The final minute of the first half pretty much summarized the opening 24 minutes of Wednesday’s tilt between Class 6A powers Lakeville South and Rosemount.

For the first time in five drives, Lakeville South earned multiple first downs. It did not get a third, because Cullen George recorded his second interception for Rosemount in as many weeks.

The Irish took over on the Lakeville South 40 with 49.2 seconds left.

Less than 10 seconds later, Rosemount increased its lead to 17-0 when Jakhai Hollie got well behind the Cougars secondary on a flea flicker play for a 40-yard touchdown reception from Finn Macken.

Lakeville South made it close in the second half with a couple Griffen Dean scores, but Rosemount held on for a 20-15 victory.

“They’re a very good football team and it’s four quarters,” said Irish coach Jeff Erdmann.

Ranked sixth in the latest state poll, Erdmann’s squad has won seven in a row in a row since falling to No. 2 Centennial in the season opener.

Rosemount (7-1) claimed the Metro South subdistrict title and a No. 1 playoff seed. Second in both is Lakeville South (6-2), which entered the game ranked No. 3 in the state.

Both programs are in strong positions to make deep postseason runs. Class 6A brackets will be announced Thursday morning. Postseason action for the state’s largest schools begins Oct. 24.

“We got more,” George added. “We’ve been working hard and we’re just going up. We’re elevating every week, and that’s our goal.”

This has been quite a turnaround for Rosemount, a perennial power that was an uncharacteristic 1-8 last season.

“Our guys have worked hard, they’ve bought in,” Erdmann said.

“We all pushed each other and picked each other up. I just love this team so much,” said Savion Severson, who had a 53-yard touchdown run on Rosemount’s third offensive snap. The senior played at Northfield and Roseville the past two seasons, but was welcomed with open arms in Rosemount from day one.

Lakeville South entered the affair averaging 224.4 rushing yards per game. It finished with 181 after just 63 yards at halftime.

“Offensively, we just struggled to match their physicality and speed and got a little shell-shocked,” Cougars coach Ben Burk said. “It took the defense to force a stop and make a big play and lit their fire and they were able to go. Being able to overcome that faster is the goal.”

A bad snap on a Rosemount punt got Lakeville South two points early in the third and gave some momentum to the visitors. Nearly seven minutes later, Dean scored from four yards out to cap a 13-play, 67-yard drive that included a 28-yard dash by Jeremiah Lebbi and cut the Cougars’ deficit to 17-9.

“We just didn’t come out with the intensity we had in the first half, and it showed,” George said.

Bennett Simmering’s second field goal of the game, this time from 31 yards out, gave the Irish a 20-9 lead midway through the fourth quarter, one play after an apparent Lakeville South fumble recovery was negated because officials said the runner’s forward progress had been stopped.

A 31-yard dash by Dean got the Cougars within six points. But after forcing a late Rosemount punt, Lakeville South ran four unsuccessful plays in the final minute.

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A handful of turnovers and big plays from Mark Mathis sent Woodbury into the postseason on a winning note Wednesday night.

The junior running back rushed for a pair of touchdowns and caught another as his team recovered a fumble and recorded three interceptions en route to downing crosstown rival East Ridge 23-15 at TCO Stadium in Eagan.

The Royals finished the regular season 6-2, likely locking up a No. 2 seed in the Class 6A playoffs. They also clinched a tie with Forest Lake for the Metro East Sub-District title. The Rangers — who beat Stillwater 27-7 Wednesday — are likely to get the No. 1 seed by virtue of their head-to-head win over Woodbury.

A No. 2 seed means the Royals’ path to state consists of two home games.

The Raptors – who had won four of the last five meetings in the series – finished the regular season 4-4. East Ridge is a good bet to get the No. 4 seed, with Mounds View seeded third.

East Ridge held the ball for nearly 10 minutes on the game’s opening possession, keeping the drive alive twice on fourth down, but using all three of its timeouts.

And on 4th-and-1 at the Woodbury 21, the Royals defense held strong, stopping the Raptors for a loss of two.

Then, on East Ridge’s second possession, Woodbury senior Cooper Crane recovered a fumble at midfield.

Each time, however, the Royals had to punt the ball away.

That luck changed on their third drive, when a 31-yard catch by junior Nolan Freymiller set up an 11-yard touchdown run by Mathis that put Woodbury on top 7-0 with 3:24 to play before halftime.

The Raptors managed to put together a late drive in the final minute-and-a-half of the first half, advancing as far as the Woodbury 12 yard line with under 10 seconds to go.

But two-straight passes to the end zone fell incomplete.

From there, it was Mathis making the plays – scoring on a 3-yard run with 8:09 to play in the third quarter, then catching a 32-yard touchdown pass from senior Emmett Snuggerud one play after Freymiller picked off a pass for the Royals’ third turnover of the night.

East Ridge finally got on the board when senior Cedric Tomes found junior Leo Stalsberg on a 32-yard touchdown pass that cut the gap to 20-7 late in the third quarter.

But Woodbury extended its advantage to 23-7 when junior Brayden Schmitz hit a 38-yard field goal with 11:07 left to play.

The Raptors advanced to the Royals’ 23 on their next possession, but a false start penalty cost them five yards. Then, two plays later, Woodbury picked up turnover No. 4 with an interception in the end zone.

East Ridge did get a late touchdown run by senior Vince Hurley with 19 seconds left to play and converted the two-point conversion. But the Royals recovered the ensuing onside kick to seal the win and, with it, prime postseason positioning.

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St. Thomas Academy defeated Mahtomedi 35-7 in statement win to claim the program’s 18th undefeated regular season Wednesday night, and its first since 2022.

The battle of two of the top teams in Class 5A was a lopsided affair. Two-way threat Todd Rogalski scored two explosive touchdowns and added an interception.

Cadets coach Travis Walch said Rogalski’s nickname is “Big Play Todd,” and he lived up to that in the win.

“Anytime the ball touches or is near Todd Rogalski, good things are going to happen,” Walch said. “He continues, in every one of these games, to be the most impactful player on the field, because he can do it in every manner. He’s even the long snapper.”

The contest began as a defensive battle, with an early kickoff along with swirling winds contributing to a scoreless first quarter. The only offensive action by either team was from Cadets senior tailback Dominic Baez, who broke off a 49 yard gain on the first play of St. Thomas Academy’s second drive.

With no score after 12 minutes, the Cadets continued to march down the field via a ground-and-pound attack. Baez led the way on a 12-play, 76-yard drive, which he capped off by breaking multiple tackles as he pounded his way across the goalline for a seven-yard score to put St. Thomas Academy up 7-0 with 10 minutes to play in the half.

After dominating between the tackles, St. Thomas Academy (8-0) aired it out to balance out its attack. Cadets junior quarterback Tristan Karl completed three of his first four passes on the Cadets’ fourth offensive drive.

Before his fifth drop back, Karl put senior wideout Grant English in motion across the formation from left to right. English eluded the Mahtomedi defense and found himself wide open in the endzone, where Karl’s pass parachuted into his arms for the Cadets second score.

On the ensuing Mahtomedi drive, Zephyrs quarterback Mark Graff lofted a ball towards the far sideline, but a leaping Rogalski ripped it out of the air. Rogalski contorted his body and got a foot down in bounds to secure the interception at Mahtomedi’s 42 yard line.

Three plays later, Karl tossed a middle screen to Rogalski. He turned and sprinted through the secondary, angling past one Zephyrs defender and dove over the pilon for a 40-yard receiving touchdown to give St. Thomas Academy a 21-0 lead with 2:20 left in the first half.

The Cadets controlled the entirety of the first half, holding the Zephyrs to 43 yards of offense while putting up 250 yards of their own. St. Thomas Academy was led by Baez’s nine carries for 88 yards and Rogalski with three catches for 63 receiving yards, a touchdown and an interception on defense.

Walch said he was happy with his teams performance in all phases tonight in a “complete game.”

“You could really see how special teams goes out there and tilts the field and the offense can punches it in,” Walch said. “Complimentary football. If you’re not playing it come playoff time it’s going to be tough to win.”

After stuffing Mahtomedi (7-1) on its opening drive of the second half, the Cadets began their possession with a holding penalty.

But St. Thomas Academy bounced back thanks to a trick play. Karl pitched it to Baez, who, while running to his right, unloaded a pass downfield to English. Using his strength and speed, English separated from his defender, made the grab and sprinted into the endzone.

The Cadets went 90 yards in four plays after the infraction to extend their commanding lead to 28-0.

St. Thomas Academy’s final score of the night was a 70-yard punt return from, who else, Rogalski. The star said the ball was blending in with the night sky which caused a little concern while the ball was in the air, but that did not affect his return.

“Once I caught that, my blockers had a great hole for me,” Rogalski said. “Cody Kronberg, great block at the very end, so I told him I didn’t even need to pick a side I could have ran right in the middle, because he was putting him in the endzone.”

Mahtomedi’s lone score came on a Graff designed rush.

Both the Cadets and Zephyrs will be No. 1 seeds in their respective Class 5A sections when playoffs being next week — St. Thomas Academy in Section 3, and Mahtomedi in Section 4.

Karl said Wednesday was a statement win, but noted there is room for improvement.

“We have a lot of work to do,” said Karl, who went 11 for 17 for 112 yards and two passing touchdowns. “We can get better every day, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

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FARGO — Agricultural land prices are continuing to rise in North Dakota and Minnesota despite challenges in the U.S. farm economy, experts say.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture priced North Dakota cropland at $2,710 an acre, 4.2% higher than the previous year. Minnesota’s cropland value was $7,000 per acre in August, up 7% from 2024, the USDA said in its August land values summary.

Experts expected land prices in Minnesota and North Dakota to correct themselves in 2024 or 2025, according to Troy Swee, an area sales manager for Farmers National Company. Farm income this year is expected to hit its lowest point since 2020, Farmers National Senior Vice President for Real Estate Paul Schadegg said, citing USDA forecasts.

Interest rates and farming costs also climbed this year, while commodity prices fell, Swee said.

“If you could go back in time and say, ‘We were going to decrease corn prices by 50% and double interest rates,’ everyone would have expected a bubble to burst, and it just didn’t,” Swee told The Forum. “There’s just a lot of demand for farm ground with these farmers.”

North Dakota and Minnesota follow a national trend, as cropland prices in the U.S. steadily climbed over the last 15 years, from $2,980 an acre in 2011 to $5,830 in 2025, the summary said. Pastureland prices also rose during the same time period, from $1,070 per acre to $1,920 this year.

The North Dakota Department of Trust Lands Annual Land Survey estimates cropland prices are averaging higher than USDA numbers. Per-acre price tags rose from $2,519 in 2022 to $3,534 this year, according to the survey published in April by North Dakota State University Extensionf Service.

That’s 40% growth over the last four years and a 10.55% increase from 2024, according to NDSU Extension. North Dakota’s average pastureland prices grew more than 50% since 2021, the survey said.

High demand for land and limited available property for sale are contributing to rising prices, Swee said. A record number of farms in the U.S. sold in 2022 and 2023, he said.

“Since then, inventories have been down,” he said. “A year ago, we sold about 25% less farms across the nation.”

The number of farms sold this year should remain flat compared to 2024, he said.

Today’s land prices are also an indicator of what happened several years ago, said Bryon Parman, an associate professor and agricultural finance specialist at NDSU. Farmers reported high net incomes, including a record year in 2022, he said.

Along with more cash on hand and low interest rates, producers felt more comfortable investing in land, Parman said.

“You get an increase in demand, and you’ve had a couple years in a row of strong net income years, and that drives prices higher,” he said.

Cropland prices in the south Red River Valley are the highest in North Dakota, according to NDSU. Prices in Cass, Traill and Richland counties averaged $6,471 per acre, up 7% from last year, the NDSU survey said.

About 75% of farmland is being purchased by local farmers, Swee said. Local investors are also buying farmland to expand their portfolios, while outside groups or corporations are getting very little farmland, he said.

“They’re getting probably around 5% to 7%,” Swee said of out-of-state investors. “They’re always at auctions, and they’re always present online, but they’re generally looking for deals.”

Swee noted record profits in the livestock industry. Feeder cattle hit an all-time high of $3.80 a pound by noon Tuesday.

“This is the best year for cattle producers ever,” Swee said.

U.S. cattle numbers have declined for six years due to drought, said Tim Petry, associate professor and livestock economist at NDSU. Farmers didn’t have enough pasture to feed cattle and had to sell them, he said.

As of July 1, the U.S. reported it had 28.7 million head of beef cattle, slightly up from last year but near 60-year lows, according to the USDA.

“It means we have a very low supply of beef,” Petry said.

The demand for all meat has gone up, he said. The hype of not eating meat has changed to including more protein in diets, he said.

“Meat is back in vogue,” Petry said. “That increases the demand for meat, and so meat prices have been going up.”

Pastures are returning to normal, and producers want to bring herd numbers back up, he said. That causes land prices to go up, he said.

The biggest threat to land prices is the current state of the agricultural economy, Swee said. With lower commodity prices, farmers may sell land to balance budget sheets, he said.

That could “put pressure on these land markets to come down,” he said.

The weakness in commodity prices and the rise of production costs could slow land prices, Parman said.

“At least for the next year, I don’t think we’re going to see a decline in farmland prices, but I do think we’re certainly going to see a slowdown in increase,” he said.

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