No. 2 Moorhead gets the best of No. 1 Alexandria in big Class 5A high school football matchup

Moorhead is coming of age, and still has some growing to do.

The youthful Spuds edged Alexandria 36-34 in a clash of Class 5A powers when Cardinals senior kicker Daniel Jackson’s 43-yard field goal sailed wide left with 20 seconds remaining, starting a wild celebration for the Spuds at Viking Bank Stadium in Alexandria in front of a capacity crowd. The jubilant group was waved back to the sideline by the Moorhead coaching staff.

“That was an exciting football game,” Moorhead coach Kevin Feeney said. “Holy smokes.”

Alexandria (6-1) entered the matchup ranked No. 1 in Class 5A, and Moorhead (7-0) was No. 2.

Alexandria senior quarterback Chase Thompson marched the Cardinals to the Spuds 26-yard line following a fumble recovery by senior Brett Thornburg at the Cardinals 30 with 1 minute, 13 seconds remaining. Moorhead led by two after senior Brody Berg’s 4-yard touchdown run with 5:05 remaining.

“We didn’t play a perfect game,” Feeney said. “At times, we played very good in all phases of the game. At other times, we weren’t very good in any phases of the game. It wasn’t exactly the way we drew it up.”

Moorhead sophomore quarterback Jett Feeney, Kevin’s son, threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to classmate David Mack, followed by a 16-yard scoring strike to senior Reign Battle on a fade pattern to give the Spuds a 36-27 lead with 7:35 remaining.

The Cardinals took advantage of a short field to take a 27-22 lead on their first possession of the second half, two plays after a 6-yard punt went out of bounds at the Spuds 40-yard line. Thompson hit senior Evan Kludt with a 33-yard touchdown pass.

After a back-and-forth first half, the Spuds took a 22-20 lead into the locker room at halftime. Jett also hooked up with Mack on a 23-yard touchdown pass and with Battle on a 48-yarder in the first half, and sophomore Taye Reich scored on a 7-yard run.

Alexandria countered with touchdown runs of 2 yards by senior Macklen Heydt and 15 yards by Thompson before Thompson found senior Mason Gorghuber with a 3-yard scoring strike with three seconds left in the first half. The last touchdown was set up by a Cardinals interception at the Moorhead 40-yard line with 38 seconds left in the first half.

“I should have played it out differently before half,” Feeney said. “I have to do a better job of putting the kids in a better situation.”

The two teams could meet again on Nov. 1 for the Section 8 championship with a berth in the state tournament on the line.

“We’ve had a lot of games with them that have come down to the final play,” Feeney said. “We have been on the right end of some of them and the wrong end of some of them. They are always entertaining games.”