Cromwell's Jordan Suhonen set records and made memories in 2010

The Star Tribune is celebrating 50 years of high school football state tournaments one day at a time for 50 days.

"Game in and game out we have tried to be better conditioned and better physically than the other teams." — New Ulm Cathedral coach Denny Lux, about his team's 19-13 victory over Barnesville in Class 1A

Cromwell quarterback Jordan Suhonen was not completely healthy. Good luck convincing Lanesboro.

A senior, Suhonen rushed for 374 yards and five touchdowns — both Prep Bowl records— as the Cardinals outscored Lanesboro 49-42 for the Nine-Man championship. He broke two bones in his right leg in the state semifinals in 2009 and sprained his left ankle midway through his final regular-season game in 2010.

"He still doesn't have his top-end speed," Cromwell coach Jeff Gronner said. "But he's a special athlete. You could see that."

The elusive Suhonen scored on runs of 20, 33, 55, 58 and 86 yards, leading teammate Nick Berg to say: "He's an animal. ... What he did today — it's crazy."

In another final, Mitch Underhill, a 15-year-old sophomore running back, rushed for 247 yards on 12 carries and scored four touchdowns as Wayzata defeated Rosemount 31-14 in Class 5A. He scored on runs of 45, 58, 58 and 66 yards.

State championship games

Class 5A: Wayzata 31, Rosemount 14

Class 4A: Totino-Grace 34, Rogers 14

Class 3A: Rochester Lourdes 41, Holy Family 13

Class 2A: Caledonia 28, Triton 7

Class 1A: New Ulm Cathedral 19, Barnesville 13

Nine-Man: Cromwell 49, Lanesboro 42