Kasson-Mantorville senior quarterback Matthew Donovan called the middle seat for the postgame news conference Thursday, smiling as he told two teammates there’s no place he’d rather be.

Donovan took center stage through much of the KoMets’ 24-20 upset of top-ranked Becker in the Class 4A football state tournament semifinals. He led all players in carries (25) and yards (134). In the final 12 minutes, he scored twice and passed for another touchdown.

No. 9 Kasson-Mantorville (9-3) advances to its first Prep Bowl, playing for the title at 4 p.m. Nov. 26 at U.S. Bank Stadium. The KoMets will face the winner of Friday’s semifinal between No. 2 Hutchinson and Orono.

“I’m just proud of our guys,” KoMets coach Joel Swanson said. “Our kids just keep battling. That’s what life is all about. Make a break, man.”

Becker led 17-3 after three quarters. But the air was already leaving the balloon. Senior defensive end Gavin Giesler had intercepted a Becker pass and run the ball down to the Bulldogs’ 3-yard line.

“It wasn’t lucky. We practiced all week for that exact screen play,” Giesler said. “As soon as their quarterback turned, I knew I had it.”

Less than one minute into the fourth quarter, Donovan scored the first of his three touchdowns.

As the fourth quarter wore on, however, Donovan’s maladies added up. He returned a punt 40 yards into Becker territory but took a big hit and got up limping. On the first play of the offensive series, a hit popped his helmet off. He went to the sideline, missing several plays as his right nostril was packed with tissue to stem bleeding.

Reentering the game with his team at the 3-yard line, Donovan ran for the tying score. An already-resilient team fed off its quarterback’s example. Donovan is listed at 5-10 and 170 pounds but plays much bigger.

“He’s the toughest kid I know,” Giesler said. “Everybody knows he’s hurt, but he fights. When he came back in, that was a big jump for everybody.”

Becker (11-1) regrouped and produced a scoring drive capped with a go-ahead field goal for a 20-17 lead.

The KoMets needed to make one more break. Donovan led the way, running or passing for 71 of the 80 yards on the final drive. Brooks Buchanan caught Donovan’s pass as the KoMets went ahead to stay at 24-20.

“It was definitely stressful,” Donovan said of the final drive. “But we knew what we were doing.”

The furious final quarter stood in contrast to the first half, when the defenses held sway. Each team failed to make a fourth-down conversion. Punts were plentiful.

“It was a grinding kind of game,” Becker coach Dwight Lundeen said. “I don’t think the game was ever comfortable for either team.”

A thrilling fourth-quarter comeback ended with Kasson-Mantorville’s 24-20 upset of top-ranked Becker on Thursday in the Class 4A football state tournament semifinals.

The KoMets faced a 17-3 deficit but used three touchdowns in the final 12 minutes to stun the Bulldogs (11-1).

No. 9 Kasson-Mantorville (9-3) advances to its first Prep Bowl, being played at 4 p.m. on Nov. 26 at U.S. Bank Stadium. The KoMets will face the winner of Friday’s semifinal featuring No. 2 Hutchinson and Orono.