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Krupke, STMA dominate Buffalo to secure Muddy Crow for final time

By Matthew Davis, SportsEngine, 10/14/16, 8:00AM CDT

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Marcus Krupke's two long TD passes helped the Knights rout the Bison in the rivals last regular-season meeting.

Marcus Krupke took on quite the assignment Friday in his first varsity start at quarterback for St. Michael-Albertville. 

Knights coach Jared Essler asked the junior to jump-start the offense in the team's final regular-season battle with Buffalo, a rival just down Highway 35 from St. Michael-Albertville, and retain the Muddy Crow trophy.

“It was tough to sleep the entire week,” the junior said.

Good thing Krupke had a familiar face to throw to in junior Zach Sjelin. The pair partnered on touchdown passes of 44 and 51 yards in the Knights’ 49-14 rout of the Bison.

“We were pretty confident (in Krupke),” Sjelin said. “He's been pretty good all year as a backup role.”

The St. Michael-Albertville tandem made similar plays as members of the sophomore and freshman teams.

“I've been throwing to Zach for quite a while,” Krupke said.

Buffalo may be glad it won't face the duo again.   

The defending Class 5A state champion Knights are moving to Class 6A next year and joining a new district, meaning the current North Central District Blue Division foes have played their last rivalry game for at least two years. The teams have competed for Muddy Crow every year since 2005, but the trophy will nest with St. Michael-Albertville for the foreseeable future.

Quarterback Dylan Rohlin and receiver Tyler Johnson did their part give the Bison a shot at getting trophy back for the first time since 2012. The seniors connected in the second quarter for a touchdown on a fourth-down fade pass and again on an 18-yard reception to head into halftime with the score tied 14-14.

“We wanted it bad,” Johnson said. “After that first half, we were pretty confident.”

Their confidence was high despite Knights linebacker Nolan Schmitz and defensive backs Xavier Thurman and Travis Brown each intercepting a pass.

“Our defense has been lights out all year,” Essler said.

St. Michael-Albertville's defense proceeded to shutdown the Bison in the second half until sophomore receiver Treyton Welch found the end zone on an 11-yard catch from Rohlin with 1:07 left in the game.

“We just didn't come together as a team in the second half and laid an egg,” Welch said.

Buffalo's defense hatched momentum in the first half with some solid play. Junior defensive end Ryan Kluver twice stuffed the run up the middle with a couple pancake tackles while junior defensive back Tanner Schiller recovered a fumble in the second quarter. The Bison also forced the Knights to punt twice in the half.

Momentum swung back to St. Michael-Albertville early in the third quarter when the Knights punt team pinned Buffalo at the Bison's 1-yard line. Following a Buffalo punt, Krupke put the Knights ahead for good on his 51-yard TD pass to Sjelin.

“(Krupke) certainly didn't look like a guy making his first start in a big rivalry game,” Essler said. “We played with a lot of poise [and] made a couple really big throws for us.”

St. Michael-Albertville senior running back Mitch Bourgerie added to the lead with two touchdown runs in the third, and junior Mitchell Kartes returned a punt 29-yards for a TD. Sophomore running back Desean Phillips iced the game with a 1-yard touchdown run with less than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Buffalo, which plays in Class 6A already, could see St. Michael-Albertville in the playoffs as early as next season. Whether or not the rivals along the Crow River will play for their trophy again remains to be seen.

“Anytime you lose these big rivalries, it's tough,” Bison coach Todd Bouman said. “That's what high school sports are all about.”

First Report

Marcus Krupke and Zach Sjelin connected on two long touchdown passes in St. Michael-Albertville's dominant 49-20 victory at Buffalo on Friday night.

The Bison (3-4) came out strong against the Knights (6-1), ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press Class 5A state high school football poll, and entered halftime with the score 14-14.

However junior quarterback Krupke and junior receiver Sjelin broke the tie on a 51-yard TD play in the third quarter and St. Michael-Albertville never looked back, rolling in the second half to rout Buffalo and keep the Muddy Crow trophy, which goes to the game's winner.

Bison quarterback Dylan Rohlin found receiver Tyler Johnson on two second-quarter TD passes, but the seniors couldn't connect after halftime and the team couldn't score again until late in the fourth quarter.

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