A familiar battlefield: Blooming Prairie facing off with Goodhue again for section title
Published 7:52 pm Wednesday, October 30, 2019
- Blooming Prairie’s Matthew Pryor follows his blockers on a carry in the first quarter against Hayfield this season in Hayfield. Herald File Photo
BLOOMING PRAIRIE — There aren’t a lot of secrets when the Blooming Prairie and Goodhue football teams get together, so it has been a little difficult for BP head coach Chad Gimbel to develop an original gameplay as he prepares for BP’s Section 1A title game matchup with the Wildcats in Triton at 7 p.m. Friday.
This will be BP and Goodhue’s 10th playoff matchup in the last 12 years, with the Awesome Blossoms winning six of the first nine meetings.
“I was just telling my kids, that I hate playing these guys because they know us so well and my nine-year old son told me ‘don’t you know them so well?’ I was like ‘yeah, I guess you’re right.’ I’m guessing the feeling is mutual,” Gimbel said. “We had a ton of respect for them. They have a great program and they do a good job of preparing for us. It will be a tough, hard fought battle.”
BP, which beat Goodhue in last year’s Section 1A title game, beat the Wildcats 27-6 on Sept. 20 and that was the lowest scoring game of the season for the Awesome Blossoms. Goodhue likes to run the ball, control the clock and play tough defense. BP will be hoping to keep its high scoring offense on the field.
“They run the football and they try and get in manageable downs on third down and they try to move the chains,” Gimbel said. “They will use the play clock and they’ll try to keep the ball away from us.”
One Blossom who has been awaiting this game for quite some time is senior defensive back Karson Vigeland, who missed about a month of action this season with an injury. Vigeland returned to the field in last week’s 56-27 win over Randolph and he’s eager to line up against Goodhue.
“I’m finally here and I thank God for every moment of it. It’s been a blessing to come back. I was pretty anxious and I’m very impatient with stuff like that. It sucked sitting out. I want to get out there, hit and make plays,” Vigeland said. “We eat, sleep, repeat football. That’s all we do all day. We’ve been playing together since fifth grade and it’s our last shot to get to state.”
BP senior running back Matthew Pyror is excited to play a physical style of football on Friday and he’s also embracing his last season with the Blossoms.
“Running is definitely what I like to do best offensively. We’ve just got to take it to them,” Pryor said. “We’ve built a big brotherhood through this sport and nothing’s better than Friday night lights, especially against a good team.”
BP is pursuing its second straight trip to the Minnesota Class A State Tournament and Gimbel isn’t expecting any of his players to have a tough time getting pumped up when the lights go on.
“They know who we’re playing and they know how well they play us every year. It’s always a battle,” Gimbel said. “If they can’t get up for a section championship against Goodhue, they’re probably in the wrong sport.”
![](https://www.austindailyherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2019/10/HayfieldvsBloomingPrairieFB-4-354x449.jpg)
Blooming Prairie’s Zach Weber comes up with the interception in front of Hayfield’s Dawson Andree in the first quarter this season in Hayfield. Herald File Photo
HOW THEY MATCHUP
Blooming Prairie
- Record: 9-0
- Points per game: 49.2
- Points allowed per game: 8.0
Goodhue
- Record: 7-3
- Points per game: 20.3
- Points allowed per game: 10.6