Oct. 18—A look at the top 8 performances in Week 8 of the high school football season:
—Zach Reiland, Kingsland: What a way to close the regular season for the Kingsland senior running back and the Knights’ offensive line. Reiland ran for a school record 366 yards and five touchdowns, and had a 45-yard receiving touchdown. He was a yard away from a sixth rushing TD; he broke loose at the end of the game, but took a knee at the 1 so Kingsland could keep the football and run out the clock.
—Calvin Nelson, Red Wing: The Wingers’ QB had a monster game in a narrow 49-39 loss to Lake City. Nelson was 15-for-31 passing for 472 yards and four TDs. He also ran for a TD. Nelson’s top targets were standout Brock Kajewski (6 receptions, 251 yards, 2 TDs) and Keegan Knutson (5 rec., 170 yards, 2 TDs).
—Markes Simpson, John Marshall: The standout receiver for the Rockets had touchdown catches of 35 and 39 yards, and he returned a kickoff 75 yards for another score in JM’s 53-21 win at Bloomington Jefferson.
—Ben Carrier, Chatfield: Carrier’s stat line Wednesday night looked like something a Cannon Falls running back might record. So it’s fitting that the Chatfield star did it against the Bombers in the Gophers’ 40-8 victory. Carrier ran just eight times, but he turned those carries into 208 yards (26.0 yards per attempt) and three touchdowns.
—Camden Hungerholt, LeRoy-Ostrander/L-P: Jaw-dropping performances are just routine now for the Minnesota State University, Mankato, commit. Hungerholt closed the regular season by completing 11 of 12 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns in the Cardinals’ 58-8 win against Lanesboro. He also ran seven times for 187 yards and three touchdowns — that’s 420 total yards and five TDs. The 3.9-GPA student who runs a 4.59 40 finished the regular season having accounted for 3,181 total yards and 41 TDs.
—Owen Ollcott, Wabasha-Kellogg: The 5-foot-10, 175-pound senior receiver ended the regular season in style, catching five passes for 107 yards and both of his team’s touchdowns in a 14-12 win against rival Rushford-Peterson. The win gives W-K the No. 4 seed in the Section 1, Class 1A playoffs and its first home playoff game since 2015.
—Greg Kennedy, Fillmore Central: The Falcons’ athletic and talented senior did damage on both sides of the ball in Wednesday’s 39-8 win at Kenyon-Wanamingo. Kennedy caught four passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. He also intercepted two passes and returned both for long touchdowns, one of 84 yards, the other 82.
—Stewartville Defense: The Tigers held Lourdes to 49 total yards of offense, including just 7 passing yards, in a 50-0 victory. Stewartville finished the regular season having allowed 19 total points and recording five shutouts. The Tigers allow a remarkably miniscule 2.4 points per game. Now The Gold Rush is hoping for six more games and a chance to show the state once again just how dominant it can be.
