MINNEAPOLIS – With 10 straight points, the Alexandria football team had the momentum heading into halftime of Saturday’s MSHSL Class 5A State Championship game. Chase Thompson’s third touchdown pass of the night, a 23-yard pass to Mason Gorghuber followed by a Elk River turnover over on downs and a Prep Bowl record 44-yard field goal by Daniel Jackson in the final seconds half of the first half, Alexandria tied the game at 24.
But in the second half, Elk River played its brand of football and limited possessions for both teams. In the end, Elk River made the most of its offensive drives and created turnovers on defense.
Both teams only finished two drives in the second half. Elk River had two 17-play drives that took up over 18 minutes in the second half and totaled nine points.
Meanwhile, Alexandria had two possessions that took up a little over five minutes and resulted in no points and two interceptions, giving Elk River a 33-24 win on Saturday in the MSHSL Class 5A State Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
“Our guys played hard and well, but against Elk River, there’s little margin for error,” Alexandria head coach Mike Empting said. “Congratulations to Elk River; they’re a great football team. They’re a tough team stop. We knew we’d have to take advantage of opportunities when we got them. Elk River took advantage of its opportunities.”
“This group was just so phenomenal to work with,” Elk River head coach Steve Hamilton said. “They’re just so much fun to be with every every single day. They work hard daily, and we probably ask too much of them. They are great and we have a phenomenal coaching staff.”
Elk River had first the possession in the second half and went on a 17-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Levi Harris that put it up 30-24 over Alexandria with 2:28 left in the third quarter.
“You have to get a team like them behind the sticks,” Empting said. “You must try to get them into long-yardage situations on third and fourth down. It’s tough to get them off the field when they get three and four-yard situations on third and fourth down. Once they cross about the opponent’s 40-yard line, they’re going for it on fourth down. In those situations, it was four-down territory, and we had to make stops. We just had a hard time.”
Sam Stuve / Alexandria Echo Press
That nine-minute and 32-second drive was four seconds off of the Prep Bowl record for the longest-scoring drive set by Stillwater in 1984.
“You have to take what they give you, and we knew they weren’t going to give us the long runs in the second half,” Hamilton said. “Number 72 (Jack Morrissette) and 75 (Evan Zabel) for Alexandria are very good, but they play both ways (on the offensive line and defensive line). We had a game plan to be physical with those two on offense. Thankfully, it worked. That drive in the second half was obviously huge.”
Harris forced the game’s first turnover on the next possession as he picked off Thompson to give the Elks the ball at their own 17-yard line, leading 30-24 with 30 seconds left in the third quarter.
“The whole first half, we responded well to their scores,” Thompson said. “We felt confident that we could respond well to them in the second half. Sitting there for nine and a half minutes was tough, but there’s no excuses. We should’ve responded better.”
Elk River’s rushing attack was methodical all throughout the night.
This was true for the fourth quarter, but Alexandria put Elk River in a fourth-and-4 on the Elk River 48-yard line at 7:40 left in the game.
Elk River opted to go for it with Harris running the ball to the right, towards the Alexandria sideline and was tackled right at the line to gain.
Harris was initially ruled to be short of the line to gain, giving Alexandria possession of the ball near midfield, trailing 30-24 with seven and a half minutes left in the game.
But a video review changed the spot of the ball, and the new spot gave Elk River a first down by one chain link.
“That was a downer for us,” Empting said. “If we get that stop, we can go down the field and possibly get the lead there.”
A 28-yard field goal by Spencer Burgoon pushed Elk River’s lead to 33-24 with 3:16 left in the game.
The Cardinals tried to make a last-ditch effort in the final minutes and moved the ball deep into Elks territory, but an interception by Gavin Kerns in the final minute and a half sealed the Elks’ second state title win in three years and third in nine years.
Sam Stuve / Alexandria Echo Press
“Alexandria is really good, and they couldn’t be more different than us, right?” Hamilton said. “It’s hard for us to replicate what they do, and I’m sure that’s true for them the other way around. We had to go right at them, run it down the hill, double team their best guys play after play, and hopefully work by the second half.”
Elk River dominated time of possession on Saturday, as it controlled the ball for 33 and a half minutes, while Alexandria only had the ball for a little over 14 minutes.
Alexandria moved the ball quite well all night, especially through the air.
Thompson finished with 305 passing yards and three passing touchdowns for the Cardinals. Gorghuber had two touchdown receptions, while Mason Witt had one touchdown catch on an 80-yard pass from Thompson.
Carsyn Kleffman led Elk River’s backfield on Saturday with 112 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, both of which came in the first half.
Sam Stuve / Alexandria Echo Press
Breckin Keoraj also had a long rushing touchdown in the first half to help the Elks (12-1) win its second state title in the last three years and its third MSHSL state title in program history.
Elk River finished with 393 rushing yards. Gavin Schmidt led Elk River in rushing yards with 123.
This state championship was a little more special for Elk River, who was playing in honor of Charles Gabrelcik. Gabrelcik is a member of the Elk River football team who was
in a
that killed his friends Anthony Krider and Donovan Gobel.
“He’s important to us; that’s why we have his number and initials on our helmets,” Hamilton said. “Going through what he’s going through is way harder than anything we’ve done, and he’s got to do it every day to have some quality of life. We reminded the guys that when you’re feeling down that, it can get a lot worse and get a lot harder and that some people have to fight like that every day.”
The Cardinals finish the 2024 season with a 10-3 record as the Class 5A runner-up.
Sam Stuve / Alexandria Echo Press
This is Alexandria’s first runner-up finish since taking second in Class 2A in 1994.
“It’s an honor,” Alexandria senior edge rusher Dean Lempka said. “I’m proud of the way my team played. It’s nice when you can come off the field as a defensive player and watch your offense march down the field. I’m so proud of every single person on this team, and I’m excited to see what Alexandria has in store in the future.”
“I wouldn’t have wanted to play with anybody else,” Alexandria senior running back/defensive back Heydt said.
This runner-up finish is Alexandria’s third top-two finish in an MSHSL State Tournament (Alexandria won a state title in 1974).
Over the last two seasons, Alexandria has amassed a 24-4 record and finished as one of the best teams in Class 5A.
Seniors like Gorghuber, Thompson, Jackson, and Lempka have been a reason why Alexandria has had major success in the last two seasons.
Sam Stuve / Alexandria Echo Press
“Us seniors hoped to leave the legacy that we left this place better than how we found it,” Jackson said.
And in the eyes of Empting, they’ve left a profound legacy within the Alexandria community.
“These guys did it the right way,” Empting said. “The thing that I’m probably most proud of is how they grew throughout the season. A lot of these guys played last year on the team that lost in the state semifinals last year, and they grew not only as football players but as people. They’re great leaders. I’m proud of the young men that they are in our community. The legacy is to be not only successful on the football field but also as a student and young man. They’re outstanding young men.”
