With the game tied, Jett Feeney made three key plays in a four-play stretch in the third quarter.
Going for it on fourth down from its own 17-yard line, Moorhead’s highly touted junior signal caller surged just enough into the pile for a first down by the nose of the football. He followed that with an in-stride 40-yard completion to Zak Walker.
Two plays later the duo hooked up again with Walker catching an over-the-shoulder, perfectly placed 25-yard pass at the edge of the end zone to make it 20-14 Spuds.
Feeney threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns, Walker had seven catches for 128 yards, the Moorhead defense made big stops late, and the Spuds beat Lakeville South 26-14 in a Class 6A semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Up next for the Spuds (8-4) is a Prep Bowl matchup at 7 p.m. Nov. 21 against Edina (8-4), which scored 35 straight points before holding off Minnetonka 42-41 Thursday. It’s also a rematch of an Oct. 15 shootout that Moorhead won 51-44 at Edina.
The Spuds only state championship came in 1987. Edina, the 2023 runner up, seeks its first title.
Feeney — who missed Moorhead’s four losses with an injury — was 20-for-29 passing on Friday. He completed six passes for 66 yards on a game-clinching, 92-yard drive that finished with a 5-yard pass to David Mack with 1:33 left.
With its Power-T offense that averages more than 300 yards per game, Lakeville South (9-3) ran for just 205 yards, led by 119 from Griffen Dean. Nic Swanson added 74.
However, Lakeville South had just 24 yards and punted on back-to-back series late in the third and early fourth.
Things looked good for the Cougars early in the second half.
Tied at 7, Moorhead received the second-half kickoff. Nineteen seconds later, Lakeville South had a 14-7 lead after Carter Mayer recovered a fumble and Swanson scored from the 2.
A 40-yard run by Feeney and 23-yard pass to Mack keyed a drive capped by a 6-yard Walker rush to tie the game midway through the quarter.
With two offenses that can put up points seemingly at will — Moorhead averaged 47 points in winning four straight; Lakeville South averaged 40.3 points in winning three straight — the first quarter was scoreless.
A fumble recovery by Kaleb Williams gave Lakeville South the ball in Spuds’ territory, but the Cougars turned it over on downs at the 19. Moorhead then barely converted a 4th-and-1 inside its own 30 — video replay upheld the call —to keep a drive going. Taye Reich completed the 11-play trek from the 3 early into the second for a 7-0 lead.
Dean’s 2-yard plunge capped a 14-play drive and tied the game with 1:40 left before halftime.
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