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Waterville-Elysian-Morristown has had more than their share of nailbiters during the 2009 Class AA playoffs, needing a two-point conversion in overtime to defeat Eden Valley-Watkins in the state semifinals 21-20, getting past Caledonia 20-13 in the quarterfinals, and surviving against Southland 15-12 in the second round of the section 2 playoffs. Lengthy cuticles weren’t necessary in the state championship for fans of the Buccaneers, as Waterville-Elysian-Morristown (13-1) used a punishing ground game and tough defense to defeat the Moose Lake-Willow River Rebels (13-1) 33-22 in the Class 2A championship game.
Reid Roemhildt led the way on the ground for Waterville-Elysian-Morristown, racking up 138 yards rushing and scoring a touchdown. Zach Geyer added 85 yards and a score for the Buccaneers, who rushed for 286 yards on the game and put up a total of 415 yards of offense.
The first half saw Waterville-Elysian-Morristown move the ball down the field in methodical fashion three separate times, with all three of the drives ending in touchdowns. After Moose Lake-Willow River pinned Waterville-Elysian-Morristown deep in their own territory, the Buccaneers drove 94 yards in 21 plays for a touchdown, capped off by Zach Geyer’s score on fourth and goal from inside the 1. The drive took nearly nine minutes with the Buccaneers keeping the drive alive by converting four times on third down and twice on fourth down.
In the second quarter, Waterville-Elysian-Morristown made the score 14-0 on a 68-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Gregor from Conrad Masberg, a play where Gregor caught the ball near midfield and outran the Moose Lake-Willow River secondary. That play capped off a 4 play, 80 yard drive. Their third scoring drive covered 85 yards, finished off by Brady Ayers when he followed the block of Blake Boran into the end zone for a 4-yard score.
Moose Lake-Willow River opened the second half with an onside kick attempt, but Waterville-Elysian-Morristown was able to recover and start their first possession of the half from near midfield. Two plays later, Reid Roemhildt snapped off a 41 yard touchdown run, giving Waterville-Elysian-Morristown a 27-0 lead. The Bucs kept pouring it on, as Masberg made it 33-0 when he hit Gregor on a 42 yard pass play immediately following a Roemhildt interception at the Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 5 that he returned to the Moose Lake-Willow River 42.
Moose Lake-Willow River did all their damage in the fourth quarter, starting when Austin Jacobson scampered in from 8 yards out with 6:44 to go. Michael Unzen then broke a 71-yard touchdown run with 2:42 to go, giving him 132 yards on nine carries. Holden Olson scored the final touchdown of the game when he broke a 55-yard touchdown with 13 seconds to go, and Nick Kenemore completed the scoring when he rushed in the two-point conversion.
GAME NOTES: Waterville-Elysian-Morristown won their second championship in school history, with the other coming in 1999…Before adding Morristown, Waterville-Elysian won a championship in 1989… Jordan Gregor had two catches on the day, a 68 yard TD and a 42 yard TD…Waterville-Elysian-Morristown had over a 2-to-1 advantage in time of possession in the first half, controlling the ball for 16:30 versus Moose Lake-Willow River’s 7:30…Moose Lake-Willow River appeared in the state finals for the first time in school history…Waterville-Elysian-Morristown was the #2 seed in the Section 2 bracket…Moose Lake and Willow River are about 110 miles north of Minneapolis, while Waterville, Elysian and Morristown are about 65 miles south of Minneapolis.
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
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