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Mayo standout Lozoya finally gets his chance to play at U.S. Bank Stadium

guy n. limbeck, post-bulletin, rochester, minn.
·4 min read

Dec. 9—ROCHESTER — It's not quite the game Rudy Lozoya wanted to play in at U.S. Bank Stadium, but the Mayo High School senior is excited about getting to step on the same field as the Minnesota Vikings.

Lozoya is one of a handful of area players who has been selected to play in the 50th Minnesota High School Football All-Star Game at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11. The game is sponsored by the Vikings and the Minnesota Football Coaches Association. The game features some of the best senior players in the state as both the South and North squads are made up of 44 players.

"I'm super excited because of all the great players that get to play, and to see that you're one of the good players," Lozoya said. "And playing at the Vikings stadium, I've never been there, and now that I get to play there, that makes it 10 times more exciting."

Lozoya will be on the South squad and will be joined by seven other southeastern Minnesota standouts: Running back Sam Backer of Chatfield, offensive lineman Reese Tripp of Kasson-Mantorville, offensive lineman Peyton Byrne of Stewartville, defensive back Kaiden Peters of Plainview-Elgin-Millville, wide receiver Adam Poncelet of Goodhue, wide receiver Bryce Corson of Fillmore Central and tight end Tyson Cooreman of Randolph.

Zumbrota-Mazeppa head coach Darin Raasch will be one of the assistant coaches for the South squad.

Some of the players have played at least one game at U.S. Bank Stadium either this season or last season as their teams advanced to the state semifinals or championship game in their class. That includes Backer, Tripp, Corson and Peters.

Lozoya was barely denied that chance this season as Mayo lost a heartbreaker in the closing seconds to Mankato West in the Class AAAAA state quarterfinals, just one win short of playing at U.S. Bank Stadium.

"I'm excited, but I wish I could have played there with my whole team," Lozoya said. "It's bittersweet, I guess."

Each team practiced twice a day from Wednesday to today, leading up to Saturday's game.

A lot of the athletes also play winter sports, but they had to commit to three days of practice plus the day of the game to be eligible for the event. Poncelet and Peters both had basketball teams on Tuesday night prior to reporting.

"They're sacrificing to be here, but boy, what an honor to be here," Raasch said. "It's definitely a great way to end your senior year, to be up here with all these guys. And the Vikings spare no expense and it's an amazing experience for these guys."

Raasch is a veteran of 25 years coaching experience in high school football. He has spent the last eight seasons as the head coach at Zumbrota-Mazeppa. He was nominated to coach in the All-Star game and is very grateful for the opportunity.

He also appreciates getting to know and coach some of the area players that he has gone up against over the past few years such as Poncelet, Backer and Peters.

"It's humbling and it's an honor to work with these guys, all the players, the coaches and this atmosphere," Raasch said. "It's as humbling and exciting of a coaching experience as I've had. ... It's a blast, you're working with the best of the best everywhere."

For some players, like Lozoya, it may also be a chance to impress college scouts.

"I'm just going to go 110 percent every play and just do my best," he said.

The 5-foot-10, 225-pound Lozoya is slated to be a defensive lineman in the All-Star Game, although he would have rather been named as a fullback.

Lozoya has hopes of playing college football. He has been offered a roster spot at some Division III programs, but he is holding out to see if he can land at a Division II school. He said his college position is likely to be fullback.

"I kind of want to go as a fullback if I go to college," he said. "My size, it's pretty hard, because I'm not that tall, but I'm pretty strong."

Lozoya is the younger brother of former Mayo and Rochester Community and Technical College standout running back Israel "Speedy" Lozoya.

"I've got some speed," Rudy Lozoya said, "but he definitely took all the speed."

Tickets for the game are $8 for students and $18 for adults with all proceeds going toward the Tackle Cancer campaign. Tickets can be purchased online by clicking:

All-Star Game tickets