Football: Litchfield Dragons gets over the hump to beat Albany Huskies

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Oct. 31—COLD SPRING — For the past four years, the Litchfield football team has gotten to the section final only to see its state dream end with a thud.

The Dragons stopped being the runner-up Friday night. They beat top-seeded Albany 23-6 to win the Section 6AAA championship at Blattner Stadium.

"It's just awesome," said Noah Dietel, Litchfield's 6-foot-8, 305-pound senior tackle. "I can't wait to hug my mom."

Litchfield advances to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2006, dethroning the Huskies, who were defending section champions.

The Dragons (8-3) officially will learn of their opponent Saturday after seeding. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at Alexandria but could be moved, Litchfield athletic director Justin Brown said.

"That was definitely fun," said Litchfield junior running back Anthony Taylor, who had another big game, rushing for 210 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. He has rushed for 200 or more yards in all three playoff games, scoring 11 touchdowns.

"It was fun, but it was hard," Taylor said. "That's what the coaches said it would be. They said, 'Play hard and have fun.'"

The Dragons did, dominating the line of scrimmage to avenge a 21-19 Week 1 loss at Albany. This time, Litchfield piled up 264 yards rushing on 51 carries and had a huge fumble recovery from Jalen Prevo that the sophomore linebacker returned 92 yards for a TD with 4:42 remaining in the fourth quarter.

It was a back-breaker for Albany, which had gotten inside the 5-yard line and trailed 10-0.

"(Jalen) started every game this year except for this one," Dietel said. "He was always ready to come in and make a big play. … He's a quick guy, a sprinter on the track team."

Prevo wore No. 6 Friday. He is No. 55 on the roster but changed because of a special teams play, he said.

"It means a lot," Prevo said of the victory. "It's the first time in (19) years. We've put in so much work."

Prevo actually stripped the ball from the ball-carrier and sprinted untouched down the field.He said it was something he learned during practice, a drill called "turnover circuits."

It put the Huskies down by 17 points, forcing them to throw. Litchfield, meanwhile, had a defensive stand at the beginning of the fourth quarter, forcing Albany to turn the ball over on downs with 11:03 to play at the Huskies' 49-yard line.

The Dragons then rambled the 49 yards with seven running plays, culminated by Taylor's second TD of the game from two yards out. A missed extra point left Litchfield up 23-0. The Huskies then scored on their next possession, going 43 yards after a good kick return by Brady Rueter. It took 12 plays to go 57 yards, with Braeden Justin catching a 5-yard pass from quarterback Cohen Habben with 3:43 left.

The Dragons ran the clock down to 11 seconds before giving the ball back to Albany. The Dragons are in the state tournament for the fifth time in school history. Litchfield also made state in 1978, '87, '03 and '06.

In other Class AAA games involving northern teams, Annandale beat Foley 37-14 at St. Cloud Tech High School, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton topped Thief River Falls 41-12 at the Fargodome and Pierz beat Pequot Lakes 35-0 at Brainerd.

The four northern section champions will be seeded one through four Saturday morning and play in one bracket. The four southern section champions will play in another bracket.

The Prep Bowl is Nov. 21-22 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos