Becker makes state in football once again

Becker played nothing like the .500 football team it was during the regular season Saturday afternoon, posting a 37-14 victory over Big Lake to win the Section 6, Class 4A title.

The Bulldogs had a 4-4 regular-season record.

Quarterback Josh Fobbe led the Becker offense, throwing touchdown passes to Lucas Dertinger and Brady Sheeley. The sophomore also had a 9-yard touchdown run and an interception on defense.

Senior Alex Blomgren added two more rushing touchdowns for the Bulldogs along with a two-point conversion.

Jake Zastrow scored twice for the Hornets and had 88 total yards of offense.

Sophomore Nick Mittelstaedt grabbed two interceptions to slow the Big Lake passing attack.

Despite the score, Big Lake outgained Becker on offense, 389 total yards to 243.

Becker's Dwight Lundeen is in his 48th season as head coach. This will be his 16th state tournament appearance; the first was in 1985. He has three state titles and five second-place finishes.

Big Lake finishes the season 5-6.

Mayer Lutheran 28, Upsala/Swanville 0: Junior Baden Noennig led the Crusaders offense by throwing three touchdown passes, two of them to Kenson Boelke. The quarterback connected with Brock Hoese for the other passing score. Senior Matt Menth added a rushing touchdown. This will be Mayer Lutheran's first trip to the state tournament since 2012, when it competed in the Class 2A tournament.

Lakeville North 3, Northfield 0: The Panthers won their 12th consecutive match (25-16, 25-18, 25-23) to capture the Section 1, Class 3A championship against the Raiders. Lakeville North hasn't lost a match since Oct. 3 against No. 1-ranked Eagan. During that span, it has dropped only one set. Elizabeth Juhnke led the Panthers with 20 kills. The junior also added eight digs and three blocks. Amanda Burger and Amelia Wherland combined for 38 assists. Sophomore Halle Wolfe had game highs in digs and service aces with 17 and four, respectively. Junior Nora Lehmkuhl had 22 assists to lead Northfield. This will be the first trip to the state tournament for Lakeville North since 2012, when it won the title.

North Branch 3, Greenway 0: The Vikings swept the Raiders (25-16, 25-19, 25-18) to win the Section 7, Class 2A title at Duluth Denfeld. North Branch never trailed. Vikings sophomore Cianna Selbitschka had 21 kills and 20 digs, both game highs. Fellow sophomore Haley Hadrava added 43 assists. Freshman Claire Vekich led Greenway with 13 kills. Junior Drew Faust added 13 digs. This will be the fourth trip to the state tournament for the Vikings, who last made it in 2015.