As the Awesome Blossoms prepare to play in the Class ‘A’ state football quarterfinals, they’ll notice they’re getting ready to play a familiar opponent.

Blooming Prairie (10-1 overall) will take on Lester/Prairie/Holy Trinity (9-1 overall) at Macalester College in St. Paul this Friday at 7 p.m.

BP beat LPHT in the third week of this season by a score of 49-28 as Luc Zellmer threw six touchdowns, but there’s a lot more at stake this time around and it could be a much different game.

“Both teams have improved since then or we wouldn’t have made it out of the section tournament,” BP head coach Chad Gimbel said. “(Being overconfident) is a concern and we’ve addressed it. We keep telling them that the last game was closer than the score indicated. We’ve got to practice with urgency and be ready to go.”

LPHT is averaging 28.4 points per game with a ground attack based around its quarterback’s athletic ability and the team is allowing just 12.6 per contest. BP is averaging 39.5 points per game and allowing 17.7 per game.

Much like it did when it made it to the state semifinals in 2009, BP is balancing the run and the pass this season and that has paid off.

“That team in 2009 was extremely balanced,” Gimbel said. “It’s nice to know you can do both. If they’re taking one thing away, you can go to something else.”

The Blossoms will have to adjust to a stadium they’ve never played in before and they’ll also have to adjust to playing on the road — as they’ve played their last four games at home.

“Getting on the bus will be a little different, but once you get out there, everything goes back to normal,” Gimbel said.

If BP wins on Friday, it will play the winner of Warren/Alvarado/Osio (8-3 overall) and Dawson Boyd (11-0 overall) in the Metrodome in Minneapolis Nov. 19 at 10:15 a.m.