The Minnesota West Bluejays' football season came to an end Saturday as the result of a 31-28 postseason loss at Rochester.
The Bluejays hoped to bounce back from having to forfeit five games in what had been a 7-0 season following player eligibility issues. Minnesota West looked poised to pick up a win when Hunter Grathwohl's 4-yard run with 3:14 left in the fourth quarter and the ensuing point-after kick made it 28-24 Bluejays with 3:14 to go. Rochester, though, marched down the field and got the winning touchdown on a Joseph Russell pass to Cam Miller from five yards out with just 19 seconds remaining.
Rochester took a 10-0 first quarter lead, but the Bluejays got on the board with 2:30 left before the quarter was done on a 21-yard pass from Elijah Alexander to Marlon Fluker. Minnesota West then appeared to take a 14-10 edge on a pick-six just 16 seconds into the second quarter, but a penalty negated the score. On the very next play, Russell hit Jaylen Williams from 42 yards out for a 17-7 Yellow Jackets advantage.
A three-yard TD run by Alexander with 11:49 to go in the third quarter cut the lead to 17-13. Rochester would go on to kick a field goal on its next drive, but a Minnesota West penalty gave the Yellow Jackets a first down instead. The end result was a two-yard touchdown by Austin Leflay and a 24-13 lead with 3:28 remaining in the third.
A 20-yard scoring run from Minnesota West's Brandon Coleman, right after a 4th-and-11 conversion, and a two-point pass brought Minnesota West within 24-21 with 32 seconds left in the third.
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The second-ranked-in-the-nation Minnesota West volleyball rolled a 3-0 triumph over St. Cloud Tech Friday afternoon in the Center for Health and Wellness in Worthington. Game scores were 25-13, 25-21, 25-22.
Claire Bohlen and Kylee Larsen each had a team-best seven kills and Ally Nelson and Sadie Krahling added six kills each. Kadyn Paulson had 23 digs, Lexi Schreurs 15 and Ella Hesse 14. Hesse now has the Lady Jays record for most individual digs in a career.
Schreurs also passed for 30 set assists in the match as Minnesota West improved to 27-4. The Lady Jays play their last home match of the regular season at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday against Dakota County Technical College.
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In Iowa high school football Friday night, it was:
Cherokee 49, Sheldon 6
West Lyon 41, Central Lyon/George-Little Rock 7
Bishop Garrigan 62, Harris-Lake Park 0
Gehlen Catholic 47, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 7
Sibley-Ocheyedan 51, North Union 7
Spirit Lake 42, Clarion-Goldfield-Dows 0
Okoboji 41, Forest City 21
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