MINNEAPOLIS-Spring Grove has never won a football state title but the Lions looked like battle-tested champions Thursday.
Stephen-Argyle Central fought to a 7-7 halftime tie but ultimately couldn't hold off Lions quarterback Alex Folz, who ran for four touchdowns en route to a 27-7 Minnesota nine-man semifinal victory at U.S. Bank Stadium.
With the win, Spring Grove advances to the state final, ending Stephen-Argyle Central's bid for a title.
The Storm started strong with a defensive hold from their own 12-yard line on the opening drive of the game and responded with an 84-yard touchdown run by Stoene Spilde on the team's second offensive play of the game.
"The emotions were high," said Spilde, a senior running back who finished the game with seven carries for 109 yards. "There was a lot of excitement after that, especially after the touchdown. Then we just had a lot of momentum and carried that through the first half. In the second half it (the momentum) just kind of dropped."
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Folz helped the Lions bounce back on the following possession with another 11-play drive, this time capped by a four-yard touchdown run of his own.
The Storm defense clouded the running paths for Folz and company throughout the first half to keep the score at 7-7 at halftime.
The tables turned in the third quarter as the Lions scored three-straight unanswered touchdowns to take the 27-7 lead.
"I think their big plays just broke it open for them," Spilde said. "We had a lot of excitement coming out of the first half but when we weren't able to score on the first drive of the second half that kind of killed a lot of the momentum and they were able to capitalize on that."
Spilde finished with six solo and three assisted tackles in the first half alone. He finished the game with 10 total tackles, tied with teammate Kyler Szczepanski for the game-lead.
Folz dominated on the ground with 29 carries for 204 yards but his arm also kept the Storm defense on its heels. He completed 17 of his 23 passes for 214 yards with a combination of screen passes and deep throws, including a 52-yard connection with Adin Solum just moments after an 87-yard touchdown pass was called back for holding.
"He follows his blockers well and gets into open field, especially with a kid like that, he's going to be tough to tackle when he gets in the open (field)," Spilde said. "He's a tough runner. Then when you have to respect the deep ball, it makes it tough."
Defensively, nose tackle George Boyd led the Lions with 7.5 tackles, just ahead of Folz with seven, who each led a powerful defense that held the Storm to 169 total yards.
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"We didn't play our best football in the first half," said Spring Grove head coach Zach Hauser. "We knew that. We were able to move the ball and get the ball into Stephen-Argyle's territory, so we felt good about what we could do in the second half offensively. I just didn't know the defense would be that gritty in the second half, to not give much up on the ground or in the air. I was really impressed with how they came out and played the entire second half on defense."
Storm head coach Ethan Marquis didn't hide disappointment in the loss but made sure to acknowledge a strong season.
"We're going to enjoy this season today," Marquis said. "It's a tough day, it didn't go the way we wanted; it stings, but at the same time there's a lot of great guys who played a great year. There were a lot of fans who came to support us so we're going to enjoy it and get back at it real soon."
