It's hard to believe but our Regular Season has come and gone, and we ended it on a high note with a 35-0 victory over a persistent Mounds View club.   Finishing the regular season at 8-0 is quite an accomplishment and something these young men should be proud of, but it is far from the final outcome we want as a football team.   Starting next Friday, we play in Step 1 on the road to hopefully many more weeks of getting to enjoy each other as teammates and competitors. 

Defensively, our squad did a great job holding them to less than 70 total yards while recording their second consecutive shutout.   Senior Tanner Albeck had a big day as he recorded 7 total tackles, 4 of them for loss, and a sack.   Also, Max Johnson continued his strong play with 7 total tackles, and Senior Jacob Anderson continues to make a huge impact returning from injury with 2 interceptions including a SportsCenter Highlight type one-handed interception.   This group is learning how to prepare for the game, and its success has been seen in the last couple weeks    I can't wait to see this group make a huge impact in huge moments because they have come so far over these eight weeks!

Offensively, we set the tone early against a very good defense that could fly around with a game-opening 95=yard drive that brought momentum that led us to twenty first quarter points.  We did have a ragged second quarter that we have to learn from where we totaled a ton of yards with no results because of penalties and turnovers, but we regrouped in the third.    Jacob Kilzer had a big night through the air with 14 completions in his 16 attempts for 274 yards and a touchdown.    He also ran for close to sixty yards and two touchdowns, while running back Jordan Olagbaju ran for over 100 yards and two key second-half touchdowns.   Jacob Anderson also made an impact offensively with 5 catches for 99 yards and a touchdown, while four other receivers each had two catches on the night.    This group has come together the past couple weeks because we have learned when you follow the offensive line, good things happen.   They keep doing great things for us in the running game as we averaged over 6.5 yards a carry last Wednesday night. 

In Special teams we played a solid game throughout, but the night belonged to Senior kicker Connor Fournier who set the school record in extra points made.   At a school that has had very good kickers, that is quite an accomplishment for Connor and also a testament to the teams he's been on because they were able to find the endzone regularly.

Now, it's time for the good stuff!  We just revealed this year's bracket today, and we worked hard to get a #1 seed to put us in the best position keep moving forward in the tournament.   It also gives us the opportunity to play 2 more home games as we try win those two games allowing us to be a part of the 2022 State Football Tournament.    It's fun to look at the bracket and to try to guess future matchups, but for us as a football team, it's all about Step 1.   The game we have in front of us is where our focus will be throughout this tournament and looking ahead is not beneficial for our ability to play our best come playoff time.  It truly is the best time of year, and this group of boys have worked their butts off to get to this moment.   We will prepare to be great on a weekly basis and enjoy the excitement that is playoff football.   Join us on the ride fans, it will be a blast!   Let's do this thing as a Crimson family and get step 1 next Friday night against Hopkins in the Grove!   These boys are ready, now it's time to get it done!  Let's go!!!  Go Crimson!

Lombo