Rivals Chatfield, Caledonia set to do battle in section championship game

Nov. 2—Caledonia's iconic football coach Carl Fruechte has gotten deep satisfaction from this season.

Last year was a bad memory, his team going from winning 71 straight games and five straight state championships to finishing 4-5 overall and bounced in the first round of the section playoffs.

"I've really enjoyed this season," said Fruechte, whose No. 2-seeded Warriors are 7-2, ranked No. 8 in Class AA and about to play No. 1-ranked and seeded Chatfield in Friday's 7 p.m. Section 1AA final at Kasson-Mantorville High School. "It's nice to be back to where I think our program should be."

It is Chatfield, though, that is suddenly looking a whole lot like Caledonia did for years. While the Warriors built a state dynasty, Chatfield has a mini one going. The Gophers have won 22 straight games and are favorites to win their second straight state championship.

"Chatfield is the cream of the crop right now," Fruechte said.

Talent looms all over the field for the Gophers, on both sides of the ball. Chatfield also has one of the best running backs ever out of southeastern Minnesota, senior Sam Backer.

Backer, a 190-pound senior with sprinter's speed, weight-lifting contest level strength and a fierceness about him, has rushed for a dazzling 2,027 yards this season and 6,622 for his career.

When Fruechte was asked if he'd ever faced a running back of Backer's ilk from Section One, he hesitated for a few seconds and then said, "No, I don't think so. I'd have a hard time putting anyone past him. He knows how to get downhill and then use his speed. He sees the hole and then hits it at 100 mile per hour."

This is the second time that Chatfield and Caledonia have met this season. Caledonia mostly did a nice job of containing Backer the first meeting, especially before halftime.

But when the game was done, Chatfield a 19-6 winner, Backer had done it again, with more than 200 yards rushing.

"Backer had a pretty quiet first half," Chatfield coach Jeff Johnson said of that first meeting. "(Caledonia) really keyed on him. (On Saturday) we have to be able to use our other threats down the field. And I think we can do that. And Backer, on any given play, he can break through and get a big run. He'll get his yards and points."

Chatfield has some standout receivers to turn to when it needs yards downfield. Cole Johnson, Drew O'Connor, Luke Carrier, Carter Daniels, Drew Shindler and Sulley Ferguson all have an ability to do damage.

Chatfield also has one of its better offensive lines ever.

Johnson believes line play will be key against Caledonia, which like Chatfield, is known for its physical play.

"This is a game that is going to be won and lost in the trenches," Johnson said. "If our offensive line can continue to play as one group, we should be able to move the ball and score some points. We had some mistakes the last time we played Caledonia, left some points on the board and had some turnovers. We need to shore that up."

While Chatfield is coming off an impressive 51-14 win against Goodhue in the section semifinals, Caledonia was also sharp in beating St. Charles 40-13. It ran for 269 yards, with Ayden Goetzinger getting 80 of those and Eric Mauss 74. It also played its usual stellar defense, allowing the Saints just those 13 points. For the season, Caledonia is allowing just 11 points per game.

"Their defensive play is extremely tough," Johnson said. "When you play defense like that, you're never out of a game."

Fruechte liked what he saw from his team in the semis. But he knows that much more will be required in order to get past Chatfield.

He also knows something else. It's that his team can't wait to play the Gophers, their biggest rival.

"There is just some competitive fire that gets going when we play Chatfield," Fruechte said. "Our kids love playing Chatfield."