Huskies Will Face St. Thomas Academy in Prep Bowl

The field is filled for the Prep Bowl state championship football games for Thanksgiving Weekend and Owatonna will face St. Thomas Academy in a 4 pm kickoff Saturday, November 24 at US Bank Stadium for the Class 5A title. Owatonna topped Elk River 39-8 on Friday. STA beat Bemidji in Saturday's semifinal 33-21.

OHS is the defending state champion and won a title in 2013. The Cadets won a state Class A title in 1974 and were runners-up in 2000, 2006 and 2015. Owatonna beat St. Thomas Academy in 1998 and 2012, finishing second each year. OHS is at state for the eighth time in school history. This year marks the 23rd state appearance for the Cadets of St. Thomas Academy, located in Mendota Heights.

St. Thomas relies on senior running back Brendan McFadden for most of their offense. He has 1,667 yards and 34 touchdowns. The team averages 264 yards rushing and 78 yards passing per game. They have outscored their opponents by an average of 41-6.

McFadden ran for 216 yards and three touchdowns Saturday. Quarterback Charlie Fifinski was 9-for-10 passing for 197 yards. The Cadets totaled 453 yards of offense, while giving up 290 yards, mostly through the air. STA has held opposing teams to 54 yards rushing per game.

Owatonna's Jason Williamson is up to 2,824 yards and 45 touchdowns on the season and is approaching 7,000 career yards. The Huskies only attempted one pass in their win over Elk River, and did not complete it.