Jackson County Central will aim to wrap up a perfect season and win a Minnesota state Class 2A football title when it takes on also-unbeaten Staples-Motley on Friday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Huskies come into Friday's Prep Bowl showdown following a 34-26 victory last week over Kimball Area. Clay Malchow rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown in that game and Gage Johnson contributed 64 yards and three TDs on the ground while also topping the team defensively with six tackles.
Prior to its eight-point semifinal win, JCC's closest game had been a 36-14 triumph over Le Sueur-Henderson in the regular-season finale. The Huskies have scored a total of 575 points in 12 games, an average of 47.1 per outing. The defense has surrendered just 96 points, an average of eight per game.
JCC last won the Prep Bowl in 2001. They are 1-3 in the game all-time.
Staples-Motley, meanwhile, earned its spot in the championship clash by beating Chatfield 36-24 last week. The Cardinals' Colbe Tappe ran for 170 yards and three touchdowns in the victory, and quarterback Eli Rutten threw for a pair of scores. Alex Schultz caught five passes for 126 yards. Turner Beachy had a team-high six tackles and picked off a pass.
Staples-Motley has scored 407 points in 11 games this season — they won one by forfeit — while allowing 170.
Friday's class 2A Prep Bowl game begins at 4 p.m.
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The Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots will battle for a Minnesota 9-Man football championship when they take on Fertile-Beltrami on Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The showdown between the pair of 12-0 teams kicks off at 10 a.m.
In last week's semifinals, the Patriots knocked out previously unbeaten Mountain Iron-Buhl 26-20. The Rangers came into that game averaging 66 points per contest, topping 90 once, 80 twice and 70 two other times. Hills-Beaver Creek, though, got an efficient game at quarterback from Jamin Metzger, who completed 19 of 23 passe for 143 yards and a touchdown. Micah Bush had 12 receptions for 115 yards, and Beau Bakken added 90 yards on the ground while enjoying a monster game on defense with 14 total tackles.
The Patriots have scored 487 points over 12 games this season and given up 98. H-BC's closest game prior to last week was a 20-8 victory over Mountain Lake Area on Oct. 11.
As for Fertile-Beltrami, the Falcons put up 60 points in their semifinal win last as they won 60-33 over LeRoy-Ostrander. Senior running back Isaiah Wright had a huge day, carrying 24 times for 361 yards and seven touchdowns. In 12 games this fall, Wright has accumulated 2,428 rushing yards on 154 carries — an average of 15.8 yards per carry — and scored 39 touchdowns.
The Falcons have scored 649 points in 12 games and allowed 161.
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