Armstrong provided stiff resistance but Maple Grove High School prevailed 26-14 in a Section 6 foot-semifinal game at Osseo Saturday, Oct. 31.

The win sends the Crimson to first section championship game. The top-seeded Crimson will host second-seeded Wayzata Friday, Nov 6, at Osseo in a 7 p.m. contest.

The Falcons used an effective passing and running game to gain the upper hand. They led 7-0  and Maple Grove cut it to 7-6 on a 26-yard touchdown run by senior fullback Justin Lehman. Armstrong went ahead 14-6 late in the first quarter but the Crimson would not up any more points.

"Maple Grove played most of the tot half with senior starting quarterback C.J. Woodrow on the bench nursing a shoulder injury. But senior backup quarterback Jeremy Oligmueller was up to the challenge as he led the Crimson to two second quarter touchdowns that put Maple Grove up to stay.

The Crimson took the lead with a 77-yard scoring drive early in the second quarter. Lehman broke an 11-yard run and Caleb Marx followed with a 13-yard burst. Oligmueller then hit senior wide receiver Jeff Hesse for a 21-yard gain to put the ball on the Armstrong 29. Three plays later, on third and four at the Armstrong 23, Marx dashed up the middle and broke several tackles before he was taken down at the Armstrong 2. Lehman scored on the next play with a run but Maple Grove still trailed 14-12 because the two-point pass failed.

The Crimson then tried an onside kick that Armstrong recovered on its 39. However, the Falcons failed to gain a first down and had to punt. Maple Grove then lost a fumble and Armstrong recovered on Maple Grove's 25. The Falcons got as far as the Maple Grove 9 and the Crimson defense held again, this time forcing the Falcons to try a 25-yard field goal that was short.

Starting from their 9, the Crimson launched their go-ahead drive. Oligmueller and Hesse hooked up for big passes of 40 and 22 yards to put Maple Grove within striking distance. The two then culminated the drive when Oligmueller hit Hesse on the left side of the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown with 51 seconds left. Lehman's two-point run put Maple Grove up 20-14 at halftime.

The third quarter was a see-saw battle as neither team scored. The Crimson bit the bullet once when Armstrong quarterback hit a receiver for a big gain up the middle but Maple Grove safety Jon Dubel came from behind the knock the ball loose and corner Adam Buyom recovered on the Maple Grove 31.

Woodrow returned to the lineup in the fourth quarter and guided the Crimson to the clinching 85-yard touchdown drive. Woodrow looked sharp as he hit junior receiver Brent Lawson with a 23-yard pass on third and eight to bring the Crimson out of their hole. After Lehman's 52-yard run was called back because of a holding penalty, Woodrow hit Hesse with an 18-yard pass on third-and-four for a first down. With 4:00 left and facing fourth-and-four at the Armstrong 33, Woodrow calmly hit Lawson with an 8-yard pass to keep the drive going. Marx and Lehman took care of things as they ran five times with Marx scoring from two yards out.

"Armstrong has good speed and tough kids. We knew we would have our hands full," Maple Grove coach Craig Hansen said. "I am proud of our kids. We stepped up and made plays. Jeremy Oligmueller and Jeff Hesse had some big completions, the offensive line did a great job and our defense stepped up and shut them down."

Oligmueller had a hectic day. Normally an outside linebacker, he was called on to play quarterback after Woodrow could not start be-cause of a slight shoulder separation he suffered against Mounds View a week ago. He continued to play on defense and also did the punting.

"Jeremy did an outstanding job filling in at quarterback and he had to play defense," Hansen said. "He is a very mature and bright young man and has a cool head. He had some key pass completions. With less than a minute to go he threw a touchdown pass to Jeff. It was a real shot in the arm for us."

Oligmueller completed six of 12 passes for 124 yards with one touch-down and no interceptions. Woodrow came in and went three for three for 56 yards. Hesse had six receptions for 133 yards and Lawson had two catches for 29 yards. Marx had 20 carries and 134 yards to lead the ground attack.

"Caleb had to return to his outside linebacker position because of C.J.'s injury and he shared time with Jeremy," Hansen said. "It was a great team effort for people stepping in and helping out."

Defensively, junior inside linebackers Justin and Mickey Baker had nine and seven tackles, respectively. Senior tackle Tom Bertrom had six tackles, senior safety Jon Dubel and senior tackles Brett Schendell and Chris Dykhoff all had seven tackles.

The Crimson are now one win away from their first state tournament appearance.