Alex Meidt had a career night and Becker eventually broke loose from a tight game to easily beat the Orono Spartans and capture the Section 5AAAA championship by a score of 39-16.
A large crowd came out in the 30º weather on a Halloween night and saw their beloved team knock off the Spartans to gain a place in the MSHSL state tournament next Saturday in St. Cloud.
Meidt finished the evening with three TDs on 10 carries for 84 yards. RB C.J. Schwintek didn’t find the end zone but contributed 139 yards on the ground on 17 carries.
Orono received the kickoff to start the game but managed just 17 yards before punting the ball to the Bulldogs’35 yard line.
Schwintek got going fast on the first play as he rushed for 12 yards, then Meidt followed that with a run of 13 yards of his own. After a penalty on the ensuing play pushed the ball back to the 42, Schwintek gained another nine yards before Meidt took a handoff and scampered 33 yards to the end zone to put Becker in the lead three and a half minutes into the contest.
The extra point attempt was unsuccessful and the score was 6-0 for the home team.
Orono got good field position for their second drive when Orono’s David McCuskey gained 35 yards on the return to set up the Spartans at their own 48.
Six plays later, Orono got on the board when QB Hank Seward drove the squad to the two yard line and McCusky bulled his way into the end zone to tie the game.
Orono’s XP was successful and the visitors were pumped up, having a one point lead halfway through the first quarter.
That was the only time Orono would lead in the game.
The teams went back and forth for most of the rest of the two quarters as several players jawed at each other and play got a little chippy. A fumble by Becker and numerous penalties called on both teams meant most of the play stayed between the 20s.
Finally, with around five minutes left in the half, Becker broke through when Milan Kent scored from 13 yards out to put Becker up 12-7 (two-point conversion failed).
A quick three-and-out by Orono made it appear the Bulldogs would enter halftime with the five point lead but with less than three minutes to go, Orono got the ball back and marched the field. They got to the six yard line, but could not get the six points they desperately wanted and had to settle for three with the halftime score being 12-10.
Becker wasted no time after the second half kickoff and marched 50 yards in 10 plays to push the lead to 18-10 when Meidt scored from 15 yards out.
Give Orono credit, they never backed down and Seward and company responded with a drive of their own and got the game to within two when Seward found Ethan Larson from 15 yards out. They tried to make it a one-point lead for Becker but Dawson Brown said “no” when he blocked the extra point attempt to keep the score at 18-16.
From there, Becker dominated, scoring three more times while shutting out the Spartans the rest of the way.
Eric Blomgren tallied Becker’s next TD when Veldman found him from 14 yards out to go up 24-16. Eleven plays later, Meidt capped off his tremendous day with his third TD, rushing from six yards out to push the lead to 30-16. Blomgren completed the rout with 1:48 left in the game when he caught another Veldman bullet from 14 yards out to seal the deal.
The Bulldogs finished with 402 total yards compared to Orono’s 234. Becker had 282 yards gained on the ground compared to Orono’s 66.
Both teams combined for 18 penalties for 135 yards.
Orono’s Seward completed 18 of 31 passes for 189 yards and one TD. McCuskey had 61 yards on 19 runs and one TD.
Blake Leischow had seven catches for 61 yards in the loss.
Veldman was 11-of-19 for 104 yards and two TDs. Blomgren had four catches for 45 yards and two TDs.
Meidt had the three TDs as he rushed for 84 yards on 10 carries. Schwintek had 139 yards on 17 carries.
The defense was led by Beau Pauly, who had eight tackles and Milan Kent who had two tackles, both of them sacks of Seward.
Becker will play Rocori at 3 p.m. at SCSU this Saturday in the state quarterfinals.
