Landen Meyerdirk

FAIRMONT — A classic rematch of contrasting offensive styles.

No. 1-seeded Waseca will pit its bruising ground game against No. 2-seeded Fairmont’s high-octane air attack in Friday night’s 7 p.m. Section 3AAA football championship game on the artificial turf at New Ulm High School.

Zach Jorgensen, a current preferred walk-on for the Minnesota Gopher football team, threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns to power the Cardinals to a 27-6 victory over the Bluejays during the 2021 sectional final in Janesville.

Waseca head coach Brad Wendland’s team, however, posted a 32-14 win over Fairmont during Week 4 of this season — one of the Cardinals’ two losses in 10 games.

The backfield tandem of Christian Rodriguez and Kyle Ahlschlager combined for 316 of the Bluejays’ 372 rushing yards and four TDs in the win over the Cardinals nearly six weeks ago.

“It’s plain and simple — Waseca wants to run the football. Now we have to find a way to win every first-down situation we can,” said Fairmont mentor Mat Mahoney. “We have to put them in longer yardage situations on second down.

“The more they move the sticks on the ground, the more time gets chewed up.”

Waseca (8-1) diversified its methods of generating points during a 33-7 sectional semifinal triumph over Tri-City United last Saturday.

Ahlschlager broke free for a 70-yard scoring gallop, while quarterback Oliver O’Brien crossed the goal line on a 2-yard run before firing a 22-yard TD pass to Carson Ohnstad. Max Neaves later recovered a TCU fumble in the end zone for six more points, while Rodriguez capped the scoring via a 4-yard run.

Meanwhile, Fairmont’s sure-handed defensive secondary increased its record-setting seasonal interception total to 15 and pick-6s to six to help pace a 35-0 sectional semifinal rout over Luverne last Saturday.

Landen Meyerdirk, who reached the end zone on a 55-yard run and a 73-yard reception from quarterback Brendan Schmidtke, produced his co-leading fifth interception between the two TDs in the third quarter.

Levi Pooley, who tops the Cardinals with 39 catches for 563 yards and nine TDs, produced a school-record 101-yard interception return for a TD during the second-round playoff clash.

Pooley also has five interceptions with a pair of pick-6s, David Maakestad has converted both of his picks into scores, while Parker Mathiason and Meyerdirk have the other two interceptions-turned-TDs.

“Our defense has really stepped it up since the first time we played Waseca this season,” said Mahoney, whose defensive alignment has scored eight TDs this campaign. “Offensively, we need to be more balanced, but we not only have to maximize our possessions, but need to finish in the red zone.”

Fairmont enters Friday’s sectional showdown on a six-game winning streak, while Waseca has reeled off seven in a row. The Cardinals score at a 30.8-point clip and allow an average of 10.9, while the Bluejays generate 39.0 points per outing and give up a rate of 11.8.

“Brad (Wendland) always does a nice job of getting his teams ready, so we’ll have our hands full,” said Mahoney. “We’re just going to stick to what we do, and see how it turns out.”