MINNEAPOLIS -- The ROCORI Spartans football team is going back to the prep football state championship game.
The Spartans breezed past Winona 48-24 in the Class 4A state semifinal round on Friday afternoon at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to continue on in the state tournament and advance to the Class 4A state championship on Nov. 29 in Minneapolis.
ROCORI will take on St. Paul Academy/Minnehaha Academy/Blake in the Class 4A state title game at 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 29 at US Bank Stadium for a chance to claim the state championship crown.
In the semifinal game against Winona on Friday, the Spartans exploded for 41 points in the second half to come from behind and take down Winona.
ROCORI opened up the game by jumping out to a 7-0 lead early on in the first quarter, before falling behind 14-7 going into halftime in Minneapolis.
In the second half, however, the Spartans broke things wide open to come away with the victory, tallying 20 points in the third quarter and 21 in the fourth quarter while holding Winona to just 10 total points in the final two quarters.
The running game was on a roll nearly all game to push ROCORI to the win, with the Spartans tallying a total of 302 yards on the ground with seven rushing touchdowns.
Quarterback Jack Steil led the way for ROCORI, finishing with 174 yards rushing on 19 attempts and five touchdowns, adding 134 yards passing through the air in the game. Brady Linn finished with 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 14 carries and Luke Humbert added 23 yards rushing on five carries.
In the passing game, Jayden Philippi finished with 66 yards on three receptions, while Colton Baumgarten hauled in two catches for 39 yards, Andrew Anderson had two catches for 22 yards and Tucker Haakonson added one reception for seven yards.
Defensively, ROCORI forced Winona into five turnovers in the contest, including three interceptions and two fumbles. Haakonson recorded two interceptions to lead the Spartans on the defensive end of the ball.
Overall in the game, ROCORI recorded a total of 436 yards both in the passing game and on the ground in the running attack, holding Winona to 353 total yards to come away with the win.
The Spartans breezed past Winona 48-24 in the Class 4A state semifinal round on Friday afternoon at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to continue on in the state tournament and advance to the Class 4A state championship on Nov. 29 in Minneapolis.
ROCORI will take on St. Paul Academy/Minnehaha Academy/Blake in the Class 4A state title game at 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 29 at US Bank Stadium for a chance to claim the state championship crown.
In the semifinal game against Winona on Friday, the Spartans exploded for 41 points in the second half to come from behind and take down Winona.
ROCORI opened up the game by jumping out to a 7-0 lead early on in the first quarter, before falling behind 14-7 going into halftime in Minneapolis.
In the second half, however, the Spartans broke things wide open to come away with the victory, tallying 20 points in the third quarter and 21 in the fourth quarter while holding Winona to just 10 total points in the final two quarters.
The running game was on a roll nearly all game to push ROCORI to the win, with the Spartans tallying a total of 302 yards on the ground with seven rushing touchdowns.
Quarterback Jack Steil led the way for ROCORI, finishing with 174 yards rushing on 19 attempts and five touchdowns, adding 134 yards passing through the air in the game. Brady Linn finished with 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 14 carries and Luke Humbert added 23 yards rushing on five carries.
In the passing game, Jayden Philippi finished with 66 yards on three receptions, while Colton Baumgarten hauled in two catches for 39 yards, Andrew Anderson had two catches for 22 yards and Tucker Haakonson added one reception for seven yards.
Defensively, ROCORI forced Winona into five turnovers in the contest, including three interceptions and two fumbles. Haakonson recorded two interceptions to lead the Spartans on the defensive end of the ball.
Overall in the game, ROCORI recorded a total of 436 yards both in the passing game and on the ground in the running attack, holding Winona to 353 total yards to come away with the win.