Following painful season-ending losses in the section tournament in back-to-back years, expectations loomed large over the Becker football team this season.
Not so much about winning and losing — that’s not a professed priority of Becker’s coach, Dwight Lundeen. The expectations were those of the senior football players, who loathed to disappoint Lundeen, the only coach in Becker football history.
After 55 years, Lundeen still holds an exalted place in Becker lore. He’s the architect, the originator, the pioneer. And the boss.
Nobody wants to be the player who lets Lundeen down. On Friday, none did.
Becker, fleet and athletic, got tone-setting plays from a number of seniors for a 24-8 victory over Totino-Grace in the Class 4A championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium, giving Becker its fourth state championship and first since 2015.
“We had a couple of tough losses in the section finals and these guys then made a commitment they were gonna get back here and win a state championship,” Lundeen said. “I couldn’t be happier for them.”
Becker (13-0) got started early. After shutting down Totino-Grace the first time it had the ball, senior running back Landon Kujawa bounced off a tackle and ran 32 yards for a score and a quick 7-0 lead.
The Bulldogs extended the lead less than two minutes later when another senior — receiver Carter Reckelberg — took an end-around all the way to the sideline, reversed field, and beat the Totino-Grace defenders to the end zone for a 54-yard touchdown, giving Becker a 14-0 lead going into halftime.
