Cannon Falls Loses First Game in Two Seasons

The Chatfield Gophers defeated the Cannon Falls Bombers 44-34 at John Burch Park Saturday afternoon.  It was the first loss since 2019 for the Bombers.  The first home loss since October of that year.

Cannon Falls ended last season for the first time in their school history undefeated.  Unfortunately the Minnesota State High School League decided not to have any football or volleyball state playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bombers last week received their first ever #1 ranking in football.  Head Coach Dan Meyers stated on the Cannon Falls Coaches Show Saturday they would have to be able to stop the Gophers tremendous running attack.

Cannon Falls had a 20-6 lead at the half but Chatfield blew the scoreboard up with 38 second half points and held the Bombers to 14.

Coach Meyers was proud of the fight his team showed and said they will learn from the loss.

Freshman Jack Meyers had an outstanding defensive game for Cannon Falls with two interceptions and 5 tackles. Junior Colten Black finished the game with 12 total tackles for the Bombers.

Chatfield accumulated 499 total yards in the game.  319 rushing, 180 passing.

Cannon Falls finished with 329 yards on the ground and 70 yards through the air.

It's not too often a team (especially in high school football) has two rushers go over 100 yards and loses a game but that's what happened.

Cannon Falls senior running backs 6'0 195 pound Colton Loeschke and 6'0 175 pound Carson Hammel tallied 103 and 156 yards respectively. Both had touchdown runs. Loescke scored the first touchdown of the game on a 29 yard reception following a junior quarterback, Colton Otto throw with 10:26 to go in the first quarter.

Chatfield answered with a 57 yard touchdown pass with 3:13 to go in the first quarter.  Both teams missed their extra points so it was 6-6.

The Bombers senior 6'0 195 pound Riley Keenan had a 2 yard TD run with 9:29 to go until the half.  Extra point again was no good.

The final score of the first half came with :56 to go when Hammel ran into the end zone from 10 yards away.  Otto hit Loeschke for the two point conversion.

Chatfield 5'11 195 pound junior quarterback/running back Sam Backer took over the game in the second half with touchdown runs of 72, 45 and 12 yards.  He also threw a touchdown pass to 6'4 185 pound junior receiver Cole Johnson for 25 yards.

Coach Meyers says Backer is an "exceptional athlete."  They spread the field with five receivers in the second half and Backer was alone in the backfield, "to throw if a receiver came open or run which he is very good at.  He broke a number of tackles in the game."

The Gophers converted two point conversions on three of their four second half scores.

The Bombers had a toucdown in each quarter of the second half.  Their third quarter score made it 30-26 going into the fourth quarter.

The final Cannon Falls TD was a Loeschke 6 yard run with 5:28 to go to make it 38-34.

Backer scored from 12 yards out with 2:03 to go for the Gophers.  The two point attempt failed but it essentially sealed the victory for Chatfield.

The Bombers go to LaCrescent next Friday before finishing the season against state ranked Plainview-Elgin-Millville at home on Friday, October 15, 2021 and going to Lake City Wednesday, October 20, 2021.

Here are results from some of the other 11 Minnesota high school football games played on Saturday.

• Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop 22 New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva  21
• Dover-Eyota  42  Lewiston-Altura  20
• Mayer Lutheran 43 Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons 8
• New Prague 35  Rochester John Marshall  7
• Lanesboro 54  Kingsland (Spring Valley/Wykoff)  13

This is awesome don't you think?

Talk about awesome.