Eden Valley-Watkins pulls away from Barnesville in Class 2A Prep Bowl

Just past the midpoint of the third quarter Friday, Barnesville coach Bryan Strand was feeling pretty good about where his team was positioned.

The Trojans, the defending Class 2A state champions, had just tied the Class 2A Prep Bowl on an 8-yard run by Gannon Bolgrean. The game was at the point where Barnesville normally wrests control.

Not this time. Eden Valley-Watkins scored two touchdowns in the next 4½ minutes and took a 24-6 victory at U.S. Bank Stadium.

First, Eden Valley-Watkins quarterback Nolan Geislinger dashed 36 yards around the left end. Less than three minutes later, the Eagles turned a fumble by Barnesville (13-1) into a 55-yard scoring pass from Geislinger to Wyatt Moehrle.

Suddenly, Eden Valley-Watkins (13-0) held a double-digit lead late in the third quarter. This was definitely outside of Barnesville's comfort zone.

"Our offense is an offense that when we're ahead, we keep the ball away from the opponent," Strand said. "It's not real quick-scoring."

The same could not be said for Eden Valley-Watkins. The Eagles have a roster dotted with playmakers. And they made plays.

Geislinger ran for one score and threw for three more, all of them to 6-4 wide receiver Moerhle.

"We were making big plays, and I knew we were right where we wanted to be because we weren't going to give them that big play," said Geislinger, who rushed for 82 yards and passed for 111 more.

Barnesville was forced to take to the air. That proved disastrous. The Trojans' last three possessions ended in interceptions.

Eden Valley-Watkins defensive back Nolan Haag tied a Prep Bowl record with three interceptions. Barnesville turned the ball over five times in all.

"I saw the stats after the game, and they were sitting pretty even across the board," Strand said. "What it came down to was they had playmakers. And we had some costly turnovers."