Gage Johnson’s three TD’s leads Jackson County Central into Class 2A Prep Bowl at U.S. Bank Stadium

Jackson County Central head football coach Tom Schuller’s granddaughter has been growing a lucky watermelon all season.

After the Huskies’ 34-26 Class 2A state semifinal win over Kimball Area Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium, Schuller compared the watermelon to this year’s team: “It’s started to deteriorate a little bit, kind of like our starting lineup,” he said.

Schuller was referring to his team playing without its star quarterback and one of its receivers. Last week, early in the Huskies’ quarterfinal win over Norwood Young America, the Huskies lost quarterback Roman Voss to a season-ending ankle injury. The top-ranked recruit in the 2026 class, Voss has offers from schools like Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.

The Huskies were also without injured junior receiver Ben Gallagher.

“We spent all year having designated roles,” Schuller said. “So hats off to our guys. Really resilient. Our goal all year has been a state title. We weren’t willing to say, ‘Darn it. There went that.’”

If working around those injuries was a puzzle, Jackson County Central (12-0) solved it. The Huskies jumped ahead early and survived a second-half shootout to book their first trip to the state title game since the program’s first championship in 2001.

The Huskies will face the winner of Friday’s second Class 2A semifinal between Chatfield and Staples on Nov. 22 in the Prep Bowl. Its the Section 3 champion’s third consecutive trip to the state tournament. The team lost in the semifinal round the past two years. Voss was also taken out of last year’s semifinal with a concussion.

After the Friday’s game, senior offensive guard Ian Titterington recounted what he said to Voss and Gallaher prior to the victory. “We’re going to go out there and give everything we got for you guys.,” Titterington said. “We’re going to bring this thing home for you guys.”

Senior receiver Grant Freking stepped in at quarterback, throwing 7-for-11 for 73 yards. He’ll be a “grizzled veteran” next week, assured Schuller.

“He might have too much poise,” Schuller joked after the game. “He doesn’t have a hurry up button… (But) it’s his third week of managing a huddle.”

The Huskies dominated the Cubs on the ground, with 258 total rushing yards compared with Kimball’s 79. Sophomore running back Gage Johnson rushed for three touchdowns on 63 yards, while senior running back Clay Malchow led the Huskies with 118 rushing and 38 receiving yards.

Johnson, one of JCC’s “strongest kids” according to Schuller, punched in two 2-yard touchdowns, both on fourth-and-goal, to put the Huskies up 14-0 in the first quarter.

Kimball (11-1) answered with 18 straight points, thanks to passing touchdowns from senior quarterback Brandon Henkemeyer (8-for-21, 144 yards) to senior receiver Bryant Knaus and senior running back Ronald Arnold. Knaus capped the scoring spree with an 81-yard kickoff return touchdown to start the second half, putting the Huskies behind, 18-14, for the first time all season.

Two touchdowns — one off an improbable catch from Malchow and another from a 53-yard rush from senior receiver Ben Dahlin — swung momentum back in Jackson County Central’s favor.

A game-winning score from Johnson, followed by Dahlin’s game-sealing interception, put the Huskies through to the championship.

“Because we have guys who aren’t quite as used to playing in the secondary, it just took us a little bit more time to get used to playing together,” senior offensive tackle Thomas Liepold said. “By that second half, I think we had it figured out, and we just kind of rolled from there.”

The Cubs were seeking their first title game appearance in their first trip to the state tournament since 1991.