Metro 22, Outstate 17

 On a cool, wet and windy Saturday night, the Metro All-Stars held Outstate scoreless in the second half and rallied from a 10 point deficit to win the 35th Annual Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game 22-17 at St. Cloud State University’s Husky Stadium. Outstate leads the series 15-14 after 29 games. Metro and Outstate have split the four games played in St. Cloud.

This game started with a bang on the first play from scrimmage. Outstate’s Mario Butler (RB, Rochester Mayo) took a handoff, swept around right end and ran 80 yards for a touchdown. The play set two Minnesota All-Star Football Game records: longest rushing touchdown and fastest scoring play at the start of the game (15 seconds). Charlie Klaverkamp (St. Cloud Tech) added the PAT and Outstate had a quick 7-0 lead.

Both teams alternated quarterbacks on every series, with Ryan Grant (Eden Prairie) starting for Metro and Logan Becker (Blue Earth Area) starting for Outstate. Greg Morse (St. Paul Como Park) entered the game at QB on the second Metro possession. On his first play, Morse hit Fritz Waldvogel (St. Thomas Academy) on a 36 yard pass to midfield. Two plays later, Morse found Waldvogel again for a 48 yard TD pass. The PAT by Matt Kloss (Coon Rapids) tied the game at 7-7 with 10:20 remaining in the first quarter. Late in the first quarter, Outstate was on the move, driving to the Metro 6 yard line before the drive stalled. Klaverkamp kicked a 23 yard FG with 52 seconds left to give Outstate a 10-7 lead after one quarter.

With Glencoe-Silver Lake QB Matt Muenchow at the helm, Outstate drove into Metro territory late in the 2nd quarter. In the final minute, Muenchow hit Collin Stinogel (St. Cloud Tech with a 30 yard pass, with Stinogel winning a one-on-one battle to come down with the catch. With 24 seconds left in the half, Muenchow rolled left and hit RB Ben Kall (Rochester John Marshall) with an 8 yard TD pass. Klaverkamp’s PAT made it 17-7 Outstate at the half.

In the third quarter, Metro drove to the Outstate 10, where Kloss kicked a 27 yard FG to make the score 17-10 after three quarters.

In the decisive fourth quarter, with the gusty wind at their backs, Metro outscored Outstate 12-0 to win the game. In the first minute of the quarter, Greg Morse threw his second TD pass of the game, a 9 yard fade pass to Dan Brown (Osseo) in the right corner of the end zone. The PAT was missed and Metro was within one point at 17-16. On the next Metro possession, Metro RB Paul Bernier (Lakeville North) swept right and ran 14 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. And attempted shovel pass on the conversion attempt was unsuccessful and Metro led 22-17.

Led by Muenchow, Outstate drove methodically down the field (and into the wind) for a potential winning score. A fourth down pass into the right corner of end zone was knocked down by Zac Kallas (Eden Prairie), ending the threat.

The close game was reflected in the total yardage: 356 for Metro and 350 for Outstate.

Metro relied on the pass with 272 yards in the air and 84 on the ground. Metro Offensive MVP Greg Morse was 8 of 11 for 200 yards and two TD passes. Ryan Grant was 5 of 12 for 78 yards. Fritz Waldvogel led the Metro receivers with three catches for 86 yards and a TD. Brad Weiers (New Prague) caught two passes for 45 yards and Matt Dvorak (St. Croix Lutheran) caught two for 41 yards. On defense, Metro defensive MVP Billy Morgan (Rosemount) was in on 8 tackles and Danny Offerman (Roseville) was in on 9 tackles. Andy Joyce (Wayzata) had the only Metro interception. Jordan Eaton (DL St. Paul Highland Park) was credited with two sacks.

Outstate rolled up 261 yards on the ground and 98 in the air. Outstate offensive MVP Matt Muenchow (QB Glencoe-Silver Lake) was the offensive leader. He had 20 carries for 92 yards rushing and was 6 of 10 for 85 yards passing with one TD pass. Mario Butler (Rochester Mayo) had 7 carries for 84 yards and a TD. Ben Kall (RB Rochester John Marshall) was a workhorse with 11 carries for 40 yards and 1 catch for an 8 yard TD. On defense, Outstate defensive MVP Mike Valesano (LB Brainerd) was in on 6 tackles as was Nathan Maher (LB Rockford). Tyler Spiczka (Sauk Rapids-Rice) had an interception.

Head Coaches: Metro – Dave Ziebarth (St. Thomas Academy); Outstate – Flint Motschenbacher (Detroit Lakes).

Metro Captains: Brian Arnfelt (Stillwater), Ryan Grant (Eden Prairie), Curtis James (Edina), Zac Kallas (Eden Prairie); Outstate Captains: Eric Dirkes (Albany), Alex Means (Mankato East), Matt Muenchow (Glencoe-Silver Lake), Mike Valesano (Brainerd).

2008 MVPs: Metro – Greg Morse (QB St. Paul Como Park), Billy Morgan (LB Rosemount); Outstate – Matt Muenchow (QB Glencoe-Silver Lake), Mike Valesano (LB Brainerd).

Uniforms: Metro – maroon w/gold, gold trim; Outstate – white w/gold, maroon trim

Notes: This all-star game featured the debut of new uniform colors. With the MFCA adopting maroon and gold as the association colors, the new all-star uniforms were also maroon and gold. The 62 degree game temperature was the second coldest in All-Star Game history. Mario Butler’s 80 yard TD run was the fourth longest scoring play in All-Star Game history.