Faribault B.A. upsets Blooming Prairie 28-20 in Section 1A

Chad Gimbel knew his Blooming Prairie football team was in a dicey situation before Friday night's contest ever started.

Two of his starters were out with injuries, and a handful of backups.

"We were a M*A*S*H unit," Gimbel.

Things got even worse just before the Section One, Class A championship game with rival Faribault Bethlehem Academy ever started.

Gimbel and his Blossoms were dealt one more blow to their talent level and depth when senior receiver/linebacker Weston Fiebiger threw his back out just before game time.

All of it — combined with power and speed running of Christian Von Ruden, and the excellent pass defense of the Cardinals — were too much for the previously unbeaten and top-seeded Blossoms to overcome at Rochester Regional Sports Stadium.

Faribault B.A. successfully defending its section title with a 28-20 upset win over Blooming Prairie, the second time in as many years that FBA beat B.P. in the championship. FBA finished second overall at state in 2012, but graduated a number of those players.

Faribault B.A. scored the game's final two touchdowns, both of them by Von Ruden, to come away a winner.

"We came in here as the underdog and with nothing to lose," said Von Ruden, who finished with 227 yards rushing and three of his team's four touchdowns. All of the TDs were rushing — one from 21 yards, one from 20 and one from 29.

"We came out here with a full heart. We knew that Blooming Prairie was a great team. But we had fire in our stomachs tonight."

Faribault B.A., the No. 3 seed in the section, takes an 8-3 record into the state tournament. One of those losses was to Blooming Prairie, 24-7, to close out the regular season.

Early touchdowns

The Cardinals accomplished their pre-game wish. That was to assert themselves early. They did that with a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter, the first one on a relatively rare pass by quarterback Kollin Hanson. It covered 44 yards to Joe Matejcek and came on Faribault B.A.'s first possession.

The Cardinals wasted no time tacking on to that 7-0 lead, also getting a touchdown on their next chance. After covering 91 yards on the first TD drive, this one covered just 42. It followed an interception of Blooming Prairie standout quarterback John Rumpza.

It was one of four thrown by Rumpza, as he suffered a rare tough passing night. He finished 21-for-41 for 192 yards, one touchdown, and those four picks.

"(Faribault B.A.) played a good game," Blossoms senior receiver/linebacker Hunter Rudlong said. "Defensively, they were prepared for our passing game this time. They were dropping back in coverage and making things tougher for us. When it came down to it, we just weren't in the right spot at the right time, and they were."

Forced five fumbles

Blooming Prairie certainly did make a game of it, though. It made some things happen, such as forcing five Cardinals fumbles and hopping on three of them. The Blossoms also had two excellent defensive stands in the third quarter, stuffing Faribault B.A. on 4th-and-goal from the 2, and also stopping it on fourth down at the Blooming Prairie 10.

It was also in the third quarter that Blooming Prairie turned a 14-all tie, into a 20-14 lead. That came on a 12-play, 81-yard drive that was capped by a Rumpza 3-yard run.

But after that, it couldn't get much done. The turning point came midway through the fourth quarter when it tried a fake punt from the Cardinals' 48 that fell short. Six plays later, Faribault B.A. was in the end zone, with almost all of the damage done by Von Ruden, a junior.

He capped it with a 20-yard run. And he finished his binge with a 29-yard TD sprint with less than a minute left in regulation.

Faribault B.A. 28, Blooming Prairie 20

Faribault BA#14#0#0#14#—#28

Blooming Prairie#0#14#6#0#—#20

First quarter

FBA — Joe Matejcek 44 pass from Kollin Hanson (Lexi Temple kick), 7:52. Drive: 5 plays, 91 yards, :55. Key play: Christian Von Ruden 34 run.

FBA — Von Ruden 21 run (Temple kick), 5:20.Drive: 4 plays, 42 yards, 1:27.

Second quarter

BP — Jake Decker 2 pass from John Rumpza (kick failed), 10:19. Drive: 16 plays, 66 yards, 7:01. Key play: Hunter Rudlong 23 pass from Rumpza.

BP — Cole Sunde 12 pass from Rumpza (Rudlong pass from Rumpza), 6:36.Drive: 9 plays, 52 yards, 3:15. Key play:Sunde 21 run.

Third quarter

BP — Rumpza 3 run (run failed), 1:02. Drive: 12 plays, 81 yards, 5:04.

Fourth quarter

FBA — Von Ruden 20 run (Temple kick), 4:24.Drive: 6 plays, 51 yards, 2:04.

FBA — Von Ruden 29 run (Temple kick), :52.Drive: 2 plays, 32 yards, :24.

TEAM STATISTICS

#FBA#BP

First downs#15#25

Total net yards#375#351

Rushes-yards#38-235#38-159

Passing yards#140#192

Comp.-att.-int.#6-9-0#21-41-4

Fumbles-lost#5-3#1-0

Penalties-yards#5-40#2-10

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

Faribault B.A. — Christian Von Ruden 33-227, Drew Glenzinski 1-1, Isaiah Brogden 1-2, Kollin Hanson 3-5. Blooming Prairie — Jake Decker 17-89, John Rumpza 15-23, Cole Sunde 6-47.

Passing

Faribault B.A. — Kollin Hanson 6 completions, 9 attempts, 0 interceptions, 1 touchdown, for 140 yards. Blooming Prairie — John Rumpza 21-41-4-1, for 192 yards.

Receiving

Faribault B.A. — Joe Matejcek 3-96, Isaiah Brogden 3-44. Blooming Prairie — Cole Sunde 3-28, Hunter Rudlong 4-49, Decker 4-33, Sam Swenson 3-28, Tristen Haberman 7-54.