Wingers once again show progress, need to lean into successful habits

Eighty-nine combined points, close to 1,000 yards of combined offense and two hours, forty minutes later, we had a winner.

Fourth-seeded La Crescent-Hokah hosted No. 5 Red Wing in a Section 1AAA quarterfinal Tuesday night, a game that left pens dried up from logging the scoresheet. The Lancers scored just about every possession to win 52-37 in a game that resembled something of an NFL Pro Bowl in their flag football era.

The Lancers had only two possessions in the first half that didn't end in points. One came after a three-and-out, which was one of two punts in the game combined. The other of the two possessions ending in no points in the first half came as the Lancers got the ball to midfield before running out of time.

Mason Conroy ran for 246 yards and five touchdowns while Maverick Moor ran for 185 yards and a score in the previous meeting, Red Wing's homecoming game.

This time around, it was Moor who did the most damage. He passed and ran all over the field, accounting for 265 yards on the ground and 227 yards passing. He ran in five touchdowns and passed for another.

Most of Moor's production came in the first quarter. He ran for 160 yards on his three touchdowns combined.

On the other side, Red Wing contributed to the big first quarter by scoring twice. Each of them were touchdown passes from Kemper Thorson to Cody Roschen. Thorson to Roschen was a combination that worked many times throughout the season and one that connected three times in the game.

Both teams had already reached a 30-16 score by the midway point of the first quarter.

In some regards, the game was a glimpse into what the Wingers are trying to build to, what they are attempting to move on from and their recurring, ugly trend of surrendering a large lead early in games.

Red Wing ends the season with one win. They earned that win all the way back in Week 3. It ended a 28-game losing streak. Since then, it was about repeating the behaviors that made that night possible. Steps were taken but not enough to win a second game.

The Wingers are trying to keep building from within. After a successful season for the seventh-grade team and bigger numbers there, the forward progress over the next two, three years is crucial to preserving the feeling those still on the team in two years will have when it comes to competitive football.

Competitive. That's been an everlasting goal for a while. There are signs it's coming but imperative, head coach Pat Kelly said, that they stay the course they are on. 

There are obvious needs like the ability to stop the run and run the ball consistently, but pass defense and general offensive potential showed more this year than some past seasons.

Kelly referenced River Falls and what happened there with turning multiple years of losing into championship-level football. There needs to be continuity in the program. Keep the same concepts but get stronger, more invested and lean into the desire to recapture that winning feeling more often.

Notes

Each team came into the matchup with a multi-year losing streak in the section playoffs. La Crescent-Hokah last won a section playoff game in 2023, a 15-14 win over Plainview-Elgin-Millville. Red Wing's last was in 2017, a 20-16 win over Albert Lea.

The Lancers will face No. 1 Pine Island on Saturday in a semifinal. The Panthers had the night off, getting the bye in the quarterfinal round.

Quotes

"Our junior players are natural leaders. And a lot of them are our line. Kemper is not even a junior yet. I keep thinking he's a junior. We're young that way in a lot of our areas. Our offensive line and defensive lines are like calluses in our leadership. You don't get that very often. Usually, the leadership seems to come from linebackers or defensive backs, quarterbacks, running backs. Kemper is a quiet leader, he just kind of does it.  They want to do the captain's practices and set that all up early. I'm looking forward to that and getting better." - Head coach Pat Kelly on what is coming and what leadership he sees in the junior class.

"Reece is a really good kicker. You tell him to squib it, he does. I saw that thing come off that guy's arm and thought we got it and it was 20 yards down field. It wasn't necessarily a planned thing. But he just kicks it so hard. He's got that soccer spin on it. It would have gotten us closer of course, but we started off so dang slow in that first quarter. If we can get stops and get our points up first. Then settle down." - Kelly on the onside kick that nearly worked in Red Wing's favor after scoring and getting the game to 52-37.