Entering the postseason, the Lake of the Woods football team needed momentum. It got some with the return of quarterback Peder Beckstrand.
The Bears lost the last four games of the regular season. On Friday, however, Lake of the Woods stayed undefeated with Beckstrand in the lineup.
The senior quarterback passed for 76 yards and a touchdown to lead the Bears to a 15-6 win over Badger-Greenbush-Middle River in the Minnesota Section 8A championship game in the Alerus Center.
Lake of the Woods (7-4) plays undefeated Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg on Thursday at the Fargodome in the quarterfinals of the state tournament. It's the Bears' first state tournament berth since 2001.
"I don't think our record shows how good we are," Beckstrand said. "We had injuries hit us during the hardest part of our schedule."
ADVERTISEMENT
Lake of the Woods coach Mark Nohner said the top quality Beckstrand brings to the team isn't anything physical.
"It's emotional," Nohner said. "The other kids look to him. He's cool, calm, collective."
Beckstrand needed just one big play to make a difference in a game that was mostly a defensive battle.
Late in the first quarter, Beckstrand connected on a 52-yard touchdown pass with Cody Hasbargen for a 6-0 lead. Beckstrand rolled left and lofted a pass deep down the field to Hasbargen, who broke a tackle at the 5-yard line before finding the end zone.
"That was huge," Beckstrand said. "It gave us confidence to keep throwing. If we don't score there, I don't know if we score all night."
Yards were tough to come by for both teams. Jake Beckel led the Bears in rushing with 64 yards. Quarterback Zach Creviston led B-G-MR with 31 rushing yards.
Creviston, who scored B-G-MR's only touchdown with a 4-yard run in the second quarter, also had 39 yards passing.
When the teams played during the regular season, the Gators won 28-20. In addition to the Beckstrand factor, B-G-MR coach Kent Janicke said the difference was the play of the offensive and defensive lines.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We knew their front four were tough," Janicke said. "That's the toughest line we've seen all year. They took it at us."
The Bears scored on a safety in the second quarter. B-G-MR running back Allan Dostal was tackled in the end zone for an 8-0 lead. The Bears finished the scoring with a 1-yard run in the third quarter, followed by a Shae Pepera kick.
"I thought our defense had an outstanding game," Nohner said.
