Preparation pays dividends for St. Michael-Albertville

St. Michael-Albertville shuts down Elk River's complex, formidable offense

By JIM PAULSEN  jpaulsen@startribune.com

With a week to prepare, St. Michael-Albertville players were not about to let themselves be hoodwinked.

The top-seeded Knights shut down Elk River's heralded wing-T rushing offense and showed off some offensive prowess of their own. They put up 364 yards of total offense in a convincing 38-12 victory on Friday in the Class 5A, Section 6 championship game.

The Elk River offense that ran roughshod over Rogers in the semifinals had not gone unnoticed by St. Michael-Albertville. The Elks had looked so good that opinions circulated that the Knights were in for more of the same.

That didn't sit well in the St. Michael-Albertville locker room.

"We practiced without a ball all week, tackling everybody and making sure everybody was doing their own job," linebacker Tyler Berg said. "It was a lot of work because that team is so good."

St. Michael-Albertville also enjoyed the benefit of some unusually good field position in the first quarter, the byproduct of the defense's call to action and some slippery punt returns from Jordan Joseph.

After the Knights forced Elk River into a three-and-out on its first drive, Joseph returned the ensuing punt 39 yards for a touchdown. It was called back on an illegal block, but the Knights turned their first possession into a 23-yard field goal by Landon Bridell.

Elk River punted again the next time it had the ball — unusual because the Elks didn't punt until the second half in their semifinals victory over Rogers. The Knights converted that possession into a six more points when Joseph slipped through for a 6-yard touchdown and a 9-0 lead.

Two possessions later, Elk River got a break, recovering a St. Michael-Albertville fumble at midfield. The Elks quickly got into scoring position, but any momentum they had generated dissipated as quickly as frosty breath in the cold night air when they fumbled at the St. Michael-Albertville 5-yard line.

The Knights then embarked on the type of drive that can define a team. They went 95 yards in 15 plays, taking more than six minutes off the clock before quarterback Jackson Greenwaldt scored for a 17-0 halftime lead.

The Knights quickly put an end to any thoughts Elk River had of making a rally, scoring touchdowns the first two times they had the ball in the second half to build an insurmountable 31-0 lead.

Elk River scored a couple of late touchdowns, but they had little effect on the outcome.

"Our defense played well and gave us field position, our special teams played well and our offense kept it rolling," St. Michael-Albertville coach Jared Essler said.