Blooming Prairie Football: New Opponent, Same Job

Businesslike approach. Just another game. These seem like difficult attitudes to take for the Blooming Prairie football team as it prepares for the Class A Prep Bowl finals against BOLD Friday, November 29. That is the matter-of-fact approach they are attempting to take.

Two-way lineman Jarrett Larson said during a practice at the Dundas dome recently, "We're just taking it like any other week. We're not changing anything. Just keeping our heads down." He admits that in the back of his mind he thinks it's the biggest game of their lives. But he will work to keep that in the back of his mind.

Larson indicated that being at US Bank Stadium multiple times helps bring down the hype of that moment as well. BP played in the state semifinals against BOLD last season but lost 37-7. The Warriors finished second behind Mahnomen/Waubun in 2018. Blooming Prairie turned in a stellar performance against Ada-Borup in this year's semifinals, winning 41-0, their fourth shutout of the season.

Successful defense is a team game, "We just had a lot of trust in each other, a lot of trust in the game plan." Regarding this week's opponent, Larson said the team needs to "just do our jobs like we have all year."

Defensive coordinator Matt Kittelson said "everybody just did their job" to get the shutout in the semis. He says it remains the straight forward approach for BOLD as well, "We have some different match-ups with different guys we're a little more concerned with from their side offensively, but as far as the linebackers and d-line, their jobs don't change a whole lot."

He added, "I think the biggest thing with this group is they just enjoy playing defense."

Head coach Chad Gimbel commented about the extra time off between games on November 16 and November 29, "We gave them the weekend off. We gave them Monday and Tuesday (November 18 and 19) off. Biggest is to not over prepare. We're going to take it pretty easy the first week. Next week (November 25), we'll get after it pretty hard and treat it like a normal Friday football game week."

Friday represents Blooming Prairie's first appearance in a state football championship game. Pregame coverage begins at 9:15 am on Kat Kountry 105 FM and the Kat Kountry 105 app. Kickoff will be just past 10 am at US Bank Stadium as the first of seven state title games over a two-day period.

Read also: BOLD Led by a Mr. Football Finalist