took advantage of several big plays – including a muffed
punt recovery, an onside kick k recove ver, and two long touc
ch-
downs – to score 20-13 over the Lions, ad
dvancing ng them to
their fi rst state tournament in
46
years.
DC was not satisfi ed with just mak aking
the state tournam ment,
however. They were e intent t on going all the way.
In the state quarterfi nals, the Chargers squared off against
Section 4AAA champion Cannon non Falls at Burnsville High
School.
With their backs against the wall – or in this case, their
own
end zone – DC rallied for a 26-22 victo tory.
With 6:28 left in the fourth quarter, and trailing 22-19, the
Chargers found themselves with the ball at their own two-
yard line.
They rattled off a 13-play, 98-yard drive, capped pe off by a
touchdown run from quarterback Sanders Asplin, to go up
26-22, and held off a last-minute Bombers drive to advance
to US Bank Stadium for the state semifi nals.
In that state semifi nal game, DC would face off against a
a
very familiar foe: Annandale, a team they had lost to earlier
er
in the season by a 28-20 score.
For the second straight game, the Chargers pulled off a
miraculous fi nish.
Against Cannon Falls, the offense found themselves
backed up against the goal line.
This time, against the Cardinals, it was the defense that
found themselves with their backs against the wall.
With the Chargers leading 17-14 in the fourth quarter, Annandale
drove down the fi eld and appeared to be poised
to take the lead.
However, Logan Benson stripped the Cardinals ball carrier
on the one-yard line, and Collin Asplin pounced on the loose
ball to give the ball back to the Chargers.
Three plays later, running back Eli Gillman burst through
a seam to score an 87-yard touchdown, sealing a 24-14 DC
victory.
That win set up one last game at US Bank Stadium, this time
against the Pioneers for the state championship.
It would go down as one of the best title games in Minnesota
State High School League (MSHSL) history.
The two sides traded scores throughout the contest, with a
32-yard Asplin touchdown run putting the Chargers up 27-22
late in the third quarter.
But, after two straight miraculous fi nishes, this time, it was
the Chargers that fell on the wrong side of late-game heroics.
With 3:47 left to play, Pierz rattled off a 12-play, 80-yard
drive to take a 28-27 lead with 38 seconds left.
The Chargers advanced as far as their own 42-yard line,
but could not get any further as time expired.
A look at the makeup of the 2019 DC football squad is
shown in the chart, right.
Of note, the 2019 Chargers will go down as the most prolifi
c offense in program history. The team fi nished with 4,571
yards – more than 700 yards more than the second-place
2010 team (3,829).
Head coach: Ryan Weinandt.
Team captains: Sander Asplin, Eli Tormanen, Jackson Martin,
Josh DeBoer, Jacob MacDonald.
All-District: Sanders Asplin. QB; Eli Tormanen. OL; Devan
Campbell ll. DL;
Beau Nelson. DL; Logan Kelly. OL; Eli
Gillman.
RB.
All-District Honorable
Mention:
n: Logan Bens son, LB; Jackson
Martin, OL; James Gedde, de, OL; Grayson Londerville,
LB
District t Positio
tion Player of the Year:
Sander ers Asplin, specia
cial
teams; Beau Nelson, DL.
East Centra ral South District t Player
of the Year:
Sanders Asplin.
DC final stats
DC Football Season Statistics
Record: 10-4 overall
Schedule
Result
LITTLE FALLS W, 28-0
at Holy Family W, 33-0
PRINCETON W, 20-14
at New London-Spicer L, 26-20
GLENCOE-SL W, 28-21, OT
LITCHFIELD L, 29-28
at Watertown-Mayer W, 40-0
at Annandale L, 28-20
PLAYOFFS
ROCKFORD W, 50-12
at Litchfield W, 58-26
vs. Providence Acad. W, 26-13
vs. Cannon Falls W, 26-22
vs. Annandale W, 24-14
vs. Pierz L, 28-27
TEAM DC OPP
PPG 30.4 16.8
3rd Down Conv. 50% 43%
4th Down Conv. 62% 42%
RUSHING
YPG 262.6 168.8
YPC 5.6 4.3
TDS 55 24
PASSING
YPG 63.9 126.2
TDs 6 10
INTs 3 9
TURNOVERS 12 24
TOTAL OFFENSE 326.5 295.0
OFFENSE
RUSHING Att Yds YPC
TD Eli Gillman 167
1235 7.4 18 Sanders
Asplin 146 953 6.5 11
Cole Evjen 151 581 3.8 8
Josh DeBoer 84 380 4.5 15
Jacob Niemela 50 239 4.8 2
Keyton Johnson 35 186 5.3 1
Hunt. Holmquist 10 48 4.8 0
Grant Haataja 11 46 4.2 0
Joel Selseth 2 18 9.0 0
Kyan Lynk 1 3 3.0 0
PASSING Cp Att Yds TD
IN Sanders Asplin 524
109 891 6 3
RECEIVING Rec Yds YPC
TD
Eli Gillman
21 345 16.4 2
Joel Selseth 17 263 15.5 2
Mason Ailie 3 99 33.0 0
David Miller 3 96 32.0 1
Solomon Jorgensen 4 44 11.0 0
Grant Grochow 2 18 9.0 1
Cole Evjen 1 13 13.0 0
Kyan Lynk 3 13 4.3 0
Sanders Asplin e1 4 4.0 0
KICKING
FG XP
Sanders Asplin 2-4 43-52
PUNTING Punts Avg I20
Sanders Asplin 29 37.5 8
Reese Aho 4 20.8 1
Grant Grochow 2 31.0 0
KICKOFF RET. RET. YD TD
Joel Selseth 5 88 0
Eli Gillman 8 82 0
Cole Evjen 10 70 0
Noah Halonen 7 68 0
Keyton Johnson 4 51 0
Grant Haataja 4 22 0
Haydn Hoernemann 2 5 0
PUNT RET. RET YD TD
Eli Gillman 4 105 1
Calder Anderson 2 15 0
Joel Selseth 2 7 0
DEFENSE TCK SAC FF
INT
Beau Nelson 95 9 5 0
Logan Benson 81.5 4.5 2 1
Will O’Brien 72.5 0 2 1
Noah Halonen 63 0 1 1
Devan Campbell 59.5 1 0 0
G. Londerville 53 3.5 1 0
Teddy Bergquist 41 5 2 0
H.Hoernemann 39 1 1 0
Joel Selseth 29 0 0 0
Calder Anderson 23 0 0 0
Jacob Gnerer 23 0.5 0 2
Grant Grochow 23 1 0 0
Eli Gillman 23 0 0 2
Collin Asplin 18.5 1 0 0
Josh DeBoer 17 1 0 1
Jack Hillmann 7 0 0 0
Luke Kraemer 6.5 1 0 0
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