High School Football Playoffs: Kasson-Mantorville’s last-second touchdown takes down Becker

The Kasson-Mantorville KoMets defeated the Becker Bulldogs 24-20 on Thursday evening, at U.S. Bank Stadium, in the Class AAAA semifinals.

***CLICK ON THE VIDEO BOX TO WATCH HIGHLIGHTS****

The first half was a defensive battle until junior wide receiver Logan Eisele caught a touchdown pass to make it 7-0 Becker with 1:07 left in the first half. On the ensuing KoMet drive, Becker recovered a forced fumble to give them one more chance to score before the first half ended.

The Bulldogs set themselves up for a field goal, which sophomore Zachary Bengtson connected with to make it 10-0 Becker going into halftime.

In the second half, the KoMets got a field goal on their opening possession. Becker would answer right back when junior Alexander Weiss scored on a long touchdown catch to make it 17-3 Bulldogs with 2:58 remaining in the third quarter.

KoMet senior Gavin Giesler intercepted a pass and returned it to the 3-yard line at the end of the third quarter to keep Kasson-Mantorville in the game. A few plays later, on fourth down, senior quarterback Matthew Donovan snuck the ball in for a touchdown to make it 17-10 Becker with 11:07 left in the game.

Following a defensive stop, Donovan had an impressive punt return to set up the KoMets with great field position. Donovan would then score on a 3-yard quarterback sneak to make it 17-17 with 6:38 remaining in the game.

The KoMets would get the ball back, but Becker senior defensive back Dailen Adu-Gyamfi would intercept a pass and give the ball back to the Bulldogs. On the ensuing Becker drive, they were forced to attempt a 26-yard field goal. Bengtson would again connect, this time making it 20-17 Bulldogs with 1:30 left in the game.

The KoMets would have an answer themselves. They marched all the way down the field inside the red zone with just under 30 seconds remaining. Donovan would then hit senior running back Brooks Buchanan for a 7-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-20 KoMets with just nine seconds left in the game, to propel Kasson-Mantorville the victory.

The Class AAAA Championship game will be on Friday, November 26 at 4:00 p.m. inside of U.S. Bank Stadium.