By Chad Courrier
ARLINGTON — Section championships have made conference titles seem less important, but Belle Plaine was celebrating Wednesday night as a 34-0 victory over Sibley East clinched at least a share of the Minnesota River Conference football championship.
“It’s huge,” senior quarterback Charlie Kern said. “We haven’t had one since 1998. Coming into the season, I don’t think anyone thought we had a chance to win it, but we worked hard and we came together.”
The Tigers (7-0, 6-0 in MRC), who are tied for fifth in The Associated Press’ Class AAA poll, took advantage of short fields to gain a 21-0 lead in the first half.
After a 50-yard kick return by Johnny Egan on the opening kickoff, the Tigers needed five plays to cover 30 yards, with Kern passing 3 yards to Dylan Nyberg for the score.
Justin Potthast’s PAT made it 7-0 after two minutes.
“This is the sixth game in which we scored on the opening kickoff,” said Belle Plaine coach Justin Johnston, who was celebrating his birthday. “That gives our kids a lot of confidence.”
The Tiger used a short punt to set up a 44-yard scoring drive on the next possession.
Eight plays later, Kern scored on a 3-yard keeper for a 14-0 lead.
In the second quarter, Belle Plaine had to travel 58 yards and took 11 plays, scoring again on a 6-yard run by Kern for a 21-0 lead with 8:20 remaining before halftime.
“Sibley East is a dangerous team so when we got down there, we wanted to make sure we took care of the football,” Johnston said. “It was big to jump out to that lead.”
Belle Plaine scored on the first drive of the third quarter, going 55 yards on four plays.
Kern passed short to Miah Fogarty, who slipped through the defense and raced 42 yards for the touchdown and a 28-0 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Belle Plaine drove 48 yards, and Darin Gregory scored on a 1-yard run.
“It’s been really cool to see everyone get behind the team,” Kern said. “It’s nice to see our hard work pay off.”
The Tigers rushed for 105 yards and passed for 133 yards. Kern was 9 of 21 passing for 133 yards, and he rushed for 34 yards. It was the third shutout of the season for the defense.
Sibley East (2-5, 2-4) was led by Dalton Kuehl, who rushed for 94 yards on 15 carries.
Belle Plaine can earn the outright MRC title with a victory Tuesday against Jordan.
