Perhaps no play better encapsulates North Central College junior quarterback Luke Lehnen’s special talent more than his touchdown pass to Charles Coleman on Saturday.

It’s just a 7-yard TD pass in the box score. On film, however, it’s a work of art.

Wartburg’s defense blew up the Cardinals’ play, but Lehnen’s instincts kicked in immediately. The Glenwood graduate ran to the far side of the field and kept moving backward to avoid the pressure, eventually firing the ball to Coleman in the flat from the 23-yard line. Coleman walked into the end zone.

“It’s second nature at this point,” Lehnen said. “I have my legs. I can use them to extend the play as long as I can and find my receivers open.”

Lehnen extended No. 1 NCC’s season, too, throwing three TD passes during its 34-27 victory in the NCAA Division III national semifinals in Waverly, Iowa.

The defending national champion Cardinals (14-0), who have won 29 games in a row over two seasons, will play No. 11 Cortland (13-1) in the Stagg Bowl in Salem, Virginia, at 6 p.m. Friday, looking to win their third national title in their fourth straight appearance. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

Lehnen’s teammates know they need to be alert even if a play appears to be broken. He can turn it around in seconds.

“You can’t wait for Saturdays because something electric can happen at any time,” NCC offensive coordinator Eric Stuedemann said. “He never gives up. He didn’t give up on some of those plays Saturday.

“That wasn’t the first time it’s happened. It’s happened throughout the year. It’s a credit to all 11 guys on the field.”

Lehnen’s athleticism jumps off the tape. He doesn’t make only those splash plays, however. He makes just about every other play as well.

Lehnen’s passer efficiency rating of 270.2 is the highest in NCAA history regardless of class. He also has a chance to set the Division III single-season records for yards per completed pass, yards per pass attempt and percentage of passes completed for touchdowns.

Lehnen, who also plays baseball for NCC, has completed 162 for 215 (75.4%) for 3,228 yards with 46 TDs and just two interceptions. He is also NCC’s second-leading rusher with 735 yards and 11 TDs on 100 attempts.

Last week, Lehnen was named one of five finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy, the highest individual honor in Division III. He would be the third NCC player to win the award, joining Broc Rutter (2019) and Ethan Greenfield (2022). He was named a first-team All-American on Monday.

“He made a lot of plays every Saturday worthy of that award,” NCC coach Brad Spencer said. “He has the off-field and community credentials as well. He takes on responsibility himself for a lot of things.

“He’s such a mature young man, and above everything he’s an outstanding competitor. He’s a pretty hard guy to stop. He’s just an unbelievable football player and captain, leader and an even better person.”

The winner of the Gagliardi Trophy will be announced right before the game on Friday. When Rutter and Greenfield won, the team prevailed in the national championship game.

That would be the dream scenario for Lehnen, who has another year of eligibility remaining and intends to return next season regardless of the game’s outcome.

“My focus isn’t on winning it,” Lehnen said of the award. “It would be a great honor, but my focus is on preparing for this game Friday and doing what I can do to help me and my teammates have the best chance of winning.

“It’s a nice extra thing to win, but I definitely think the team trophy is more important.”

Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Naperville Sun.

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The second shoe has dropped on the second of three high school players with questionable commitments to the Gophers football program.

Gaylord, Mich., linebacker Brady Pretzlaff said Wednesday he has de-committed from the Gophers’ recruiting class for 2024.

“I want to thank the Minnesota coaches and fans for believing in me,” said Pretzlaff, who committed to the U in January.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound prospect visited Michigan State last weekend, and the Spartans hired Minnesota defensive coordinator Joe Rossi for the same role on Sunday.

Minnesota has had six total de-commitments from next year’s class. One was added to the list Monday, and one might be forthcoming.

Prior Lake defensive lineman Jide Abasiri backed off his pledge to Minnesota after visiting USC last weekend.

Esko, Minn., safety Koi Perich visited Ohio State this weekend and his decision between the U and the Buckeyes is expected before the national signing period opens Dec. 20.

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Minnesota United’s plans for 2024 are starting to come into focus.

As the Loons await the arrival of new Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad in early January, the club’s current group of leaders, with assistance of El-Ahmad in England, have identified areas of the roster they would like to reinforce in the short term and when they plan to go bigger with its vacant Designated Player slot.

Before the 2024 season, MNUFC will look to add pieces along its back line — center back and left back — and bring in a defensive midfielder, the Pioneer Press understands.

These are the obvious areas of need on the current roster after contract decisions were announced Dec. 1.

The club has been encouraged by recent negotiations with current starting defensive midfielder Wil Trapp, a source said Tuesday. If Trapp were to come back next season, it would be below the $850,000 guaranteed compensation he received last year, per the MLS Players’ Association.

Trapp, who will be 31 in January, is set to become a free agent on Wednesday afternoon. Trapp has been the club captain for years and played 2,419 minutes across 30 MLS matches last season.

The Loons need depth at center back behind starters Michael Boxall and Micky Tapias, and they must figure out what they will do at left back, with Joseph Rosales and Bakaye Dibassy filling in that role toward the end of last season. To start this month, the Loons declined Dibassy’s contract option for next season but exercised the option for Rosales, primarily a central midfielder.

The club does not see Ethan Bristow and Mikael Marques as current solutions, and the plan is for those younger players to go out on loan in 2024.

The biggest roster decision on Dec. 1 was the club declining the contract option for underwhelming DP striker Mender Garcia in 2024. This is a shift from former manager Adrian Heath’s previous plan to bring Garcia back for 2024, but buy him down from the DP slot.

Cutting ties with Garcia all together opened up a DP spot for the Loons to use now, but fans shouldn’t expect a splash in the window this winter.

With El-Ahmad leaving his current English club Barnsley on Friday and expected to start in Minnesota within weeks, the Loons expect to use that DP spot during the summer transfer window. Where they might look to go with the DP spot will be outlined based on results and needs in the first half of the season.

Draft plans

The club will set up its “war room” at Allianz Field for the MLS draft at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Leaders around that table are expected to be interim technical director Hank Stebbins, interim head coach Sean McAuley, CSO Manny Lagos as well as Amos Magee and Cameron Knowles.

After missing the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2023, the Loons will have the ninth overall pick and plan to use it on a player.

It will be the first time MNUFC has a top 10 pick since they selected goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair seventh overall in 2019.

Briefly

The Loons will head to Mexico for a preseason trip in late January to early February. They are scheduled to play three friendlies south of the border. The team will then head to California for three matches in the Coachella Valley Invitational in mid-February. … MNUFC is also expected to loan out forward Patrick Weah for a second consecutive season. … The draft order is based on the club’s finish in the Supporters Shield standings a season ago; the Loons (10-13-11, 41 points) ended up 21st in the 29-team league.

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The Eagan City Council voted on a contentious land-use amendment proposal late Tuesday.

Johnson Brothers Liquor Co., the third-largest wine distributor in the nation, is eyeing the former Blue Cross Blue Shield site for its new corporate headquarters and warehouse distribution facility and, after a vote from the Eagan City Council, the 55-acre parcel at 3535 Blue Cross Road is one step closer to being rezoned as “industrial development.”

Neighbors of the former Blue Cross Blue Shield campus have spoken out against the proposal, citing traffic issues, air and noise pollution and the loss of green space. Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire said that the council had received 133 pages of email correspondence regarding the proposal.

Tuesday night nearly 30 Eagan residents took to the microphone to echo those concerns and bring up others such as potentially negative impacts to property values, outdoor recreation spaces, trees and wildlife.

The concept plan for the proposed distribution warehouse includes a 550,000-square-foot warehouse with a future expansion potential of 161,000 square feet, relocation of the neighborhood’s soccer fields to the southern end of the site and repurposing the existing child-care center into an employee training facility.

Established in Minnesota in the 1950s, Johnson Brothers says it has outgrown its current distribution facility at 1999 Shepard Road, near Crosby Farm Park in St. Paul.

Bill Katter, a partner with Interstate Development who is working as a consultant for Johnson Brothers, said Tuesday that the company considered moving to the former Thomson Reuters campus, but at 180 acres it exceeded their needs.

Eagan City Planner Mike Schultz said Tuesday that the proposal will move on to the Metropolitan Council since it requires a change to the city’s comprehensive plan.

Councilmember Cyndee Fields, who lives in the Blue Cross Blue Shield neighborhood, voted in favor of sending the proposal on to the Met Council to learn more, but said she can’t speak to how she’ll vote further down the line. Councilmember Mike Supina was the only vote against the proposal.

Next steps for the project include an environmental assessment worksheet with review and comments from residents and other government agencies, a site plan review and then a potential rezoning, which would require four votes from the city council to pass.

“Four votes tonight does not guarantee four votes when you come back for final implementation,” Maguire told Johnson Brothers.

If the environmental assessment worksheet is accepted, the earliest a rezoning request would go through would likely be in spring 2024, Schultz said.

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