Once and forever: In 2001, four teams won their first and still only state title

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

"From Day 1, that's been our goal. We finally did it." — McLeod West running back Tyler Evans

It was a season for newbies to go out as winners. Four first-time champions were crowned — Hastings in Class 5A, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City in 2A, McLeod West in 1A and Hillcrest Lutheran in Nine-Man — and in each case it's the lone title in program history.

Hastings' season appeared headed for the scrap heap — the team was 2-2 after four games — but the Raiders ended on top of the Class 5A pile. They used an opportunistic defense to defeat previously unbeaten Blaine 28-9. Hastings (12-2) intercepted five of Blaine quarterback Tony George's passes, scoring after one of the interceptions and returning one for a touchdown.

The Raiders followed one of Adam Welch's two first-quarter interceptions with a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead, and Danno Wagner returned a pick 84 yards on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 28-3 lead.

"It feels absolutely spectacular," Hastings coach Bob Majeski said. "I think of all the coaches we've had over the years and all the kids we've gotten to know, and it's a great feeling."

Hastings running back John Majeski, the coach's son, said: "I wouldn't have believed this could happen. But the coaches did a heck of a job, making adjustments during the season, and this is an incredible feeling."

"I knew we had it in us," said Raiders quarterback John Schumann, who completed nine of 13 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. "I think the best thing that could have happened to us was to start out 2-2. That made us realize how hard we needed to work to have a chance to reach the pinnacle."

In Class 2A, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City running back David Blom ran for 220 yards on 37 carries and scored two touchdowns in the Falcons' 27-20 triumph over Windom Area.

"That didn't bother me," Blom said of the heavy workload. "Usually if I run eight or 10 times in a row, I get tired. But this was for all the marbles."

In Class 1A, most of the attention was focused on McLeod West running back Tyler Evans. He rushed for 176 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries, nice numbers for anyone except him, in a 30-22 victory over Pillager. He came into the game averaging almost 270 yards per game, but the Pillager defense stacked the line of scrimmage, giving Evans smaller holes to run through.

He finished the season with 3,673 yards and 47 touchdowns and 7,503 yards for his career, all state records.

"I'm really tired," Evans said. "It's kind of hard to realize that we actually won the state title."

In Nine-Man, after four previous tries, Hillcrest Lutheran coach Richard Risbrudt finally left a state championship game victorious after beating Ada-Borup 37-7. He had lost in the Nine-Man final in 1976, '77, '82 and '98.

Quarterback Steve Moline threw two touchdowns passes and ran for two scores for the Comets, who completed an unlikely run to the championship.

"It's just miraculous, especially how we did it coming back from starting the season 1-4," Risbrudt said. "It's been an incredible year."

In Class 4A, Detroit Lakes coach Flint Motschenbacher chose an unusual route, attempting a field goal even though it wasn't much longer than an extra point. Sophomore kicker Matt Misson hadn't tried a field goal that season, but he hit the 22-yarder with four seconds remaining, giving the Lakers a 36-34 victory over Mankato East.

"I thought for sure we'd run the ball again and get the touchdown," Misson said. "We'd gone the whole year without kicking a field goal. Why try it now?"

Motschenbacher knew Misson had it all the way.

"We got the ball close, and we had all the confidence in the world in Matt," Motschenbacher said. "We've just never been in a position to kick field goals this year."

State championship games

Class 5A: Hastings 28, Blaine 9

Class 4A: Detroit Lakes 36, Mankato East 34

Class 3A: Jackson County Central 42, Becker 7

Class 2A: Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 27, Windom Area 20

Class 1A: McLeod West 30, Pillager 22

Nine-Man: Hillcrest Lutheran 37, Ada-Borup 7