Barnesville went on a run of 32 consecutive points in the second half as the Trojans defeated Jackson County Central 38-23 in the semifinals of the state Class 2A football tournament on Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Huskies led 15-6 at halftime and received the second half kickoff.
On the first play of the third quarter, JCC sophomore quarterback Roman Voss sustained a concussion as he was tackled following a one-yard gain and he did not return. He was treated at a nearby medical facility and released later in the day.
His dad, Rod, sent out the news on Twitter (or X if you prefer):
“The football game is secondary,” Jackson County Central coach Tom Schuller said in the postgame news conference. “The great news is he's cleared, I think. His neck is completely good. So you know we're thankful for that. That's more important than the football game. We're really disappointed to lose that football game but we're really happy he's going to be OK. At the end of the day, if I’ve got to take one or the other, I'll take him being OK.”
Seth Stai scored 22 of JCC’s 23 points, He scored touchdowns from 3, 5 and 2 yards out and ran in a pair of two-point conversions.
Jack Sadusky kicked the extra point following the first TD to round out the scoring.
Camerson Halverson and Major Ness scored two touchdowns apiece for the Trojans. Halverson scored on runs of 25 and 14 yards while Ness scored on a 24-yard run and caught a 18-yard -yard TD pass from Zachary Bredman. Gannon Bolgrean pulled in a 13-yard pass from Bredman for the other score.
Barnesville had 359 yards offense according to statistics from the Minnesota State High School League, 241 rushing and 119 passing. JCC had 156 on the ground and 94 in the air for 250 yards.
Stai led the Huskies with 74 yards on 17 carries, while Voss had 59 yards on 14 tries.
Brenan Runge was 3-for-6 passing for 79 yards in relief of Voss, who had gone 3-6 for 15 yards. Ben Dahlin caught five balls for 51 yards.
Ian Titterington led JCC tackles with 12 (nine solo and three assists). He also had a fumble recovery on a play where he took the ball out of a Barnesville player’s hands.
Stai had nine tackles (7-2) and Clay Malchow had seven (4-3).
Barnesville is 13-0 and will play Eden Valley-Watkins (12-0) in the state Class 2A title game at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 24, at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Eagles defeated Cannon Falls 42-24 in Friday's other Class 2A semifinal.
Seniors
JCC had a dozen seniors on its roster this season.
The list, in numerical order:
Brenan Runge
Sam Brinkman
Seth Stai
Ulises Boukham
Noah Thompson
Myles Sathoff
Max Hoogland
Jack Sadusky
Leo Feichtinger
Braeden Erickson
Brayden Winter
Bryson Powers
JCC schedule/results
Fri., Sept. 1: Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial, W 42-13
Fri., Sept. 8: at Worthington, W 43-0
Sat., Sept. 16: Blue Earth Area, W 49-6
Fri., Sept. 22: at LeSueur-Henderson, W 2-0 (forfeit)
Fri., Sept. 29: Redwood Valley, W 29-14
Fri., Oct. 6: at Minnesota Valley Lutheran, W 47-6
Thurs., Oct. 12: Luverne, W 34-0
Wed., Oct. 18: at Pipestone, W 48-14
Sat., Oct. 28: Minnesota Valley Lutheran, W 55-13
Fri., Nov. 3: Redwood Valley at SMSU, W 38-7
Thurs. Nov. 9: Caledonia at Rochester Mayo, W 41-0
Fri., Nov. 17: Barnesville at US Bank Stadium, L 38-23