EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – To get to a state championship, you need to be good and you need to be lucky.
Saturday, Caledonia and BOLD high school football teams were good. Seventh-ranked BOLD, however, was just a little bit better … and luckier.
The No. 2-ranked Warriors’ quest for their sixth state title since 2007 ended in a 21-0 loss in the Class 2A semifinals.
Turnovers led to touchdowns on short fields for BOLD (12-1) – a 21-yard drive after a fumble recovery and a 30-yard drive after an interception were its final two scores.
Meanwhile, Caledonia couldn’t capitalize. When BOLD fumbled, it recovered – two out of three times. The one time Caledonia (12-1) recovered, it couldn’t score from 20 yards out. The drive stalled on a fourth-and-goal.
On top of everything else, BOLD’s defense was just too good. It held the Warriors to just 87 yards – 37 of those rushing. Quarterback Austin Bauer was just 6-for-17 for 50 yards with two interceptions.
Caledonia also shot itself in the foot with seven penalties for 82 yards, including a 15-yarder that kept BOLD’s only scoring drive not off a turnover alive.
In getting to the state title, BOLD went through the third-ranked team, then the No. 1 team, before getting Caledonia, sitting second in the final AP poll.
At 1 p.m. Friday, BOLD gets unranked Holdingford (10-3) at the U of M’s TCF Bank Stadium.
MINNESOTA CLASS 2A STATE SEMIFINAL
BOLD 21, CALEDONIA 0
BOLD 0 7 14 0 — 21
Caledonia 0 0 0 0 — 0
Second quarter
B—Brad Wolff 4 run (Nick Kubesh kick) 9:28.
Third quarter
B—Ben Steffel 18 run (Kubesh kick) 9:49. B—Wolff 1 run (Kubesh kick) 6:06.
Team Statistics
First downs: B 10, C 5. Rushes-yards: B 59-167, C 26-37. Comp-Att-Int: B 1-2-0, C 6-17-2. Passing yards: B 30, C 50. Totals yards:B 197, C 87. Penalties-yards: B 3-29, C 7-82. Fumbles-lost: B 3-1, C 1-1.
Individual Statistics
Rushing: B—Steffel 39-116, Wolff 16-49, Austin Weis 1-6, Lane Stadther 3-(-2), C—Devan Heaney 6-19, Mitchell Schmitz 6-15, Alex Goergen 1-5, Tanner Gran 1-3, Ben McCabe 2-3, Austin Bauer 8-(minus 1), Owen King 1-(minus 9). Passing: B—Stadther 1-2-0-30, C—Bauer 5-17-2-50. Receiving: B—Weis 1-30, C—Gran 1-21, Eli Ruesgen 1-16, Schmitz 2-14, McCabe 1-1, Heaney 1-(-2).
Records: B 12-1, C 12-1.