Lester Prairie was hoping this was the year to finally get to the state championship game. Once again, it came up short.
Second-ranked Fillmore Central's defense stymied the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs 18-16 in a battle of unbeaten teams in the Class 1A football state tournament quarterfinals Friday night at Jordan High School. It's the seventh state tournament appearance, all since 1996, without reaching the finals for Lester Prairie (11-1).
Fillmore Central (12-0) stopped Lester Prairie senior quarterback Tanner Scheevel short of a first down on a fourth-and-4 running play from the Falcons 38-yard line with a minute remaining. He scored on a 40-yard run in the third quarter to close the deficit to 18-16.
Scheevel threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to senior running back Logan Lambrecht in the second quarter that left the Bulldogs trailing 12-8.
Dillon O'Connor scored touchdowns on runs of 1 and 9 yards for Fillmore Central, which never trailed. The Falcons are appearing in their first state tournament.
Class 1A
Deer River 26, Mahnomen/Waubun 14: The third-ranked Warriors (12-0) overcame an early two-touchdown deficit to knock off the No. 6 Thunderbirds (9-2). Senior quarterback Sam Rahier ran for two touchdowns. The Deer River comeback started when junior defensive end Curtis Thompson recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown in the second quarter.
Nine-Man
Fertile-Beltrami 22, Ogilvie 6: Junior quarterback Caiden Swenby threw two touchdown passes and ran for another as the unbeaten and No. 2-ranked Falcons (11-0) beat the Lions (7-3) in Fertile-Beltrami's closest game of the year. Swenby threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to sophomore running back Isaiah Wright and a 9-yard scoring pass to junior running back Derek Sorenson. He also scored on an 8-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Mountain Iron-Buhl 42, Kittson County Central 28: The Rangers can strike quickly. Junior halfback Damian Tapio scored the first of his four touchdowns on the opening possession on a 98-yard run as the No. 4 Rangers (11-0) overwhelmed the No. 6 Bearcats (11-1). Tapio also scored on runs of 4, 24 and 54 yards.
