Coach Ryan Weinandt talked to Dassel-Cokato players during a recent practice. The Chargers will play Saturday in the Class 3A Prep Bowl against No. 1-ranked Pierz. Photo: Brian Peterson * brian.peterson@startribune.com
COKATO, Minn. — The lead was precarious, at best. After a 17-point first-half blitz, Dassel-Cokato was scratching and clawing and doing everything it could to hold on.
Annandale, its Class 3A semifinal opponent, had whittled the Chargers’ lead to a field goal, 17-14. The Cardinals were marching in the fourth quarter, a relentless drive that seemed destined to find the end zone and possibly snatch the lead, and the game, away.
There was tension, all right. But on the Dassel-Cokato sideline, there was no worry. This group had faced down a much bigger adversary and came out stronger. Win or lose, this was just a game.