Cannon Falls Football Season Ends

The Cannon Falls Bomber football season ended Friday night at top ranked St. Croix Lutheran in West St. Paul 42-12.

Bombers Head Coach Danny Meyers said "I'm proud of the way our guys battled all season.  They were committed to improving every week, and we played our best football at the end of the season.  This group of seniors showed great leadership. They fought through adversity and injuries and ended the season with an awesome playoff run that they can be proud of."

Meyers added, "St. Croix Lutheran has an excellent offensive line and they run the option as well as anybody in the state."

The Crusaders had a 14-0 lead at the quarter break and took a 28-0 lead into halftime.

The Bombers scored their first touchdown with :57 to go in the third quarter when Hayden Strain scampered 14 yards.  A two point conversion attempt failed.

Their other touchdown was scored by Gage Hildebrandt on a 6 yard run with 7:10 to go and the two point conversion failed again.

Hayden Strain led the defense with 11 tackles.

Quarterback Chase Reber was 7 of 14 passing for 83 yards.

Gage Hildebrandt led the ground game with 57 yards on 11 carries and Jovan Ripley caught three passes for 45 yards.

St. Croix Lutheran had two touchdown runs and one touchdown pass of 60 yards or more.

In other Section Title games Friday night:

• The Triton Cobras had a 7-6 lead at halftime against top ranked and unbeaten Caledonia but the Warriors pulled away in the third quarter and won 35-7 for the Section 1 Class 2A title.  The game was played at the Rochester Regional Sports Stadium.
• The Winona Winhawks downed the Kasson-Mantorville Komets 34-14 in a battle of unbeatens for the Section 1 Class 4A crown at Rochester Mayo High School.
• Owatonna rolls past Rochester Century 37-0 for the Section 1 Class 5A championship.
• Blue Earth Area won the Section 2 Class 2A title with a 11-10 win over Maple River at Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton Friday night.  The Bucs enter the State Tournament with 4 losses
• The Section 1 Nine-Man title game had people sitting at the edge of their seat when top ranked Spring Grove came from behind to beat Cleveland 36-35 at Rochester Regional Sports Stadium.
• Mankato West enjoyed their home cooking with a 24-14 victory over Waconia.
• In Section 2 Class 4A Marshall downed Waseca 41-13 on the Southwest Minnesota State University campus.
• Jordan captured a thrilling 42-41 overtime win over Glencoe-Silver Lake at Rockford High School for the Section 2 Class 3A championship.
• Apple Valley is the Section 3 Class 5A title holder after a 42-7 win over St. Thomas Academy in Apple Valley Friday night.

In the biggest schools games Class 6A:

• Prior Lake defeated Blaine 49-14.
• Minnetonka downed Rosemount 21-7
• Cretin-Derham Hall blanked Shakopee 12-0
• Edina got by Centennial 7-0
• St. Michael-Albertville bested Lakeville South 21-0
• Maple Grove upended Roseville 41-28
• Lakeville North ended Totino-Grace's season 42-7
• Unbeaten Eden Prairie notched a 34-24 win over Champlin Park

Saturday the Awesome Blossoms of Blooming Prairie go up against top ranked Goodhue at 5:00 p.m. at Rochester Regional Sports Stadium on KAT KOUNTRY 105, 104.9 FM.

At 8:00 p.m. the Rochester Lourdes Eagles play Plainview-Elgin-Millville for the Section 1 Class 3A title.