By Brett Boese

Post-Bulletin, Austin MN 

BLOOMING PRAIRIE -- Dan Willert picked a big time to step up for the Blooming Prairie football team.

The 6-foot-3, 246-pound senior bowled his way through Goodhue's offensive line twice to block extra points in Friday's Section One, Class A championship game. The second block came in the fourth quarter and turned out to be the game-winning play in Blooming Prairie's 21-20 victory.

The Blossoms are headed to state for the first time since 1983.

"I just threw my hands up," he said, inadvertently reciting lyrics from the the popular song.

The block capped a dominant second half by the fifth-ranked Awesome Blossoms, who improved to 11-1 on the year. Goodhue led 14-7 at the break and went into halftime with momentum after snaring Blossom quarterback Luc Zellmer's fifth interception of the year. But the tide quickly turned in the third quarter.

Blooming Prairie outscored the Wildcats 14-0 in the third as it began winning the battle at the line of scrimmage. After struggling to move the ball in the first half, the high-octane offense -- which came in averaging nearly 40 points a game -- finally began finding success against Goodhue, which had shut opponents out in the second half over its last five games.

"Their offense line is big," Goodhue senior Brady Vieths said. "They just started taking over."

"That's where it was won, in the trenches," Goodhue coach Clair Austin said.

Goodhue standout Jared Dicke was held to 59 yards on 14 carries, though he scored a touchdown and also ran in a two-point conversion. With the game on the line, Blooming Prairie stuffed the junior on fourth-and-short near midfield with under two minutes remaining to end the Wildcats' hopes.

Waiting for the measurement after Dicke's run was especially hard for the Blossoms, who were itching to begin the celebration.

"It felt like forever," Blooming Prairie senior captain Aaron Krejci said.

Goodhue finished with 101 yards rushing, while senior quarterback Blayne Erie tallied 231 through the air. He picked apart Blooming Prairie's zone in the first half -- connecting on a 66-yard touchdown to Brandon Hadler in the second quarter -- but was limited when it changed to man after the break.

Hadler, a senior, had eight receptions for 163 yards and a touchdown.

The Blossons advanced despite three turnovers -- Goodhue had none -- thanks to a grinding attack that was complemented by big passing plays. Aaron Niles finished with 21 carries for 90 yards, while Zellmer had 17 for 62 and a touchdown. Zellmer also connected with senior Justen Ingvalson three times for 81 yards and two touchdowns.

Zellmer, a sophomore, finished 8-for-18 for 148 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He entered the game with 24 touchdown passes and just four interceptions on the year.

The victory ends years of frustration for the Blossoms, especially of late. They had advanced to the section title game each of the last two years, only to come up empty -- including once against Goodhue in 2007, which ended a perfect season.

"We're the five-time conference champs, (but) we had two times we didn't make it to state," Krejci said. "It's so awesome this year. We didn't have any outstanding players, we just all meshed together as one. I don't even know what to say right now. This is so awesome."

Blooming Prairie will play undefeated and top-ranked New Ulm Cathedral next Saturday at Rochester Community and Technical College. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.

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