Prep football: Class AA powerhouses BOLD, Paynesville face off for Section 5AA title

For the second-straight year, the Paynesville football team will take to the Big Cat Stadium turf in Morris on Friday with an undefeated record, one big game standing between them and the Minnesota State Class AA tournament.
And, again, the Bulldogs will have a gigantic task ahead of them.
Last year, it was Minneota scratching the only blemish on Paynesville’s 10-1 season with a 23-8 win in the Section 5AA final at Big Cat. The Vikings went on to the Class AA championship game.
This year, the 9-0 Bulldogs, ranked No. 3 in the state, face a rematch with a 9-1 and sixth-ranked Warriors team whose only loss was a 32-13 setback in the season-opener in Olivia on August 29.
And Paynesville won’t be facing the same Warriors team is encountered on that somewhat stormy Friday two months ago.
In that game, BOLD was limited to the two scores and 262 yards of total offense by the Bulldogs. During their nine-game winning streak since, the Warriors are averaging 41.2 points per game and are amassing an average of 403.6 yards. In two games they surpassed 500 total yards.
BOLD is getting it done the way the Warriors always do: a relentless ground game with an efficient, big-gain passing game thrown into the mix when least expected.
BOLD quarterback Lane Stadther has thrown just 88 passes in 10 games but he’s completed 63 percent of them for 1,115 yards and 14 touchdowns. He’s averaging 20.3 yards per completion and 12.6 yards per attempt.
Much of that comes after establishing the run, with Ben Steffel and Brad Wolff puncturing defenses with the help of a sturdy, sizable and seasoned offensive line.
Steffel has 1,084 yards on just 120 carries - an average of 9.0 yards per carry - and he’s scored 13 touchdowns. Wolff has 393 yards on 59 carries for an average of 6.7 yards per run, and he’s crossed the goal line 11 times.
When Stadther drops back, he looks mostly for three guys. Max Buchtel has 20 catches for 326 yards and three scores, Nick Kubesh has 12 receptions for 352 yards and three touchdowns, and Trent Athmann has 10 catches for a healthy 265 yards and five TDs.
BOLD is averaging 38 points per game and its stingy defense allows just 12 per game. But the Warriors are fully aware that Paynesville will tax those defenses more profoundly than any other opponent they’ve played this season.
The Bulldogs’ offense is a breathtaking - and break-neck - operation most of the time.
Matthew Quade is the area’s top player this season. The senior quarterback has completed 145 of 243 throws for 2,277 yards and 26 touchdowns, and he’s also the team’s second-leading runner with 579 yards on 76 carries and he’s rushed for another 15 touchdowns.
When Quade begins firing, Warrior defenders’ heads will be spinning to figure out where all the bullets are flying.
Five Paynesville receivers have at least 22 receptions, all five have more than 300 yards, and they’ve caught 23 of Quades’ 26 TD throws.
Nick Dingmann has 33 catches for 663 yards and eight touchdowns, and Nick Reiman also has 33 receptions for 377 yards and four scores.
Brandon Schleper has 24 receptions for 484 yards and five TDs, and Mitch Weidner and Alex Kranz both have 22 catches, Weidner for 342 yards and four touchdowns and Kranz for 306 yards and two scores.
Kranz is a dual threat out of the backfield. He’s also carried the ball 67 times for 517 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Bulldogs’ running game is as spread out as its passing game. Leading rusher Bryce Savage has piled up 679 yards and eight TDs on 89 carries, and Brent Burg has 397 yards on 56 carries and he’s scored once.
The Bulldogs are giving up almost 18 points per game but they are scoring more than 51 per game. Game-time weather is predicted to be clear, with temperatures in the mid-30s and light winds, conditions which would seem to favor a Paynesville team that throws roughly 60 percent more than BOLD.
If BOLD can maintain possession and run clock, the Warriors will have a chance of exacting some revenge for that Aug. 29 loss. But BOLD will be hurting should Quade and his cohorts be given substantial opportunities to rev up their offensive machine.