“We knew we had to bounce back from that one,” said junior receiver Carter Holcomb, who hauled in three touchdown passes. “We had a great week of practice and we were determined to get a new win streak going.”

Meanwhile, the Trojans were looking to put together a better performance after big losses to district foes, including Mankato West, earlier in the season.

New Prague got off to a dream start, using a 50-yard pass from juniors Will Seymour to Michael Beckius to get in the red zone. Seymour snuck in for a 1-yard touchdown to cap the drive.

Rochester Mayo looked set to match the score, driving down field quickly. New Prague bowed up to stuff four goal line rushes from inside the 2-yard line.

“I think the thing I love about this group is first snap to last snap, they’re going to fight,” New Prague coach Jake Nordby said. “I think that defensive stand shows the grit and fortitude of our kids.”

Junior quarterback Rees Grimsrud is up to 16 touchdowns on the season after three on Friday on 12-for-17 passing for 132 yards and an interception.

Three of the prettiest touchdowns came to Holcomb on Friday. After a well-placed ball hit him in the numbers by the front left pylon for a 12-yard touchdown to tie the game, Grimsrud and Holcomb went to that side again with Holcomb coming back to the ball, elevating over multiple Trojan defenders to snatch the pigskin over the top of several red helmets.

“He saved me on that one,” Grimsrud confessed with a smile. “I underthrew it.”

Hey, that’s what friends are for.

“It started in third grade,” Holcomb said of their gridiron careers together. “We had the chemistry and are just working in practice getting it right.”

Grimsrud snuck in for a touchdown to give Rochester Mayo a 21-7 halftime lead.

The Spartans, ranked No. 9 in the Class 5A Associated Press poll, had four wins leading in by an average of 30.5 points per game. Time for the Trojans to pack it in, right?

Rochester Mayo received the opening kick and moved the ball well, converting a fourth-and-5 from its own 42. Like its first drive of the first half, New Prague’s defense came up with another key fourth down stop to halt Rochester Mayo in opposing territory.

The two teams traded interceptions in short fashion with Tore Papenfuss doing the job for Rochester Mayo and Beckius for New Prague.

The Trojans picked up a fourth down deep in Spartan territory and tough runner Nathan Burkhardsmeier plunged in for a 1-yard touchdown. It cut the deficit to 21-14 with 1 minute remaining in the quarter.

Rochester Mayo’s offense was clicking by this point. Sophomore running back Isaiah Beale was chewing through the defense en route to 224 rushing yards and 22 carries.

He got the Spartans inside the red zone where Holcomb elevated again to bring in a tough catch for a 7-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Rochester Mayo’s special teams had a solid day with Ethan Post going 6-for-6 on extra points. Kick and punt returns created short fields. A punt return to the New Prague 47 set up a scoring drive by Beale, who added one more touchdown for good measure midway through the fourth quarter.

“I think we played a pretty good three quarters,” Nordby said. “Stood toe-to-toe with a dang good football team in 5A football. They’re an explosive offense. When they get going, they’re hard to stop.”

Seymour finished 9-for-14 for 106 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. Burkhardsmeier led with 14 carries for 46 yards and a touchdown. The Trojans’ rushing attack combined for 33 carries for 111 yards (3.36 ypc).

Rochester Mayo ran 38 times for 283 yards (7.44 ypc).

“The O-line dominated for the most part and opened up some big holes,” Rochester Mayo coach Donny Holcomb said. “Isaiah’s young, but he’s gaining experience and he’s got a lot of talent. It’s good to see him having a great night.”

Grimsrud also tipped his cap to the offensive line, as well as junior running back Lebron See-Stadstad who used his athleticism to make plays in the back field and pass game.

Rochester Mayo is on pace to earn the top seed for the Section 1 playoffs after winning the title in 2021. A loss to Section 2 team Mankato West won't prove too harmful, especially with wins like Friday.

“The kids had an awesome week of practice," Donny Holcomb said. "They never want to look back, they want to move forward. It’s being true to our motto of getting better every practice and every game.”