Blossoms hope to flourish on the Metrodome turf on Owatonna

OWATONNA — Chad Gimbel likes to talk about the steps the Blooming Prairie football team has taken in his time as the head coach.

First, he turned the Awesome Blossoms into a winning program. Then they won conference titles. Next came playoff victories. After that came spots in the section championship game. The next step after that was a section title and a spot in the state tournament.

It took 14 seasons, but the Blossoms were finally able to deliver that for Gimbel, and they’ve already blown on to the next step — the Metrodome. Blooming Prairie won a state tournament game for the first time in school history last week with a 21-8 victory over top-ranked and then-undefeated New Ulm Cathedral. Now the Blossoms will take on Minneota (12-0) at 10:15 a.m. Saturday in the Class A semifinals.

Gimbel got a little choked up talking about watching his players take that next step.

“For me, the biggest thing is, I think of all the games you go and you watch, and you think about that,” Gimbel said. “It’s pretty neat that the kids get to experience that.”

The Blossoms players all think so, too. “It’s crazy. It’s definitely a big trip,” senior lineman Pat Trotman said. “We saw all those other teams get there, and we always got so close. This is all just crazy, especially for us seniors. We’ve been wanting this since we were freshman.”

Eleven of the 32 players on Blooming Prairie’s state tournament roster are seniors, including all five starting offensive linemen — Trotman, Danny Willert, Aaron Krejci, Brad Wocelka and Zach Herdina.

“It all starts up front with our senior linemen,” Gimbel said. “We need to make sure those guys are healthy and firing off the ball. We’re banged up right now. I keep saying I should have stock in Johnson Tape.

“We really need to make sure those guys are firing off the ball and getting a good push. Making (Minneota) respect our run game to set up the pass is going to be important.”

The leader in that run game is senior Aaron Niles, likely the largest beneficiary of playing on turf instead of grass. Niles carried 23 times for 114 yards and caught two passes for 17 yards against Cathedral.

“We were all able to get better cuts, which is good for us because we have some really quick guys,” said BPHS junior Cooper Nelson, who caught four passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. “Guys like Aaron and Luc (Zellmer) and Gabe (Kartes), they’re quick and they cut real well. I think playing on the turf again will really benefit us.”

Another thing Gimbel is hoping will be a benefit is Blooming Prairie’s distance from the Metrodome. The Blossoms are going to spend Friday night in Blooming Prairie, get up Saturday morning, meet at the school for breakfast, then drive up to the dome. Minneota will stay in a hotel Friday in Minneapolis.

“I’ve talked to other coaches and they’ve said this is the way to go,” Gimbel said. “This way, the kids sleep in their own beds by themselves instead of fighting with other guys for bed space or sheets or whatever in a hotel room. I think that’s one of our advantages.”

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Member Opinions: By: huskysportsnut on 11/19/09 Go for it Blossoms!! You should be proud of your accomplishments this year. By: moe on 11/19/09 41 hours and counting until kick-off! We will be there with our scream on! By: moe on 11/20/09 21 hours and counting!
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