Bryan
Strand is in his 18th year as a head football coach, and his Barnesville
Trojans made history Friday by defeating Chatfield 35-20 in the Class 2A Prep
Bowl at U.S. Bank Stadium and taking home their first state title.
Barnesville
had come close before, losing in state championship games in 1978, 2010 and 2018.
They reached the state semifinals last year before losing to eventual state
champion Chatfield 22-18.
Strand
comes from a coaching family. His father, Dick Strand, was the head football
coach at Southland from 1973 until 2003, winning a state title in 1983. Dick
Strand was inducted into the Minnesota Football Coaches Association Hall of
Fame in 2003. Dick died on Dec. 1, 2014, and his son won a state
title almost eight years later to the day.
“He passed away on his 70th birthday
and we're staying at a hotel that's got his name on the wall,” Bryan Strand
said, referring to the Doubletree
Hotel Minneapolis Park Place, which has a room devoted to the MFCA Hall of
Fame.
“It's
everything. It’s just so emotional,” said Strand. “I'm just so happy. I run the
weight room and I wake up with these guys every day and I wouldn't have it any
other way. It's been a journey and they finally got here.”
Football teams often place the jersey number of teammates who have passed away or are battling illness on
their helmets. Players from Barnesville and Chatfield have taken it a step
further, with the numbers of players from other teams on their headgear.
At Barnesville, the players have been wearing the
number 65 on their helmets in honor of Tyler Stone, a West Central Area senior
football player who died in a car accident in September. Tyler played in the
Prep Bowl a year ago, where West Central Area lost to Chatfield 14-13.
Barnesville and West Central are in the same district and the Trojans began
their season with a 29-6 home win over the Knights.
“He passed away earlier this season
and (WCA coach) Nate (Wood) and I are pretty good friends,” said Strand. “We
talked quite a bit and I kind of steamrolled the other coaches in the
conference to get his number put on everybody's helmets. And we had a few guys
that went down to the funeral, as well. Tyler was a senior, he was a really
good kid and we wanted to honor him by having him be part of our team throughout
the season.”
Chatfield senior star Sam Backer has had the number 64 on the back
of his helmet ever since Aidan Miller of Plainview died in July 2019 from what doctors believe was cardiac arrhythmia. Aidan was a football player and wrestler at
Plainview-Elgin-Millville.
--Backer
rushed 28 times for 182 yards and two touchdowns Friday, ending his career with 7,377 rushing yards; the state record is
7,503 by McLeod West’s Tyler Evans, set in 2001. Backer, a starter since
eighth grade, might have broken the record but for a Covid-shortened five-game
season in 2020.
--The Barnesville
football team watched the hockey movie "Miracle" on the bus to the
Twin Cities on Thursday, then – because a member of the coaching staff had a
connection – chatted via FaceTime with Miracle On Ice star Mike Eruzione in
their hotel in the evening. According to Strand: “He said, ‘Enjoy the moment,
enjoy the things that are in front of you.’ ”
Minneota Adds To Its Football Legacy
When
Minneota defeated Springfield 38-21 in Friday’s Class A Prep Bowl state
championship game, it added another chapter to the Vikings’ impressive legacy.
Minneota
now owns eight football state titles. They won three in a row in 1986, 1987 and
1988 under coach Gerhard Meidt, and current head coach Chad Johnston has led
the Vikings to crowns in 2009, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2022.
Meidt
had a record of 236-79
in 32 years at Rothsay, Minneota and Big Lake. One of the stars of his teams in
the 1980s was his son Chris, who still holds state records for most passes
attempted (440) and completed (254) in a season (1987) and ranks high in
several other categories.
“(Gerhard Meidt) was the guy that
changed everything in Minneota football and it was his program,” Johnston said.
“I was an assistant for a few years under Joel Skilling, who was a great mentor
for me. He kind of taught me the ways of the Minneota program and it just kind
of led to everything I do.
“There are shadows of what was done
here before, and I think that's what drives us. And a lot of these kids have parents
who have played in the Prep Bowl. And that tradition means a lot to me, to be
able to say that there has been no downslide in this program since the ‘80s.
The kids have worked hard to keep us on the map and the credit goes to the kids,
it really does.”
A
year ago, Minneota lost to Mayer Lutheran 20-14 in the Prep Bowl. That defeat
provided motivation for this year’s team.
“Last year, watching Mayer Lutheran celebrate,
it's always been sitting in the back of your mind,” said Minneota senior Isaac
Pohlen. “Every single rep and practice and lifting weights in the summer, it's
always been there. And this is the best feeling I've had as a student-athlete.”
--Johnston switched winter coaching
jobs this year, resigning as Minneota’s girls basketball coach and becoming
head coach of the boys basketball team.
Simley Makes History In Class 4A
Using history as a gauge, Simley might
not have been viewed as the favorite in Friday’s Class 4A Prep Bowl game. The
Spartans’ opponent, Hutchinson, came in seeking its seventh state title (the
Tigers won it all last year) and Simley had only played in one previous Prep
Bowl, losing to Mankato West 42-19 in the 2014 Class 5A championship game.
But motivation wasn’t hard to find
for Simley. The Spartans lost to Hutchinson 40-0 in last year’s state
quarterfinals and they didn’t forget.
“I think everyone in this program in
this community and everyone in Inver Grove Heights circled this game, knowing
that this could be a possibility with the team we had,” said Spartans quarterback
Caden Renslow, who threw for two touchdowns and ran for two as Simley defeated
Hutchinson 34-24.
--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
Prep Bowl
Friday,
Dec. 2
Class
1A: Minneota 38, Springfield 21
Class
2A: Barnesville 35, Chatfield 20
Class 4A: Simley vs. Hutchinson
Class 6A: Maple Grove vs. Rosemount
Saturday,
Dec. 3
10
a.m./ Nine-Man: Mountain Iron-Buhl (12-0) vs. Spring Grove (13-0)
1
p.m./ Class 3A: Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
(12-0) vs. New London-Spicer (10-2)
4 pm./ Class 5A: Elk River (12-0) vs. Mankato
West (12-0)
TV: KSTC Channel 45
Streaming: https://kstp.com/45tv/prep45/
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