ST. CLOUD — The Alexandria football team wrapped up the regular season with a road win on Wednesday and secured a No. 3 seed in the Section 8-5A tournament in the process.
The Cardinals needed to beat St. Cloud Tech (1-7) to feel completely comfortable in that seeding when the tournament field was officially set through the QRF on Minnesota-scores.net on Oct. 20. They led 14-0 after the first quarter and went on to beat the Tigers 28-21 to finish the regular season at 3-5.
These two teams will meet again next Tuesday in the first round of the Section 8-5A playoffs.
Walker Hennen punched in a 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to give Alexandria the 28-21 lead. That proved to be the game-winner. Alexandria got a defensive stop on fourth down at the Tigers’ 37-yard line with just under 5 minutes left.
Andrew Flaten got a 9-yard run to pick up a first down on the Cardinals’ next possession, and Jaxon Schoenrock added a first-down on a 10-yard catch.
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Sophomore kicker Daniel Jackson missed a 29-yard field goal at the end of that drive, but the two first downs brought the clock down to less than a minute left to play. That forced the Tigers into a throwing situation, and Schoenrock got an interception to secure the win for Alexandria.
Sophomore quarterback Chase Thompson threw for 281 yards and overcame two first-half touchdowns to help the Cardinals to the win. Kadyn Weber was the leading receiver with 6 catches, a touchdown and 101 yards. Schoenrock also caught 7 balls for almost 80 yards. Jacob Lanoux led a good defensive effort with 11 tackles.
Alexandria used a fumble recovery from Kelly Johnson near midfield early in the third quarter to jumpstart a 14-point second half. The Cardinals turned that into a 27-yard touchdown pass from
Thompson to Weber as they took a 21-14 lead. Tech had rallied all the way back to tie the game at halftime. Again the Tigers rallied after that Weber touchdown. A 24-yard touchdown run from Derrick Cox-Payton tied the game at 21-21 through three quarters.
It was all Cardinals to start the game. Alexandria got a 73-yard touchdown drive on its first possession. Wildcat quarterback Isaiah Brown punched in a 5-yard touchdown run on third down before Jackson made the PAT to make it 7-0 just 2:30 into the game.
The defense forced a fumble on Tech’s first possession. Weber and Mason Gorghuber both had important receptions on the first two drives, and Alexandria needed just five plays to go 62 yards on its second drive before Hennen ran in a 6-yard touchdown.
St. Cloud Tech responded with a big second quarter. An 81-yard touchdown pass from Connor Harens to Brayden Schmitz got the Tigers back into the game. The Tigers then got two interceptions that almost led to a lead at the break. Harens ran in a 4-yard touchdown and connected with Cox-Payton on the conversion to tie the game at 14.
It could have been a touchdown lead for the Tigers at the half, but Alexandria got a goal-line stand as time ran out in the second quarter. A Tigers’ run on third down from inside the 1-yard line came up short as the time expired.
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The Section 8-5A playoffs start on Oct. 25 with the top two seeds getting byes in the first round. Sauk Rapids-Rice (6-2) and Moorhead (3-5) got those top two seeds, while the Cardinals will host a home playoff game on Tuesday against the Tigers after Tech got the sixth seed.
Sartell-St. Stephen (3-5) and Bemidji (2-6) played on Friday night where the Sabres won a 46-7 game. These two teams play each other in the playoff opener as the fourth and fifth seeds in the section.
The semifinals in the Section 8-5A playoffs will be played on Oct. 29. The championship is scheduled for Nov. 4.
ALEXANDRIA 14 0 7 7 - 28
ST. CLOUD TECH 0 14 7 0 - 21
SCORING - ALEXANDRIA - Isaiah Brown 5-yard run; Daniel Jackson PAT (7-0); ALEXANDRIA - Walker Hennen 6-yard run; Daniel Jackson PAT (14-0)
SECOND QUARTER - ST. CLOUD TECH - Connor Harens 81-yard pass to Brayden Schmitz; PAT blocked (14-6); ST. CLOUD TECH - Connor Harens 4-yard run; Harens 2-point conversion pass to Derrick Cox-Payton (14-14)
THIRD QUARTER - Chase Thompson 27-yard pass to Kadyn Weber; Daniel Jackson PAT (21-14); ST. CLOUD TECH - Derrick Cox-Payton 24-yard run; Gavin Fenstad PAT good (21-21)
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FOURTH QUARTER - Walker Hennen 1-yard run; Daniel Jackson PAT (28-21)
ALEXANDRIA PLAYER STATS -
PASSING - Chase Thompson, 23/32, 262 yards, TD, 2 INT; RUSHING - Walker Hennen, 13 rushes, 44 yards, 2 TD; Isaiah Brown, 6 rushes, 26 yards, TD; Andrew Flaten, 6 rushes, 22 yards; Chase Thompson, 1 rush, -1 yard; RECEIVING - Kadyn Weber, 6 catches, 85 yards, TD; Jaxon Schoenrock, 8 catches, 80 yards; Mason Gorghuber, 1 catch, 43 yards; Kelly Johnson, 5 catches, 28 yards; Walker Hennen, 2 catches, 22 yards; Andrew Flaten, 1 catch, 4 yards; DEFENSE- Bryr Homelvig, 3 tackles; Jacob Lanoux, 3 tackles, Ashton Sayre, 2 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL; Brayden Staples, 2 tackles, 1 fumble; Walker Hennen, 1 tackle; Kelly Johnson, 1 tackle, 1 fumble; Jordan Nicholson, 1 tackle; Sawyer Rumohr, 1 tackle, TFL; Drew Gundberg, 1 tackle; Isaiah Brown, 0.5 tackles; Hunter Athey, 0.5 tackles; Mac Heydt, 0.5 tackles; Jaxon Schoenrock, 1 interception; KICK RETURNS - Kelly Johnson, 3 returns, 42 yards; Walker Hennen, 1 return, 26 yards; PUNT RETURNS - Kelly Johnson, 2 returns, 18 yards;; KICKING - Daniel Jackson, 4-4 PAT; KICKOFFS- Daniel Jackson, 5 kicks, 297 yards; PUNTING - Daniel Jackson, 2 punts, 82 yards
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