9-Man Football championship: Records fall in Stephen-Argyle's 37-22 victory

 

Stephen-Argyle football is back.

After a 2008 season which saw three impressive strings snapped- their state record 76-game winning streak, twelve consecutive section championships and five consecutive state championships- the Storm rolled into the Metrodome and re-established themselves as the kings of 9-Man football, defeating the Nicollet Raiders 37-22. The Storm (13-1) rolled up 569 yards rushing and 616 yards of total offense in the victory, both of which broke Prep Bowl records.  In total, the Storm set six different records in the win.

Evan Schindele got things going for the Storm on their first offensive possession, capping off an 89-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth and goal.  Schindele scored again on the Storm's second possession, a 5-yard run that completed an 88-yard drive.  The Storm defense then turned Nicollet over on an interception late in the first quarter, and six plays later Jamison St. Germain was in the end zone for the third Stephen-Argyle touchdown.  All the two-point conversions after the touchdowns failed, but before people could get really settled into their seats, the Storm was leading 18-0.

On their fourth offensive possession, Nicollet was able to solve the Stephen-Argyle defense, zooming down the field on a 4 play, 62 yard touchdown drive that only took 44 seconds off the clock.  The Raiders moved down the field with two big passing plays- a 42 yard completion from Jordan Rudenick to Nick Mans, then a 17 yard pass from Sean Murphy to Jamie Fischer- setting up Rudenick to run it in from three yards out to make the score 18-6.  Nicollet then forced a Stephen-Argyle fumble after another long Storm drive, and after the teams traded a few punts, they went to the half with Stephen-Argyle holding on to that 12-point lead.

After a scoreless third quarter where Stephen-Argyle had the football for nearly nine of the twelve minutes, the Storm scored on Schindele's third touchdown of the game.  His 4-yard touchdown run finished off a 15 play, 63 yard drive and made the score 24-6.  Nicollet quickly answered with on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Rudenick to Fischer and then converted the 2-point conversion, bringing them to within 10.

With Nicollet perhaps feeling the momentum after making the score 24-14, the Stephen-Argyle running game took over, turning a great team rushing performance into a record-setting one.  A steady diet of runs methodically moved the Storm down the field and with five minutes to go, St. Germain scored his second touchdown of the game to make the score 30-14 and to put away the Storm's sixth title in seven years.  John Safranski added a late score for Stephen-Argyle and Rudenick a late TD for Nicollet, making the final score 37-22.

GAME NOTES: In addition to the records set for rushing yards (569) and total yards (616), Stephen-Argyle set records for most rushing first downs (33), most total first downs (34), total offensive plays (94) and total rushing attempts (88)...Nicollet and Stephen-Argyle met in the 1999 final, with Stephen-Argyle winning that game 18-8...Nicollet's Jordan Rudenick ended the game with 244 yards passing, one TD pass and two TD runs...Stephen and Argyle, located about 40 miles northeast of Grand Forks, ND, are about a 360 mile trip from Minneapolis, while Nicollet, located about 10 miles west of St. Peter, MN, is about an 80 mile trip.

The 2009 Prep Bowl results:

Class 5A: Cretin-Derham Hall 16, Eden Prairie 5
Class 4A: Totino-Grace 45, Sartell-St. Stephen 7
Class 3A: New London-Spicer 28, Glencoe-Sliver Lake 21
Class 2A: Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 33, Moose Lake-Willow River 22
Class A: Minneota 42, Adrian 21
9-Man: Stephen-Argyle 37, Nicollet 22