St. Michael-Albertville senior Emmanuel Akundu and his family emigrated from Cameroon when he was seven years old in search of opportunity in the states.

Akundu started lifting with his older brother Antoine in the St. Michael-Albertville Middle School West weight room in sixth-grade to ready himself for his first season of football the following year.

“I was a chubby guy and I didn’t like it,” Akundu said. “Other kids didn’t really take interest in the weight room; we used it as an opportunity to better ourselves and (Antoine) always trained me as hard as possible.”

The brothers both hold weight room records as proof of their relentless drive to improve.

Akundu was reminded of his work while playing his final game at the school where he began building himself for high school football. Akundu bruised his way through a wall of players for a 1-yard TD on his only carry of the night, capping the Knights 31-7 victory over St. Cloud Tech in the Class 5A, Section 6 semifinals on Saturday.

The carry wasn’t without help though, as Mitchell Kartes, who was lined up at halfback behind Akundu, gave his teammate an extra push through the line to put the Knights up by three possessions with nine minutes left in the game.

“I was right behind (Akundu) and we were both pushing,” Kartes said. “I knew we had to get it in the end zone to put us up for good.”

St. Michael-Albertville’s head coach Jared Essler called Akundu a “weight room warrior," a moniker that explains Akundu assuming the role as a short-yardage fullback for the Knights, who are ranked No. 7 in the Class 5A Associated Press state football poll.

Both two-way players for St. Michael-Albertville, Akundu and Kartes, led a stalwart defensive effort that held the Tigers (9-1) to a single touchdown after averaging 40 points a game entering Saturday’s matinee.

Chris Backes, St. Cloud Tech’s all-time leading passer, and wideout Brevyn Spann-Ford both ranked within the top five in the state for passing a receiving yards in the regular season.

Kartes was numb to the Tiger's reputation and picked off Backes on the second play from scrimmage after a pass slipped through the hands of a receiver, likely due to the wet conditions.

Later in the opening half, Kartes took a carry 41 yards to the end zone on fourth down.

The Knights (8-1) defense forced St. Cloud Tech to punt on the next drive, but Akundu blocked the kick, setting up a four-play, 24-yard scoring drive that resulted in a 14-point swing for St. Michael-Albertville in the span of just less than three minutes.

“We had confidence and a little bit of swagger to us after (the first half),” Kartes said.

The Tigers showed how lethal their NASCAR offense could be as Backes completed three consecutive passes on the following drive, capped by a 41-yard connection to Spann that took just 30 seconds of the clock.

The score kept the Knights humble and they approached the second half as a 0-0 affair, Kartes said.

St. Cloud Tech failed to convert a first down the entire third quarter as St. Michael-Albertville held the Tigers scoreless in the second half while chewing up the clock.

The Knights now advance to their fifth straight section championship game and will face top-seeded and No.1-5A Elk River who previously beat them 43-6 on Sept. 23.

St. Michael-Albertville has transformed on both sides of the ball since the loss and will look to avenge themselves against the Elks, who the Knights have faced in the playoffs four of the past five years, twice in the championship game.

“We’re just going to go into it with a different mentality,” Kartes said. “We’re going to be ready and we’ll see what happens.”

Mitchell Kartes tallied 125 rushing yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions to help the second-seeded Knights deal No. 3-seeded St. Cloud Tech its first loss of the season, a 31-7 decision in the Class 5A, Section 6 semifinal Saturday at St. Michael-Albertville Middle School West.

Ranked seventh in the Class 5A Associated Press state football poll, the Knights (8-1) held the Tigers, averaging 40 points a game on the season, to seven points. 

Chris Backes completed 10 of 27 passes for 129 yards and connected with Brevyn Spann-Ford on a 41-yard touchdown for No. 6-ranked St. Cloud Tech (9-1).

St. Michael-Albertville will face top-seeded No.1-5A Elk River in the section championship next Friday at Buffalo High School.