Chaska dominated play at the line of scrimmage and got three rushing touchdowns from Stevo Klotz in a 35-7 victory over Mahtomedi in a Class 5A quarterfinal at Vaughn Field in Shakopee.
"We've got a mature group that takes it week by week," Chaska coach Bryan Dahl said. "We've been on both ends of looking past people and people looking past us the past two years. These seniors have been a part of it. They are a mature group that hasn't taken anything for granted all year."
The Hawks (10-1) scored on back-to-back possessions in the first half to build a 14-0 lead. Klotz got the scoring started with a 2-yard touchdown run on a direct snap. Following a three-and-out, Grif Wurtz threw an 83-yard touchdown pass to Nic Snuggerud on a third-down play.
In the second half, Klotz ran for touchdowns of 10 yards and 1 yard on back-to-back possessions, and Dewandis Youmans scored on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter.
"[The offensive line] did a good job," Klotz said. "The first half was kind of shaky, but they cleaned it up in the second half."
The Hawks' victory ended the Zephyrs' impressive postseason run. After winning only two games in the regular season, the Zephyrs (5-7) won three consecutive games to win their section.
After taking the opening drive to the Chaska 5-yard line, the Zephyrs could not get anything going on offense. They got inside the Hawks 30-yard line only once before scoring late in the game, when Mahtomedi's Jordan Hull broke the shutout with 9-yard touchdown run with 1:22 remaining.
"Our motto is 'Bend but don't break,' " Klotz said. "Even if they put the ball on the 1-yard line, we'll still line up. We'll still stop them. That's what we've done all year. That's what we're going to continue to do."
JOE GUNTHER
