Linebacker knew what he wanted — the ball and the title

Linebacker knew what he wanted — the ball and the title — so he took both

50 years in the making: Jayden Heisler's takeaway secured victory for Mahnomen/Waubun.

By Ron Haggstrom Star Tribune

October 16, 2022 — 11:12pm

This is the fourth part of a 50-day feature looking back at the 50 years since Minnesota's high school football state tournaments began. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here.

Year: 2018

"We did our thing." — Mahnomen/Waubun coach John Clark Jr.

Jayden Heisler is small in stature at 5-9, but it doesn't prevent him from jumping into the fray.

The gritty Mahnomen/Waubun linebacker wrestled the ball out of Dawson Vosika's hands and corralled it in his own at the Thunderbirds 10-yard line with 1 minute, 36 seconds remaining, preserving a 22-21 victory over BOLD in the Class 1A championship game.

BOLD marched down the field after Mahnomen/Waubun took its first lead of the game, 22-21, on quarterback Jon Starkey's 10-yard touchdown run and Parker Syverson's two-point conversion run with 5:12 remaining, setting up Heisler's takeaway.

"He's always in the middle of the pile somewhere," Thunderhawks coach John Clark Jr. said with a laugh. "He's going to make plays."

Heroes emerged from two other finals in 2018:

The Prep Bowl was also an opportunity for St. Paul Academy/Minnehaha Academy/Blake junior quarterback/cornerback Jalen Suggs to showcase his athleticism in the Class 4A final.

Suggs dazzled on three touchdowns: a 23-yard run during which six Willmar defenders missed tackles, a 97-yard interception return and a 76-yard pass as the Wolfpack beat the Cardinals 44-18. He finished with 216 passing yards, 67 rushing yards, four offensive touchdowns and two interceptions. It marked the only state championship for any of the three schools involved in the merger.

"He made some incredible plays," Willmar senior quarterback Drey Dirksen said. "He had the night."

In Class 2A, senior running back Zach Jungels rushed for 233 yards on 27 carries and scored two touchdowns, leading Rochester Lourdes past Fairmont 24-7.

"If you want to talk about a guy that worked his buns off to get here — the most offseason preparation by far — it was Zachary Jungels," teammate Pat Leary said. "We all fed off him in the offseason. He had the day he deserved today. He's a fantastic player."