Huskies Find Another Gear in State Football Tournament Victory

Offense was on full display in Owatonna's 59-34 state tournament football victory Saturday night over Mahtomedi at Lakeville North High School. The win propels the Huskies back to U.S. Bank Stadium for the semifinals for the second straight year. OHS will face Brainerd Saturday, November 18 at 7PM.

Running back Jason Williamson scored seven touchdowns Saturday, matching the school record for the second time this season. He also intercepted a pass, returned several kicks and sped across the field to make a touchdown-delaying tackle at the two-yard line.

His seven touchdowns were one highlight-reel play after another. Several runs involved sharp cuts that had defenders grasping at air. His final scoring run was a 40-yard sprint that saw him continue to pick up speed as he raced around the right edge and turned on the after burners to pull away from a pair of Zephyrs that seemed to have the angle on the play. It was the last of his 34 carries for approximately 265 yards.

Williamson moved to number one on the all-time career rushing chart at Owatonna at about 3,650 yards. He passed Cory Urban (3,422) and Aaron Peterson (3,580) on Saturday. The seven touchdowns, on runs of 8, 34, 42, 2, 19, 5 and 40 gives him a school-record 32 rushing scores for the season. He also has four touchdown catches and a kick return for a score this season. The junior is being recruited by several Division I programs.

Senior quarterback Abe Havelka passed for about 215 yards. Several catches were made by Alex Raichle, who seems to be closer to full speed after being hampered by an ankle injury. Noah Budach had five catches and continues to close in on Drew Lundberg's career mark of 133 receptions. Dalton Kubista had a great, leaping grab on a long cross field pass.

Mahtomedi's top running back, Brandon Anderson, ended the night with about 120 yards and two touchdowns. But Owatonna's big lead early in the game forced the Zephyrs to go to the air more often than they would like. It led to about 280 passing yards for Mahtomedi, nearly triple their game average.

After the teams traded punts on their first two possessions, Owatonna scored on their next five drives, capped by Josh Nelson's 27-yards field goal with 45 seconds left in the second quarter. Mahtomedi punted two more times in the first half and threw an interception to Tucker Alstead. Owatonna led 31-14 at halftime.

The Zephyrs scored on the opening drive of the third quarter to pull within 31-20. But Williamson finished off the next two drives and Owatonna's lead grew to 45-20.

Brainerd, who the Huskies beat in the 2013 Prep Bowl championship game, beat St. Louis Park 24-7 Saturday.

Advance tickets for Saturday's game are available at the Owatonna Knights of Columbus Hall Sunday from 12-3:30PM, as well as Monday through Thursday from 3:30-5:30PM. Tickets can be purchased at the high school in the main doors, upper commons, Monday through Friday 7:30-8:15AM, 11AM-1PM and 2:30-3PM. The cost is $14 for adults and $9 for students.

The Knights are providing a charter bus to the game for $30, which includes the cost of the game ticket.