Prep Bowl: Minneota, Orono, Jackson County Central win state championships

Belief and 'brotherhood' carried Kasson-Mantorville to the Prep Bowl

MINNEAPOLIS — Grady Babcock looked around at his teammates as they huddled near the Kasson-Mantorville sideline. Seventy-four seconds remained in the Class 4A Prep Bowl — the high school football state championship game — at U.S. Bank Stadium late Friday afternoon. Babcock and the KoMets trailed by a touchdown against Orono, but K-M owned the second half, the momentum, the ball and the luxury of having multiple playmakers whose number could be c…

Prep Bowl: Minneota, Orono, Jackson County Central win state championships

Class 4A Orono 21, Kasson-Mantorville 14: Orono senior quarterback Griffin Mauer rushed for a pair of first-half touchdowns as his team built a 21-point halftime lead before withstanding a second-half, Kasson-Mantorville rally to earn the Class 4A crown. Senior Jeremiah Peterson scored on a 38-yard touchdown catch with 2:02 to play in the third quarter to get the KoMets on the board, then junior Parker Richards scored on a 1-yard run with 7 minu…