Chase Bjorgaard and Edina made history Friday night.
It’s an achievement made even sweeter because of Bjorgaard’s own backstory.
Two years after being stopped less than a yard shy of the goal line on a 2-point conversion attempt that would have lifted his team to a state title, the now-senior running back tied a Prep Bowl record with six touchdowns Friday night as the Hornets beat Moorhead 42-35 in this season’s Class 6A state championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Bjorgaard finished the night with 31 carries for 320 yards and four touchdowns, while catching two passes for 31 yards and two more scores.
It marked the first state title for an Edina school since Edina West beat Fridley 21-0 for the then-Class 2A championship in 1978. Edina West and East merged back into one high school in 1981, and in the modern era, the Hornets had only been back to the state championship game once until this season.
That came two years ago when Edina fell 28-27 to Centennial.
Then-sophomore quarterback Mason West threw a 21-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left to pull the Hornets within one, but Edina elected to go for the win and Bjogaard was stopped just short — a memory he has carried for two years now.
Both he and West were also members of the Hornets’ hockey team that fell 4-3 to Moorhead in the Class 2A state semifinals last March, and Edina lost 51-44 to the Spuds on the football field in the regular-season finale on Oct. 15.
So, Friday’s win represented redemption in many different ways.
The Hornets finished their season 9-4 overall. Moorhead finished its first season in Class 6A with a record of 8-5, though the first four of those losses came with dynamic junior quarterback Jett Feeney out with an injury.
Feeney — who threw for 487 yards and four touchdowns during the first meeting between the two teams this season — was again impressive Friday, breaking a Prep Bowl record with 373 yards passing and helping his team post a 19:35-4:25 edge in time of possession in the first half.
The Spuds mounted scoring drives of 17 plays on each of their first two possessions, taking a 15-8 lead when Feeney scored on a 7-yard run with 6:11 to play in the second quarter.
Each time, though, Edina had an answer in Bjorgaard. He scored on a 26-yard touchdown run, then caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from West to cut the gap to 15-13 with 3:42 to go in the second quarter.
The Hornets got a big break when Moorhead gambled on 4th-and-6 at its own 26-yard line and Feeney’s pass fell incomplete. Three plays later, West again found Bjorgaard on a 7-yard touchdown pass that put Edina on top for the first time at 20-15.
The Spuds drove the ball all the way to the Hornets’ 25 in the final minute of the first half. But Edina senior Henry Couchman came up with an interception on the goal line to end the threat and the first half ended with the Hornets still on top by five.
Bjorgaard was back at it to start the second half, breaking free on a 49-yard run that set up his own 3-yard touchdown run one play later. That expanded his team’s lead to 27-15.
But Moorhead roared right back, scoring on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Feeney to fellow junior David Mack. The extra-point attempt failed, but the Spuds cut the gap to 27-21.
Then — after Edina was stopped on downs at the Moorhead 28 late in the third quarter — the Spuds drove 72 yards in 11 plays to retake the lead at 28-27 on Feeney’s 4-yard touchdown run with 9:13 to play in the fourth.
Once more, though, Bjorgaard wouldn’t be denied, breaking free on a 59-yard touchdown run on the Hornets’ next play from scrimmage to put his team back on top 34-28.
Then, after Edina stopped Moorhead on downs at its own 36, Bjorgaard notched his record-tying sixth touchdown on a 24-yard run that made the score 42-38 with 3:33 remaining.
But the Spuds wouldn’t roll over, scoring in just two plays on an 86-yard touchdown pass from Feeney to junior Zak Walker to trim the deficit to 42-35 with 2:51 still left to play.
But once the Hornets got the ball back, they were able to run out the clock to seal the state championship they’ve been looking for since falling just short two years ago.
Related Articles
Prep Bowl: Minneota, Orono, Jackson County Central win state championships
High School Football: How Spring Lake Park re-established its culture to reach the Prep Bowl
Girls hockey: ‘Out of this world’ start for Sarah Johnson has Mounds View/Irondale undefeated
St. Paul: World Juniors hockey event brings Bold North festival downtown
Last night in HS sports: Stillwater wins boys hockey opener, Rosemount’s Ramlall sisters shine
Leave a Reply