometown Cardinals could not convert Allen’s first interception of the sectional semifinal into points as Luverne defensive end Payne Bonnett & Co. forced a three-and-out series.

Junior quarterback Ben Serie, who completed 20 of 32 passes for a game-best 274 yards, later fired a clutch 37-yard strike to tight end Charles Reisch to set up fullback Declan Beers’ 2-yard scoring plunge. Frederik Nielsen’s PAT kick inched Luverne within 21-19 with 8:36 left in regulation.

Despite Quiring’s 50-yard TD reception that was erased by a blocking infraction, running back Jordan Wolter’s 17-yard gain combined with Kallenbach’s passing accuracy restored Fairmont’s nine-point lead. Kallenbach zipped a 15-yarder to Sam Schwieger before lofting a 14-yard TD toss to Hayden Berhow near the right pylon. Kallenbach later kicked the PAT for a 28-19 lead with 4:48 remaining in the game.

Quiring and Allen, however, produced back-to-back pick-6s to put the playoff victory in the books. Quiring used his sprinter’s speed to race 50 yards to the end zone on his interception return at the 3:48 juncture before Allen topped his teammate’s impressive performance. Allen covered 70 yards on his interception return to score six more points for Fairmont at the 2:10 mark.

Kallenbach, who completed 13 of 21 passes for 241 yards, fired a 4-yard TD spiral to Schwieger with 2:44 left in the opening quarter. Kallenbach’s ensuing kick inched the home team to a 7-6 lead.

Serie threw a perfect 7-yard timing pass to Tyler Reisdorfer for the playoff game’s initial TD at the 5:26 mark only to have Fairmont linebacker Zac Ringnell block the PAT kick.

Serie put Luverne ahead again on the strength of his 14-yard scoring spiral to Tucker Oeltjenbruns with 5:24 left in the second quarter. Fairmont defensive end Thomas Johnson, however, batted down Serie’s 2-point conversion attempt to keep the score at 12-7.

Wolter countered for Fairmont with a 10-yard TD run up the middle on the heels of Schwieger’s key 27-yard catch from Kallenbach to swing an eventual 14-12 lead to the hometown Cardinals with 3:15 left before intermission.

Schwieger topped Fairmont’s receivers with four catches for 69 yards and one TD, while Quiring contributed three receptions for 47 yards.

Luverne 6 6 0 7 — 19

Fairmont 7 7 7 21 — 42

Scoring Plays

1st Quarter

LUV–Tyler Reisdorfer 7 pass from Ben Serie (kick blocked), 5:26.

FA–Sam Schwieger 4 pass from Nate Kallenbach (Kallenbach kick), 2:44.

2nd Quarter

LUV–Tucker Oeltjenbruns 14 pass from Serie (pass failed), 5:24.

FA–Jordan Wolter 10 run (Kallenbach kick), 3:15.

3rd Quarter

FA–Kallenbach 1 run (Kallenbach kick), 10:29.

4th Quarter

LUV–Declan Beers 2 run (Frederik Nielsen kick), 8:36.

FA–Hayden Berhow 14 pass from Kallenbach (Kallenbach kick), 4:48.

FA–Wyatt Quiring 50 INT return (Kallenbach kick), 3:48.

FA–Brady Allen 70 INT return (Kallenbach kick), 2:10.

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: Fairmont 14; Luverne 16. Rushing: FHS 29-71; Luverne 29-78. Passing: FHS 13-21-1-241; Luverne 20-32-3-274. Fumbles-lost: FHS 2-0; Luverne 4-1. Penalties: FHS 4-37; Luverne 6-39.

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Offense: Rushing: Kasyn Kruse (L) 10-42, Kallenbach (F) 13-33, Wolter (F) 13-31. Passing: Kallenbach (F) 13-21-1-241; Serie (L) 20-32-3-274. Receiving: FHS: Schwieger 4-69, Quiring 3-47, Allen 2-30, Berhow 2-23, Wolter 2-22. Luverne: Reisdorfer 5-31, Charles Reisch 4-92, Beers 4-85, Oeltjenbruns 4-48, Kruse 3-27.

Defense: Interceptions: Allen (F) 2, Quiring (F), and Reisch (L). Fumble recovery: Quiring (F).