BLOOMING PRAIRIE — Last fall Colton Krell was running cross country and focused on staying in shape for wrestling.

This fall, he’s been a big force on the front lines for the Blooming Prairie football team, which will take on BOLD in the Minnesota Class A State Semifinals in USBank Stadium in Minneapolis at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Krell, a junior, had plenty of teammates lobbying him to play football this season over the summer and he finally gave in. Krell, who took second place at 160 pounds at the Minnesota Class A State Wrestling Meet last season, has played big for a BP defense that is allowing just 11.1 points per game.

“Colton has made a world of difference. He truly has,” BP head coach Chad Gimbel said. “In each game he keeps getting better and better and that’s a scary thing. He’s a strong force inside and he’s got a motor that never quits. You see that in wrestling too and he knows how to do that close combat stuff. He just gets after it.”

Krell has put on some weight for football, but he still finds himself undersized against many of the opponents he’s been matched up against this fall. That’s when his wrestling instincts kick in and he goes in and battles.

“It’s tough when you’re going against 250-pound people,” Krell said. “I’m just under 200 pounds right now and I’m really short so it’s hard to reach sometimes. It’s fun though. There’s always contact and I’m always fighting to get around them.”

Krell and the rest of the BP defensive line has helped open things up for linebackers Dylan Nirk, who also competed in the state wrestling meet last year, and Mitchell Fiebiger.

Nirk, a junior, said BP will be put to the ultimate test against an explosive BOLD offense on Saturday.

“We’re going to have to be physically and mentally sound the entire time to stop them. I think we’ll be alright,” Nirk said. “In sixth grade we won an area championship and we all used to talk about how we wanted to win a state title in high school. We want to finish what we started.”

Fiebiger, a sophomore, has just burst on to the varsity scene with BP this season, but his older brothers Weston and Alex were on the last BP football team that lost to Dawson-Boyd the state semifinals in 2011.

“They definitely toughened me up,” Mitchell said of his brothers. “Hopefully we’ll bring the tradition back (this year), without losing.”

BOLD beat defending Class A state champ Minnesota 49-7 in the state quarterfinals and it is about as tough as a semifinal opponent can get. The Warriors (12-0 overall) have won 11 of their 12 games by at least 28 points and their only close game was a 30-20 win over Paynesville, which will play Caledonia in the Minnesota Class AA semifinals Thursday.

BOLD also has a Mr. Football Candidate in Luke Ryan, a wide receiver, defensive back, kicker and punter.

“It’s about being physical and being ready. We’ve got to do the same thing we did against USC, where we came out played physical right away and got up on them,” Gimbel said. “Are we going to completely take away BOLD’s run game away? Probably not. But we want to contain it enough and stop the big plays. They’re a big play offense and we’ve got to stop the big plays.”

HOW THEY MATCH UP

Blooming Prairie

Record: 12-0 overall

Points per game: 43.8

Points allowed per game: 11.1

QRF Ranking: No. 5

BOLD

Record: 12-0 overall

Points per game: 56.7

Points allowed per game: 7.5

QRF Ranking: No. 1