The BSM football team held their final regular-season game on their home turf for senior night. On October 16, they defeated Waconia 23-17 in overtime. The Red Knights, now undefeated with a 8-0 record and a conference championship title, prepare for tomorrow’s section game, in hopes of making it to State and walking out with blue medals around their necks in November.

Junior running back Will Petty, who scored the game-winning touchdown against Waconia, believes that this is where it all really starts. “Now we are at a point where we can’t afford to mess up or lose because it’s win or go home and we don’t want our seniors to leave without winning everything,” Petty said. 

This year, the Red Knights earned a bye and advanced right to this weekend’s semifinal game. After the tough loss to SMB last season in the section championship game, the team hopes to make it back to that final game and face them to redeem themselves. “I feel like our goals are simply to dominate them and make them feel like we’re the better team,” senior cornerback Micah Cade said. 

The boys will be playing Holy Angels on Saturday, October 26 at 7:00 on BSM’s home turf. Sophomore Camden Royal believes that the mindset of everyone will be different. “I feel like when we go into sections it’s gonna be a lot more competition because if you lose, you go home,” Royal said.

Junior defensive end Darnell McCrea also feels that the bar is set high for this undefeated team. “We have to elevate to the next level and work a lot harder than the usual,” McCrea said.

Senior captain and quarterback Nick Peterson thought that some of the regular season games were easier than what he originally expected. Beating Robbinsdale Cooper in a shutout 35-0 and Academy of Holy Angels 37-14, winning against these presumably tough teams sets the playoff season hopes high for the boys. “Holy Angels and Cooper were two games I expected to be a lot closer. However we came ready and played extremely well across the board,” Peterson said.

Yet just because the Red Knights beat Holy Angels doesn’t mean that it’s going to an easy run to State. “I think we were well-prepared thanks to Coach Hanks. I think we still have a lot to improve on, we are still slow, small, and sometimes stupid,” McCrea said. 

Senior wide receiver Dylan Rash feels that the team has a good bond, but that they need to keep the same high energy pace during the entire game. “As a team, we are pretty close and all work hard. But we definitely need to play an entire game and not come out slow heading into sections,” Rash said. 

The team saw a lot of injuries throughout the regular season, but the boys didn’t let it stop them. Junior defensive end Nick Marinaro, who plays with a hurt hand, still brings the same energy. “It’s definitely annoying not being able to grab anybody and really use my hands to get off blocks, but it’s just something I have to overcome, and with my club, I can obviously still push people,” Nick Marinaro said.

Football isn’t just the sport where it’s every man for himself, and the team knows that they need all hands on deck for their dream to become a reality. “My goals for the team are that we prepare well for each game during the week and give full effort to play to the best of our abilities,” senior captain Joe Marinaro said. 

Senior Isaiah Smith was out early in the season with a fractured foot and Royal with a sprained ankle midseason. Now, having both players back 100% for sections, the boys are feeling a boost of charisma. 

Senior nose guard Elijah Brown has the confidence that they’ll turn out to be state champions. “Our team will always have that killer mindset. Our team reminds me of a quote: ‘you’re either at the table or on the menu’. We grind for each other and will not let up the gas until we reach the ultimate goal,” Brown said.