Football: Alexandria defeats Moorhead in thriller to earn Class 5A state tournament berth – Alexandria Echo Press

MOORHEAD — The 2024 Section 8-5A championship game between the second-ranked Alexandria Cardinals and the first-ranked Moorhead Spuds was widely expected to end in a decider. The regular season game between these two teams was tight, with the Spuds taking a 36-34 lead on October 11, 2024 after Alexandria missed a field goal to left.

Friday’s game had a similar feel but a different result. The Spuds led 44-41 with 7:17 left in the game. The Cardinals had the ball, but a great Spuds punt pinned the Cardinals at their own 1-yard line. With their backs against the wall, the Cardinals made their biggest play of the game.

At the 1-yard line, Alexandria senior defensive end Chase Thompson connected with senior wide receiver Mason Gorguber on a 99-yard touchdown pass with 7:02 left to put the Cardinals up 48-44 and give them a 48-44 victory. in the section. 8-5A Championship Game, November 1, 2024

“We saw that it was custom lighting and wanted to take advantage of it,” Gorguber said. “I ran a fast route and Chase threw me a perfect ball. And then the rest became history. It was amazing.”

“All the props for this play go to (offensive coordinator) Zack Witt,” Thompson said. “We listened to this performance because we saw how their security had declined.”

Moorhead (9-1) had several chances to retake the lead on several drives late in the game.

Moorhead began its final drive of the night with two minutes left, the ball at its own 22-yard line and one timeout left.

The Spuds moved the ball into Cardinals territory, but senior guard Dane Olson took all the momentum away from the Spuds on their final offensive play of the game.

On 2nd-and-10 from the Alexandria 39-yard line, Olson and Moorhead wide receiver Rain Battle simultaneously catch a pass near the Alexandria sideline.

Battle and Olson battled for control of the ball, and eventually Olson won the battle for the ball, coming away with an interception to seal Alexandria’s 48-44 victory and secure a spot in the MSHSL Class 5A state tournament.

“There’s no greater feeling than this,” Olson said. “The ball was 50-50 and I got it. (Battle) kept trying to take the ball away from me, but I didn’t give up.”

It was fitting for Alexandria head coach Mike Empting that it was the older players who made the most plays at the end of Friday’s game.

“That’s the way it should be,” Empting said. “I was hoping that given enough opportunities they could make a big play and they did. Offensively, Chase and Mason have helped us do that all season. Evan Kludt had a great game and we have a diverse group of guys who, throughout the season, the seniors have performed well and done what they were supposed to do.”

Alexandria’s defense had a tough time trying to contain Moorhead running back Tye Reich on Friday.

Reich finished the game with four rushing touchdowns. He led a Moorhead offense that was difficult to stop.

But in the end, when it mattered most, Alexandria’s defense played strong enough to contain Moorhead on Friday night.

“We had some problems in the beginning, but it’s not always about how to start, it’s about how to finish,” Olson said. “We adjusted and took away some big things to come out on top.”

“This unit has been resilient,” Empting said. “If you look back at our deep play last season, we had players who played. We’ve reached the point in the season where talent is being filtered out. Talent is starting to match talent, and big players are making big plays. “

Neither team led by double digits Friday.

Moorhead led by its largest of the night, 16-7, with 3:17 left in the first quarter.

Both teams came away with interceptions in the final minutes of the first quarter, and 39 seconds into the second quarter, Alexandria (8-2) lined up to give the ball to Moorhead, trailing 16-7. Moorhead muffed the punt by Alexandria senior Daniel Jackson, and Alexandria senior Lucas Fernholz recovered the fumble and gave Alexandria the ball at the Moorhead 34-yard line.

A muffled punt eventually led to Thompson’s 4-yard rushing touchdown to start a stretch spanning the entire second quarter and the first minute and a half of the third quarter, where Alexandria outscored Moorhead 28-14.

“In games like this, moves like this are huge,” Empting said. “It was a big lift when we needed it.”

The Cardinals’ first lead of the game came late in the second quarter, when senior receiver Evan Kludt hauled in a 63-yard pass from Thompson to put the lead up 16-14 with 2:55 left in the first half.

Reich’s 8-yard rushing touchdown followed by the successful two-point conversion put the Spuds up 24-21 with 30 seconds left in the first half.

Alexandria didn’t give up much early in the second half, retaking the lead 28-24 on a 7-yard rushing touchdown from junior Brody Berg.

Moorhead responded immediately with Reich’s 80-yard rushing touchdown to go up 30-28 with 10:13 left in the third quarter.

Three minutes later, senior Mac Heydt’s rushing touchdown, his second of the night, put Alexandria up 35-30 with 7:01 left in the third quarter.

A 63-yard pass from Jett Feeney to Rufus Curfey put Moorhead back on top 36-35 with 3:43 left in the third quarter.

The Cardinals retook the lead 41-36 late in the third quarter on a 9-yard pass from Thompson to Gorguber.

A 1-yard touchdown run by Reich put the Spuds up 44-41 with 10:03 left in the game, but Thompson’s 99-yard pass to Gorguber three minutes later gave the Cardinals the lead for good.

“We saw what we wanted and attacked,” Gorguber said.

“These are two talented teams trading blows back and forth,” Empting said. “Given the Alexandria-Moorhead game in November, I didn’t expect it to end any differently. Both teams are talented and well-coached.”

Alexandria now heads to the MSHSL State Tournament for the second straight season, the third time in the last five seasons and the 13th time in school history.

The MSHSL Class 5A state tournament bracket will be announced Saturday. Alexandria will play its state tournament quarterfinal game on Saturday, November 9th.

“We have to stay focused and take it one game at a time,” Thompson said. “We can’t take anything for granted because it could be over in a week.”