Brainerd coach Ron Stolski, Minnesota’s football coach emeritus with 52 seasons — the past 39 at his current school — and a state-record 355 career victories, was one of the architects of the Prep Bowl when it was inaugurated in 1982. 

Now, after his team held off Chaska 20-19 in the Class 5A semifinals Saturday at the Metrodome, Stolski will be directly involved with the final Prep Bowl game. Brainerd (12-0) will play Owatonna (12-0) for the Class 5A championship at the Metrodome on Nov. 30.

“I’ve been here [to the Metrodome] many times,” said Stolski, his memory clearer than most. “In 2009, 2010, 2007, 1990. But never to the finals. I’ll be there this year, unless I fall out of my deer stand.”

Chaska moved the ball at will between the 20-yard-lines, putting up 477 yards of offense to just 181 for Brainerd. But the Hawks repeatedly hurt themselves when they got close to the end zone, failing on two conversions after touchdowns, missing a field goal and turning the ball over on downs three times in Brainerd territory.

After Chaska had taken a 19-14 lead in the third quarter, the Warriors put together their only drive of the second half that didn’t result in a punt, going 54 yards in four plays, capped by a 41-yard run by Conor Gessell .

“That says a lot about us,” Gessell said. “We didn’t play our best, but we stuck together and did what we had to do.”

Brainerd’s Cole Smith took the opening kickoff back 79 yards for a quick 7-0 lead. Chaska came right back, tying the score on Justin Arnold’s 24-yard pass to Matthew Witthus. Brainerd hit back, getting a 26-yard touchdown pass from Thomas Stoxen to Isaiah Smith for a 14-7 lead. There was still 5:39 remaining in the first quarter.

From there, a real game took shape. The teams swapped six punts before Chaska scored again. Kolby Seiffert’s 10-yard cutback run cut the deficit to one point. The extra point was missed and the two teams went into halftime with Brainerd leading 14-13.

RECAP

Key to the game: While the offense sputtered, Brainerd did not hurt itself. The Warriors didn’t turn the ball over, rarely missed tackles and won the special teams battle.

Quote: “I was looking up at myself on the big board while I was running, so I knew I wouldn’t be caught,” – Gessell, talking about his 41-yard touchdown run.

One thing to know: Brainerd gained 115 yards on its two touchdown drives, just 58 total on its other 11 possessions.

JIM PAULSEN