MN high school football state tournament

Jackson County Central head football coach Tom Schuller’s granddaughter has been growing a lucky watermelon all season.

After the Huskies’ 34-26 Class 2A state semifinal win over Kimball Area Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium, Schuller compared the watermelon to this year’s team: “It’s started to deteriorate a little bit, kind of like our starting lineup,” he said.

Schuller was referring to his team playing without its star quarterback and one of its receivers. Last week, early in the Huskies’ quarterfinal win over Norwood Young America, the Huskies lost quarterback Roman Voss to a season-ending ankle injury. The top-ranked recruit in the 2026 class, Voss has offers from schools like Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.

The Huskies were also without injured junior receiver Ben Gallagher.

“We spent all year having designated roles,” Schuller said. “So hats off to our guys. Really resilient. Our goal all year has been a state title. We weren’t willing to say, ‘Darn it. There went that.’”

For more on how Schuller and the Huskies overcame the injuries, click here to read this story on startribune.com.