Last season the Blooming Prairie and Goodhue football teams re-ignited an old rivalry when the Wildcats knocked off BP 19-14 in the Section 1A title game. Now the two squads are back at it again with a trip to state on the line when BP and Goodhue will face off in the section championship in RCTC Stadium in Rochester at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Over the years 2007 to 2014, BP beat Goodhue in the postseason five out of seven times and the Awesome Blossoms (10-0 overall) are looking to get back on track against the Wildcats this weekend.

BP, which is outscoring opponents 46.2-11.5 points per game this season, beat Goodhue 20-14 on Sept. 28 and that was before BP starting quarterback Seth Peterson went down for the season with an injury.

Junior Kaden Thomas has stepped into the quarterback spot for BP and he thrown for 311 yards and five TDs.

“I’m very happy with his performance so far,” BP head coach Chad Gimbel said of Thomas. “It’s a very important role on our team. He keeps getting more and more comfortable and confident and he’s getting a little bit quicker with his delivery.”

Goodhue averaged 30.2 points, but it allows just 4.8 points per game this season. The Wildcats like to move the ball with their run game on offense and their defense presents plenty of challenges for opponents as well.

“The key is we’ve got to keep them behind the chains. They’re a very good running team and if you get into third and short, it’s very difficult to stop them,” Gimbel said. “We’ve got to get as many offensive possessions as we can against them, because they have a stellar defense.”