St. Anthony takes out top seed Minneapolis Henry in football section semifinal

Big plays on special teams and defense lifted fifth-seeded St. Anthony to a 13-6 upset of top-seeded Minneapolis Henry on Saturday in the semifinal round of Class 4A, Section 4 at Don Swanson Field.

Despite entering as the underdog, the Huskies controlled most of the game. They had opportunities to score in the first three quarters but never broke through. But they were building toward it.

"We started this journey and really didn't know who we were," St. Anthony head coach Raymond Kidd said. "We're still really young but finding out a lot about ourselves. We were battle-tested all season. We had some tough competition, even [Henry]. We're figuring out who we are. That's why this playoff run is happening."

It took a punt return touchdown by Lincoln Urdahl early in the fourth quarter to get the Huskies (4-6) going. He caught the ball at the 50-yard line and broke several tackles before crossing the goal line.

"I had good blocks in front of me," Urdahl said. "I felt like something was bound to happen for our team the way we've been working, how we've come together."

The Huskies were not done. The defense took its turn to make a play. Eddie Seiler picked up a fumble at the Patriots 31-yard line and ran into the end zone, and the extra point gave the Huskies a 13-6 lead.

The Huskies sealed the victory with an interception in the end zone by Braden Siroin with five seconds left.

"It was a lot of emotion, how hard we fought throughout the game," Urdahl said. "That just summed it up. It was a great win for us."

The Patriots (7-2) got deep into Huskies territory just twice. Their score came on Davontae White-Sledge's 34-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter.

Kidd cited St. Anthony's "relentless attitude."

"Playing against those top teams earlier in the season, we've seen a little bit of everything," he said. "When we get to this moment, we've seen it."

* To see the section tournament brackets in six classes and the state tournament bracket in Class 6A, click here.