High School Football Focus: No. 2-ranked Falcons no longer flying under the radar

Nov. 14—Fillmore Central has spent the entirety of the 2022 high school football season methodically climbing the state rankings.

The Falcons were ranked No. 7 in the Class A state poll on Sept. 14, two weeks into the season. Every time a team ahead of them would lose, the Falcons would sneak up another spot, taking one step up the ladder for four consecutive polls, then jumping up to No. 2 in the final poll of the season on Nov. 9.

As media members and poll voters around the state started to believe in what the Falcons are doing down in Preston, Harmony and Fountain, Fillmore Central just kept playing its game — a balanced offensive attack led by dual-threat quarterback Dillon O'Connor, as well as talented all-around athletes Bryce Corson, Luke Hellickson, Chase Christianson, Kyle Daniels and more.

Add in the sixth-best scoring defense in the state in Class A, and it's easy to see why the Falcons have outscored their opponents by more than 25 points per game. They've allowed more than 20 points in a game just once, that a dominant 69-21 victory against Winona Cotter in a regular season finale in which most of the Falcons' starters played sparingly after halftime.

All of that dominance certainly has been noted by poll voters. But, in November and December, the rankings are determined on the field, and Fillmore Central made a giant statement Friday night at Jordan High School.

The Falcons knocked off No. 1-ranked Lester Prairie 18-16 in a Class A state quarterfinal game. It's the first-ever state tournament victory for the Fillmore Central co-op and it means the Falcons will play at U.S. Bank Stadium for the first time ever. They'll face No. 10-ranked Minneota at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

"We had a lot of focus during the week," Corson told the Post Bulletin after the win against Lester Prairie. "... Just strictly business. First time at state, we weren't going out Round 1."

Round 2 of what the Falcons hope is a three-round state-tournament battle comes against a Minneota team (10-2) that has two losses on its record this season, but also has experience on its side. The Vikings have won three state titles in the past decade and played in the Prep Bowl five times in that span. One of those came last season, when they fell to Mayer Lutheran 20-14 in the Class A title game.

The Falcons have passed every test put in front of them this season, though, and they now know how to win a close game in a pressure situation. It all sets up a for a potential classic semifinal matchup.

"The Bank, that's another one of those check boxes they wanted to check," Fillmore Central coach Chris Mensink said after the Falcons' quarterfinal win. "They got that and now it's hopefully more to come."

Here's the state semifinals edition of the High School Football Focus, with a look at the other Section 1 teams that advanced to the semis, the top performances from state quarterfinals week, and this week's Southeastern Minnesota Power Rankings:

There's a reason Chatfield is the defending Class AA state champion and a perennial Section 1AA championship contender. Even with generational talent Sam Backer manning his hybrid quarterback/running back position for the top-ranked Gophers, someone else steps up in a big way for them every week.

Two weeks ago in the 10-8 section championship game victory against Caledonia it was Jacob Erickson. The senior booted the game-winning field goal midway through the fourth quarter to send his team back to state.

Last Thursday at Mayo High School, it was 6-4, 190-pound senior receiver Cole Johnson. He had only two catches for 32 yards, but one went for a 23-yard touchdown that turned out to be the game-winning points. Johnson soared above a Blue Earth Area defender and hauled in a spectacular one-handed grab with just more than four minutes to go before halftime. That stretched the Gophers' lead to 14-0 at the break en route to a 35-6 win.

The photo of that Justin Jefferson-esque catch (above) has been shared dozens of times in the days since and goes to show the depth of talent this team has.

And that's why they're headed back to The Bank, where they'll face Eden Valley-Watkins at 11:30 a.m. Friday in a state semifinal game.

"By far the best catch I've ever made," Johnson said after the game. "Once I caught that ball, at first I didn't know if I was in the end zone, so once I saw that I was in the end zone, I still couldn't tell if it was real or not. I had to double check and look into the crowd to see what was going on."

Twelve games in, Section 1 9-Man champ Spring Grove has scored at least 28 points in all of them. It has allowed 22 or fewer points in 11 of them (the outlier being a season-opening 60-30 romp against Houston). No opponent has come within 18 points of the 12-0, third-ranked Lions.

Are the Lions unstoppable? It's a fair question, considering they've beaten four postseason opponents by an average score of 42.5-11.0.

But take a look at the state semifinals: The four remaining teams are the top four teams in the final state poll. And, as the bracket falls, top-ranked Wheaton/Herman-Norcross faces No. 4 Mountain Iron-Buhl in a state semifinal (10:30 a.m. Thursday), while No. 2 Fertile-Beltrami meets No. 3 Spring Grove in the other semifinal (1 p.m. Thursday).

The Wheaton/H-N vs. Mountain Iron-Buhl matchup features the state's top offense (MIB, 56.5 points per game) against the state's top defense (W/H-N, 7.4 points allowed per game). The other semifinal matches the state's fifth-best offense (Spring Grove, 44.4 ppg) against the state's second-best defense (F-B, 7.6 ppg allowed).

Here's a better look at just how powerful these four programs are this season:

Team (state rank) Record PPG (state rank) PPG alld. (state rank)

1. Wheaton/H-N 12-0 51.1 (3rd) 7.4 (1st)

2. Fertile-Beltrami 11-0 44.6 (4th) 7.6 (2nd)

3. Spring Grove 12-0 44.4 (5th) 15.4 (9th)

4. Mt. Iron-Buhl 11-0 56.5 (1st) 11.5 (5th)

1. Bryce Corson, RB/LB, Fillmore Central: Corson did a little bit of everything for the No. 2-ranked Falcons in their first-ever state tournament win, a nail-biting 18-16 win against No. 1-ranked Lester Prairie. He had 157 total yards (107 receiving, 50 rushing) and a touchdown. He was also part of a defense that came up with a victory-clinching fourth-down stand in the closing minutes.

2. Cole Johnson, WR, Chatfield: The senior made perhaps the catch of his life in the second quarter of Thursday's Class AA state quarterfinal. The 6-4, 190-pound receiver outjumped a Blue Earth Area defender to haul in a one-handed TD pass and give the Gophers a 14-0 halftime lead. They controlled the second half en route to a 35-6 win. Johnson finished with two catches for 32 yards and the TD.

3. Logan Brumm, DE, Spring Grove: The strong and speedy defensive end played a key role in the Lions' defense holding Hancock to an 0-for-6 night on fourth down in a 40-22 9-Man state quarterfinal win. "I thought he made plays in the backfield, got penetration, and we made it really hard for them to run the ball early on," Lions coach Kody Moore said about Brumm.

4. Rees Grimsrud, QB, Mayo: The junior ended a sensational season with a performance that nearly got Mayo to U.S. Bank Stadium. Grimsrud was as efficient as Mayo could've hoped for; he completed 14 of 19 passes for 168 yards and a 10-yard TD pass to his favorite target, classmate Carter Holcomb.

5. Colten Black, LB, Cannon Falls: Black was excellent against a tough Watertown-Mayer offense in the Bombers' tight 34-30 loss in a Class AAA state quarterfinal. Black led Cannon Falls with eight total tackles, three for losses and two sacks.

1. Chatfield (12-0)

Last week: 1t.

The Gophers have a way of making something so difficult look easy. The Gophers' record and dominance on the scoreboard (39.5 points per game, 9.1 ppg allowed) speaks to the depth of their athleticism and the willingness of players to put the team first.

2. Fillmore Central (12-0)

Last week: 5.

Much like the Class A state poll, it took us two-and-a-half months to let the Falcons climb to No. 2 in the Power Rankings. What doesn't this team do well? If there's an answer to that, we haven't figured it out, nor has the rest of the state.

3. Spring Grove (12-0)

Last week: 6

We're not sure what more we can say about the Lions; we used up the entire list of synonyms in the thesaurus for "excellent." They've shown all season how gifted they are offensively. In last week's state quarterfinal, their defense took center stage, holding Hancock's offense to an 0-for-6 night on fourth-down attempts in a 40-22 victory.

4. Cannon Falls (10-2)

Last week: 3

The law of averages says the Bombers are bound to break through one of these times. Or, if it's not the law of averages, we'd think karma would want to land on Cannon Falls' side at some point. For the third time in five seasons, the Bombers' season ended with a one-score loss in the state quarterfinals. This time it was a 34-30 setback against Watertown-Mayer. Cannon Falls' two losses this season came by a combined six points.

5. Mayo (9-2)

Last week: 4

If anyone can sympathize with Cannon Falls, it's Mayo. The Spartans led nearly the entire game against the top-ranked Scarlets in a Class AAAAA state quarterfinal Saturday night. Then, as they do, the Scarlets pulled some magic out of their helmets, a last-minute scrambling TD pass by QB Bart McAninch that gave West a dramatic 20-17 win and extended its winning streak to 30 games. Mayo learned a lot by falling to Owatonna in consecutive section title games. While it hurts now, the Spartans will learn from two consecutive state quarterfinal losses and they'll be favorites again in Section 1AAAAA next fall.

6. Stewartville (10-1)

Last week: 1t.

The Tigers ran through opponents all season, then ran into a steamroller in the Class AAAA state quarterfinals, falling to Hutchinson 60-22 last Thursday night. A 10-1 record and the program's first state tournament berth since 2015 isn't the end, though, it's something for a program loaded with talented athletes to build on.

7. Caledonia (8-3)

Last week: 7

The Warriors have to be wondering, if they played in a different section, would they be getting ready for a state semifinal game this week? They may not be asking themselves that, but we are. Caledonia's three losses this season came against No. 1-ranked Chatfield (twice, by 13 and 2 points) and Section 1AAA champ Cannon Falls. While they didn't win a section title, it's pretty clear the Warriors are back as one of the state's best.

8. Kasson-Mantorville (7-3)

Last week: 8

Much like Caledonia, K-M had the unfortunate situation of being in the same section as a state power. Two of the KoMets' three losses this fall came against section champ Stewartville.

9. Lanesboro (9-2)

Last week: 9

The Burros beat up on every opponent not named Spring Grove. The Burros' nine wins all came by an average of 24.4 points and eight of them by at least 10 points. Their two losses to the section champion Lions came by 22 and 35 points.

10. Plainview-Elgin-Millville (7-4)

Last week: 10

The Bulldogs were playing their best football of the season late in the regular season and into the playoffs. They just ran into a Cannon Falls team that was all but impossible to stop. P-E-M's seniors leave with heads held high — 18 wins, two section title-game appearances and a trip to the Prep Bowl over the past two years.