Alexandria downs Rogers in Class 5A football quarterfinal

MAPLE GROVE, MINNESOTA — The Alexandria Cardinals (11-0) defeated the Rogers Royals (9-2) 38-14 in the Class 5A Quarterfinals Saturday at Maple Grove High School.

Rogers was the first team to find the end zone as Kalvin Eull punched it in from one yard out to give the Royals a 7-3 lead that would hold true for the rest of the first half.

From then on, it was all Alexandria. A 35-point offensive onslaught from the Cardinals in the second half helped propel them to the class 5A semifinals.

The Chase Thompson show

It's not a secret that Rogers is littered with talent on the defensive side of the ball. The Royals have three different division one commits, all of whom play on the defensive line. The game plan from the Cardinals was simple: let quarterback Chase Thompson work his magic.

“Chase did a great job out there. He's been solid for us all year.” Alexandria head coach Mike Empting said. “What you saw out there today, that's been Chase for us all year long.”

It wasn't always easy for Thompson and the offense. The team was unable to get much of anything going in the first half as they went into the break with just three points.

“We obviously had a slow start to this game,” Thompson said. “That's probably the lowest amount of points we scored in any half of football this year. In the locker we were saying we need to score.”

Scoring is exactly what Thompson and the Cardinals did. The 6-foot-7 junior hit wide receiver Bralyn Steffensmeier on a nine yard out route to give the Cardinals a 10-7 lead early in the third. 

The two would get back to work on the very next possession as Thompson would find Steffensmeier on a touchdown pass again, this time from 64 yards.

“We have a really deep wide receiver room; we have like five or six guys that I really trust out there,” Thompson said. “I know that I can go to any of them at any time, and today it was [Steffensmeier].”

Thompson found Evan Kludt in the corner of the end zone late in the fourth quarter to complete the hat-trick of touchdown passes.

Don't forget about the defense

While the offense showed up in the second half, the Cardinal defense showed up for all four quarters. Alexandria held Eull in check for most of the game as the Cardinals filled up each running lane.

“We knew we were going to have to control their running game,” Empting said. “They've got some big dudes on that offensive line, and our guys didn't get nudged off the football.”

The defensive line of Alexandria was able to force Rogers into tough third and long situations, forcing the Royals to pass more than they were used to doing.

“If we could get them to start throwing the football, then we knew we were going to be in a good position because they struggle with that a little bit more. They are much better at running the football,” Empting said

Once the Cardinals forced the Royals into obvious passing situations, it was the secondaries time to shine. Fresh off scoring an offensive touchdown, it was Kludt once again, this time on defense. 

The junior pounced on an under-thrown ball and took it all the way to the end zone for a 85-yard pick six, making it 38-14 with under two minutes to go in the fourth.

Off to the Bank

Among the final four teams in the Class 5A tournament, Alexandria remains as the lone out of metro team.

“When it's all said and done, whether it's Owatonna or St. Thomas Academy, we have to come down and prove it; we have to keep doing what we're doing,” Empting said.

The Cardinals will take on St. Thomas Academy in the Class 5A semifinals on Nov. 17 at 2 p.m.

Thompson kept it simple when looking forward to next week. “Don't underestimate us.”