MOORHEAD – Many people expected the 2024 Section 8-5A championship game between the second-seeded Alexandria Cardinals and the top-seeded Moorhead Spuds to go down to the wire. The regular season matchup between these two teams was hotly contested, as the Spuds won 36-34 on October 11, 2024, after a failed Alexandria field goal attempt on the left.

Friday’s game had a similar vibe but a different result. The Spuds led 44-41 with 7:17 to play. The Cardinals had possession of the ball, but a great Spuds punt pinned the Cardinals on their own one yard line. With their backs against the wall, the Cardinals made the biggest play of the game.

At the 1-yard line, Alexandria senior quarterback Chase Thompson connected with senior receiver Mason Gorghuber on a 99-yard touchdown pass with 7:02 left to give the United States a 48-44 lead. Cardinals and give them a 48-44 victory in the section. 8-5A championship game November 1, 2024.

Anna Paige / The Forum

“We saw it was man-to-man coverage and we wanted to take advantage of it,” Gorghuber said. “I ran a fast route and Chase threw me a perfect ball. Then the rest was history. It was incredible.”

“All the props go to (offensive coordinator) Zach Witt for that play,” Thompson said. “We heard that play because we saw their security crumble.”

Moorhead (9-1) had a few chances to regain the lead on a few drives late in the game.

Moorhead began its final drive of the evening with two minutes left, the ball at its own 22-yard line and a timeout remaining.

The Spuds moved the ball into Cardinals territory, but senior defensive back Dane Olson took all of the Spuds’ momentum away on their final offensive play of the game.

On a 2nd and 10 from the Alexandria 39-yard line, Olson and Moorhead wide receiver Reign Battle simultaneously caught a pass near the Alexandria sideline.

Battle and Olson battled for control of the ball, and in the end, Olson won the battle for the ball by coming back with the interception to seal Alexandria’s 48-44 victory and secure its spot in the tournament. MSHSL Class 5A status.

“There’s no greater feeling than this,” Olson said. “It was a 50-50 ball, and I got it. (Battle) kept trying to take the ball away from me, but I didn’t give up.”

For Alexandria head coach Mike Empting, it’s only fitting that the seniors made the biggest plays at the end of Friday’s game.

“This is how it should be,” Empting said. “I was hoping that with enough opportunities they would make big plays, and they did. Offensively, Chase and Mason made that happen for us all season long. Evan Kludt played a great game and we had all kinds of guys who performed well all season. The seniors went out there and did what they had to do.

Alexandria’s defense had a tough challenge Friday trying to contain Moorhead running back Taye Reich.

Reich finished the game with four rushing touchdowns. He led a high-octane Moorhead offense that was difficult to stop.

But in the end, and when it mattered most, Alexandria’s defense made enough big plays Friday night to hold off Moorhead.

“We struggled early on, but it’s not always about how you start but how you finish,” Olson said. “We adapted and eliminated some big plays to come out on top.”

“This unit was resilient,” Empting said. “If you look at our journey in depth last season, all down the stretch, players were making plays. We got to that point in the season where talent filters everything. Talent starts to match talent, and big players make big plays.”

Sam Stuve/Alexandria Echo Press

Neither team led by double digits on Friday.

Moorhead held the largest lead of the night, 16-7, with 3:17 left in the first quarter.

Both teams had steals in the final minutes of the first quarter, and 39 seconds into the second quarter, Alexandria (8-2) lined up to throw the ball to Moorhead, trailing 16-7 . Moorhead fumbled Alexandria senior Daniel Jackson’s punt, and Alexandria senior Lucas Fernholz recovered the ball to give Alexandria the ball at the Moorhead 34-yard line.

The muffed punt eventually led to a 4-yard touchdown run by Thompson and started a streak spanning the entire second quarter and the first minute and a half of the third quarter, where Alexandria outscored Moorhead 28-14.

“In games like this, these plays are huge,” Empting said. “It was a big boost when we needed it.”

Sam Stuve / Alexandria Echo Pres

The Cardinals’ first lead of the game came late in the second quarter as senior receiver Evan Kludt hauled in a 63-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to give them a 16-14 lead with 2:55 left in the first half-time.

An 8-yard touchdown run by Reich, followed by a successful 2-point conversion, put the Spuds up 24-21 with 30 seconds remaining in the first half.

Alexandria didn’t lose much early in the second half as it regained the lead, 28-24, on a 7-yard touchdown run by junior Brody Berg.

Moorhead responded immediately with an 80-yard touchdown run by Reich to go up 30-28 with 10:13 left in the third quarter.

Three minutes later, a rushing touchdown from senior Mac Heydt, his second of the night, put Alexandria up 35-30 with 7:01 left in the third quarter.

A 63-yard touchdown pass from Jett Feeney to Rufus Kerfee put Moorhead back on top 36-35 with 3:43 left in the third quarter.

The Cardinals regained the lead, 41-36, late in the third quarter on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to Gorghuber.

Anna Paige / The Forum

A 1-yard touchdown run by Reich put the Spuds up 44-41 with 10:03 left, but Thompson’s 99-yard pass to Gorghuber three minutes later gave the Cardinals the lead for good.

“We saw what we wanted and attacked,” Gorghuber said.

“It was two talented teams trading blows,” Empting said. “With an Alexandria-Moorhead game in November, I wouldn’t expect it to end any other way. Both teams are talented and well-coached.”

Alexandria is now headed to the MSHSL state tournament for the second straight season, the third time in the last five seasons and the 13th time in school history.

The MSHSL Class 5A state tournament bracket will be revealed Saturday. Alexandria will play a state tournament quarterfinal game on Saturday, Nov. 9.

“We have to stay focused and take one play at a time,” Thompson said. “We can’t take anything for granted because everything can be completed in a week.”