Never doubt young people. Oldsters can
sometimes ponder teenagers and assume they are all wrapped up in social media,
video games and other assorted activities that may not seem all that vital to
those of us with gray hair. But ask anyone who spends time with teens and you’ll
hear a different story.
High school events are a great source of
inspiration and hope for the future. The kids involved in sports and other activities
are some of the most impressive people I know, no matter the age.
During this week’s football state
semifinals at U.S. Bank Stadium, a couple of things stand out when it comes to
kids and knowing what matters … and knowing the impact they have on even
younger kids.
Malachi Bunke, senior quarterback at
Rushford-Peterson, displayed the maturity to understand the bigger picture even
after the Trojans lost for the first time this season, a 28-8 decision against
Minneota in Saturday’s Class 1A semifinals.
“The best thing about this season is opening the eyes to the
younger generation,” Malachi said. “I feel like bringing back that winning
culture, which Rushford hadn't experienced in football probably since 2016 (the
last time the Trojans went to state, finishing as runner-up). Making it back to
the Bank, I just hope that we're able to inspire a lot of those young kids.”
Rushford-Peterson lineman Carson Thompson, one of 11
Trojans seniors, recalled when he and his classmates were the little ones in
town and the dreams they carried.
“Ever since
we've been little kids we’ve been tight, us 11 seniors,” he said. “So just
going from little kid football all the way up to here, we knew this year was coming.
And after last year and everything (Covid-related) that happened, going 2-3 made
us hungry. So being able to come up this year and get here at 12-0; falling
short hurts, but it's definitely what we were hoping for.”
Malachi, sitting
with Carson and coach Davin Thompson in front of the media, expanded on the
experience of having such a memorable season with his friends.
“It's been a
very special season. Back in August when we started practice, I knew it was going
to be special because this group of senior boys is very special and I was
looking forward to this year. It was a special year, we made it special and we
had a lot of fun doing it. I'm going to look back on this the rest of my life
and I'm not going to regret anything. Doing it with one of my favorite coaches
of all time and my best friends, my brothers ... I'm going to miss them but
it's been one heck of a season.”
Similar
sentiments were shared by two Hutchinson seniors following the Tigers’ 36-6 win
over Orono in Friday’s 4A semifinals.
“We always
talk about tradition,” said lineman Maxten Einck, “and it was a big part of growing
up as a kid, being inspired by the older kids who played football. It's such a
big part of our city. Everybody comes together, it's like a huge family. And I
think that's awesome.”
Teammate Sam
Rensch mentioned being young the last time Hutchinson won a state title, in 2014.
The current seniors were fourth-graders when that team won a championship at
the Metrodome.
“We were
like, ‘OK, we're going to get there someday,’ ” he said. “And now we're here. It's
a dream come true.”
Minneota Vikings are Members of Team Shelly
The Minneota coaches wore t-shirts during
Saturday's game that had a blue ribbon and the words “Team Shelly” on the front.
Shelly Rybinski, mother of Vikings senior Anthony Rybinski, is dealing with
colon cancer and the football team is behind her 100 percent.
“We’re going to support her and of course we support our teammates,”
head coach Chad Johnston said. “And so we basically said that this is something
that we're going to do with kids. We're completely on board and we've had a
couple of situations where kids have been rallying around her, they've done
some pregame stuff where she's in the middle of the huddle.
“Obviously
she's got her battle to go through, but I think it's really helped her to know
that she kind of feels like she gets to be part of this … we all know that when
someone's battling cancer there are not always great days. Our kids been very
supportive.”
Football State Semifinals
Thursday
Nine-Man:
LeRoy-Ostrander 49, Kittson County Central 0
2A:
Chatfield 22, Barnesville 18
4A:
Kasson-Mantorville 24, Becker 20
6A:
Maple Grove 35, Eden Prairie 3
Friday
Nine-Man:
Fertile-Beltrami 30, Hills-Beaver Creek 22
2A
West Central Area/Ashby 8, Maple River 7
5A:
Mahtomedi 34, Robbinsdale Cooper 7
4A:
Hutchinson 36, Orono 6
6A:
Lakeville South 40, St. Michael-Albertville 14
Saturday
1A:
Minneota 28, Rushford-Peterson 8
1A:
Mayer Lutheran 41, New York Mills 6
3A:
Annandale vs. Plainview-Elgin-Millville
3A:
Esko vs. Dassel-Cokato
5A:
Rogers vs. Mankato West
Prep Bowl
Friday, Nov. 26
1A: Minneota vs. Mayer Lutheran, 10 a.m.
2A: Chatfield vs. West
Central Area/Ashby 1 p.m.
4A: Kasson-Mantorville vs. Hutchinson, 4
p.m.
6A: Maple Grove vs. Lakeville South, 7
p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 27
Nine-Man:
LeRoy-Ostrander vs. Fertile-Beltrami, 10 a.m.
3A: Annandale or Plainview-Elgin-Millville vs. Esko or Dassel-Cokato, 1 p.m.
5A: Mahtomedi vs. Mankato West or Rogers, 4 p.m.
Tickets, brackets, streaming, online program, etc.: https://www.mshsl.org/sports-and-activities/football
--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of
Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn
and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts.
Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org
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