Owatonna finally wins a Prep Bowl

It took 31 years, until the very last high school game ever played in the Metrodome, but Owatonna finally got its Prep Bowl victory.

The Huskies, who had a loss in the inaugural Prep Bowl in 1982 among its three previous championship games defeats, controlled play from the outset en route to a 24-0 victory over Brainerd.

Owatonna (13-0) completed a wire-to-wire run as the top team in Class 5A. The Huskies, who fell to Totino-Grace in the 2012 final, were ranked No. 1 in the preseason state poll and never relinquished that spot.

"The only thing we could think about was to have it be different this year," said lineman Andrew Stelter, a University of Minnesota recruit. "It was awesome today"

They looked every bit like the No. 1 team Saturday, controlling the play with a versatile, ball-control offense and a defense that that rebuffed every Brainerd advance.

Owatonna didn't wait to assert itself, taking the opening kickoff and sending a message to Brainerd with a 16-play, 80-yard drive that ended in a three-yard touchdown run by running back Aaron Peterson. The Huskies converted on fourth down, keeping the drive alive, and used up nearly six minutes of the clock.

The Huskies did it again on their next possession, a 10-play, 57-yard affair that used up 4:27 on the clock and ended in another short Peterson scoring run.

Owatonna's offense took few chances thereafter. The Huskies threatened occasionally but didn't score again until the final 1:31 of the game, getting a field goal from Carter McCauley and an interception return from Sam Fenske for a touchdown.

The Huskies may not have been adding to their much in terms of points, but it was more about shutting down Brainerd. Owatonna held the ball for 31:57, got 185 yards rushing from Peterson and converted all seven fourth-down chances it attempted.

The defense was just as good, holding Brainerd (12-1) to 187 total yards and allowing the Warriors into the red zone just once.

"We knew time was their worst enemy," said Peterson. "So we just controlled the ball and wore them down."

The loss ended Brainerd's hope to win a state championship for longtime coach Ron Stolski, who is in his 39th year at the school and his 53rd as a head coach. He's won a state-record 355 games but a state championship will have to wait at least one more year.