Knights QB Jacob Viere gets to prove he has a throwing arm in the Section 6 final game against Rogers. Photo by Kelly McGinley.
Rarely in the regular season was St. Michael-Albertville been forced to pass. The Knights simply chewed up the clock and waited for an opportunity to find big-play receiver and Northern Iowa commit Isaiah Weston for a home run.
Rogers defense blanketed Weston with double coverage most of the game. Luckily for St. Michael-Albertville senior quarterback Jacob Veire, the Knights roster is full of hidden playmakers.
“I just gotta give the ball to them and they do the rest of the work. I’m just along for the ride,” Veire said after throwing three touchdowns in top-seeded St. Michael-Albertville’s 28-21 victory over No. 2 seed Rogers in the Class 5A, Section 6 championship Friday night at Husky Stadium in St. Cloud.
After completing touchdown passes to Jake Hinz and Veire’s brother Austin in the second quarter and finally connecting with Weston in the third, the Knights ideally wanted to start methodically running the ball in the fourth.
Rogers (8-2) had other plans following its touchdown with 10 minutes to play. The Royals' stout defensive line clogged up the middle to give up just minimal gains as it held St. Michael-Albertville running back Eric Sjelin to 65 yards on 16 carries.
“They’ve got some big kids,” Knights coach Jared Essler said. “The way they were playing us dictated that we had to make some plays in the passing game and Jacob was up to the challenge.”
On third-and-9, Veire hit Sjelin on a quick hitch. Sjelin slashed his way 43 yards for a first down in Royals' territory.
Although Sjelin deserves plenty of credit for the big gain, Veire garners some for a well-placed, 15-yard pass to Heinz that set up the Knights' final touchdown.
“(Veire) had to wait behind a really good quarterback last year and he’s gotten better and better each week,” Essler said. “It’s amazing for me to see how much he’s progressed.”
Veire not only showed his abilities as a thrower but also as a game manager on the final drive for St. Michael-Albertville, which is ranked No. 4 in the final Associated Press state high school football poll. Veire's hard count on a fourth-and-1 drew the Royals defense offsides, giving the Knights a fresh set of downs and allow them to run out the clock.
“Our kids stepped up the challenge and competed,” Rogers coach Marc Franz said. “They just came up one play short.”
The No. 7-ranked Royals bid goodbye to their senior class on the Husky Stadium turf with a tradition started in 2004 to honor the team's first group of graduates. The team lined up single file as each senior walked through the ranks of their teammates, coaches, managers and friends.
“I don’t want to kick them off the field,” he said. “I want them to say goodbye to their friends and hangout in their shoulder pads one last time.”
Essler acknowledges that the game was close. Discard a few plays and the results could have easily been flipped.
“It was just one or two plays that decided the game,” he said. “They got some momentum there. But it seemed like every time they got the momentum, we answered the bell and come back and score.
“We did just enough to win," Essler added.
Headed to their third consecutive state tournament, the Knights (9-1) know very well what lies ahead. In the quarterfinals, they will face either explosive Park Center or No. 3-ranked Spring Lake Park.
“Every team from here on out is going to be good,” Weston said. “We just gotta come out with the same mentality and the same focus we’ve had for every game."
STMA's running back Eric Sjelin drives the ball downfield to give the Knights a first down. Sjelin will later score a touchdown to cap off STMA's victory over Rogers. Photo by Kelly McGinley.
First Report
Top-seeded St. Michael-Albertville fought off a Royals' rally in the fourth quarter, edging out No. 2 seed Rogers 28-21 in the Class 5A, Section 6 championship at Husky Stadium in St. Cloud. The win catapulted the Knights to their third consecutive state tournament.
St. Michael-Albertville senior quarterback Jacob Veire threw two of his three touchdown passes in the second quarter's waning minutes, finding tight end Jacob Hinz for a 25-yard hookup. Veire then found his brother Austin in the back of the end zone with five seconds on the clock to put the Knights ahead 14-0 at halftime.
Royals quarterback Tanner Palm connected with Rylan Darr downfield for a 38-yard completion, setting up Blayne Kasper for a 1-yard dive into the end zone.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Veire dropped back and hit a wide-open Weston for a 54-yard strike to the end zone. The touchdown gave St. Michael-Albertville a 20-7 lead at the close of the third quarter.
Both teams pieced together long scoring drives in the final frame. Rogers capped its possession with a 2-yard run by Travis Limoseth while the Knights scored on a 1-yard dive courtesy of John Zimmer.
Palm and Drew Sagehorn converted a fourth-and-6 with 2:26 to play, leading to an eventual 11-yard touchdown run by Sagehorn as the Royals (8-2) pulled to within 28-21.
Facing a fourth-and-1 on its next drive, St. Michael-Albertivlle (9-1) used a hard count to draw Rogers offsides.
With a fresh set of downs, Veire knelt down to ultimately end the game. He finished completing 9 of 15 pass attempts for 185 yards and three touchdowns.
Ranked No. 4 in Class 5A in the final Associated Press state high school football poll of the season, the Knights face the winner of the Section 5 championship between Park Center and No. 3-5A Spring Lake Park in the state quarterfinals Oct. 31 at Osseo High School.
