-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Isaac Lursen of St. Edmond runs for a first down against Sioux Central on Friday inside Dodgers Stadium

ALGONA — Jon Borer and Marty Wadle are on opposite ends of the coaching spectrum at St. Edmond and Bishop Garrigan, respectively.

Borer concluded his first year with the Gaels here Friday night, falling to the Golden Bears, 41-7.

For Wadle and fifth-ranked (Class A) Garrigan, the second season starts now, as they look to return to the state championship game fresh off a third consecutive district crown.

Brad Capesius, the starting quarterback on that Golden Bear (9-0 overall, 7-0 in A, District 2) state runner-up team last year, accounted for three touchdowns and had two interceptions on defense, Drew Bacha ran for 66 yards and a touchdown, and Eric Thul scored twice as Garrigan won its 27th straight regular season game overall.

“We were able to make things happen and took advantage of turnovers,” said Wadle, who is in his 26th season leading BGHS and has 192 career wins. “It was a weird first half. I didn’t think we executed well and played sluggish, but we have done that all year.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to come out next week and play great right from the start.”

The St. Edmond (3-6, 3-4) defense forced a three-and-out against the Golden Bears, but a fumbled punt gave them the ball right back. Ten plays later, Capesius hit paydirt to make it 7-0.

In the second quarter, Garrigan scored 21 points, as Capesius found Gabe Trainer for a 26-yard touchdown strike. Thul then scored from three yards out and Bacha added a 14-yard TD burst.

“We just had some freak plays go against us,” Borer said. “I thought overall our defense played great again and we just missed on a handful of trick plays. Credit our kids, though, because despite all the injuries, they never gave up and continued to fight and play hard.

“I’m proud that they came out and played hard because when you are in this position of not having a chance to qualify for the playoffs, it can be difficult.”

Elijah Litwiller completed 10 of 31 passes for 142 yards, including a 53-yard strike to Jake Rossow that set up a fourth quarter touchdown for the Gaels. Peyton Spangler punched in that score, leading the team with 20 yards on the ground.

Isaac Lursen finished with three catches for 46 yards, giving him 41 receptions and 650 yards for the year. The senior now holds the single-season school-record for catches and his yardage total ranks fourth-most.

Along with Lursen, Friday also marked the final time in a Gael uniform for Jack Rasmussen, Jacob Galles, Cade Naughton, Ty Smith, Gabe Rodenberg, Sean Flaherty and Daniel Dooley.

“That first group of seniors is always going to be a special one,” said Borer, who made it a point to embrace all eight of his seniors after the game. “What I am most impressed about is how they embraced all the new I brought to the program. I had the same high school coach for four years and he’s still there, so I can’t fathom what having someone come in your senior year and change everything would be like.

“But these kids showed up and worked hard from the first day. They bought in to what we wanted to do and I’m proud of each and every single one of them.”

Jackson Rosenmeyer, who made three extra-points, also had a sack for the Garrigan defense. Cade Winkel picked off a pass and Bacha recovered a fumble.

“St. Edmond played hard,” Wadle said. “They were a very physical team. Without the injuries they’ve had, it would have been a heck of a good football game.”

As a district champion, the Golden Bears will host a first round playoff game next Friday night back here beginning at 7 p.m.

SE BG

First Downs 13 12

Rushes-Yards 24-13 342-160

Passing 142 117

Comp-Att-Int 10-32-3 4-11-0

Total Offense 155 277

Punts-Avg. 1-35.0 3-36.0

Fumbles-Lost 4-1 2-0

Penalties-Yards 6-45 7-47

St. Edmond 0 0 0 7– 7

Bishop Garrigan 7 21 7 6–41

Scoring Summary

Bishop Garrigan — Brad Capesius (1-yard run), 6:33 left in first. Jackson Rosenmeyer kick.

Bishop Garrigan — Safety, 10:41 left in second.

Bishop Garrigan — Gabe Trainer (26-yard pass from Capesius), 8:18 left in second. Conversion failed.

Bishop Garrigan — Eric Thul (3-yard run), 5:50 left in second. Conversion failed.

Bishop Garrigan — Drew Bacha (14-yard run), 2:15 left in second. Rosenmeyer kick.

Bishop Garrigan — John Meis (34-yard pass from Capesius), 2:58 left in third. Rosenmeyer kick.

St. Edmond — Peyton Spangler (2-yard run), 8:28 left in fourth. Isaac Lursen kick.

Bishop Garrigan — Thul (4-yard run), 3:12 left in fourth. Kick failed.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — St. Edmond: Peyton Spangler 10-20, Cade Naughton 6-15, Drew Schaeffer 2-8, Elijah Litwiller 5-(minus-21), Team 1-(minus-9). Bishop Garrigan: Drew Bacha 11-67, Preston Kohlhaas 11-36, Brad Capesius 6-32, Eric Thul 8-28, Sam Vaske 4-1, Team 2-(minus-4).

Passing — St. Edmond: Elijah Litwiller 10-31-3-142, Peyton Spangler 0-1-0-0. Bishop Garrigan: Brad Capesius 4-11-0-117, Marcus Plathe 0-0-0-0.

Receiving — St. Edmond: Jake Rossow 1-53, Isaac Lursen 3-46, Drew Schaeffer 4-25, Daniel Dooley 2-20. Bishop Garrigan: TJ Schnurr 2-57, John Meis 1-34, Gabe Trainer 1-26.