File photo by Travis Rosenau Springfield’s Jakob Nachreiner rushes the ball during the Section 3A Football Championship game against Sleepy Eye United last Friday at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall.

JORDAN — The Springfield Tigers football team got one monkey off their back last Friday by avenging their only loss of the season, winning 36-18 over Sleepy Eye United to advance to the Class A State Tournament.

Now they begin a journey to shake another as they attempt to become state champions a year after falling one game short.

“Our guys have been very focused on reaching this point all season,” Springfield head coach Adam Meyer said. “Despite having lofty goals, it has been really awesome to see how they work together and enjoy the process of improving every day. Practices are focused, but we also have a lot of fun every day. There is a fine line between being focused and playing tight and I think our group has done a really good job of being focused and ready for every game during the stretch run.”

The Tigers will be tested right away as they take on the Fillmore Central Falcons, who are the No. 1 team by QRF in Class A football. Fillmore Central’s only loss in the past two seasons was against last year’s eventual state champion Minneota in the state semifinals, one week before Minneota’s title clash with Springfield. The 10-0 Falcons have won by an average of 26.5 points, shutting out opponents in half of their games.

Meyer said that Fillmore Central’s defense has found success due to their size and athleticism.

“They are very athletic across the board and they pair that athleticism with size up front,” he said. “They apply a lot of pressure with just their front four defensive linemen both in the run and pass game which allows their athletes to be free on the back end to make plays. They have only allowed four passing TDs all season, so they’ve had a lot of success against the pass this year.”

This will be a struggle for the Tigers, who boast the best passing attack in Class A football, led by senior star quarterback Jakob Nachreiner. Nachreiner leads all of Class A in passing yards (2,873) and touchdowns (48) with a 68% completion percentage and a 135.0 passer rating. Nachreiner has two 900-yard receivers this season in Carter Olson (913) and Brayden Sturm (966), who have 16 and 17 touchdowns, respectively. Springfield will have to maintain their passing attack if they are going to find success against Fillmore Central’s defense.

“It will be really important for us to balance where the football is being distributed,” Meyer said. “We need to be able to take some shots downfield, but also hit some intermediate and short throws to go along with our run game. First downs are very important against teams like this, putting ourselves in a predictable situation plays right into their hands. We need to take advantage of our opportunities when we get them.”

Sam Rummel will be the man trying to make first downs more manageable on the ground. The Tigers’ lead rusher has 892 yards on the season, averaging 5.3 yards per carry while scoring seven touchdowns and five 2-point conversions. Mixing in will be Gavin Vanderwerf (391 yards) and Ashton Toll (266 yards) to help balance out Springfield’s offensive attack that has scored 41.4 points per game.

Fillmore Central has a threatening offense of their own. The Falcons average 35.6 points per game, running through star receiver Jayce Kiehne.

“Jayce Kiehne is the focus of their offense,” Meyer said. “He will line up wide, in the slot, and even at tailback. He has had a big year offensively for them and a lot of their offense is built around him. They have a strong offensive line as well that gets off the ball extremely well. They utilize motion quite a bit to get the offense moving, so it will be important for us to stay gap sound and disciplined in controlling each gap.”

Kiehne has 36 receptions for 758 yards and 12 touchdowns while taking 43 carries for 490 yards and six touchdowns this season. His supporting cast are quarterback Chase Christianson, who has 1,363 passing yards and 16 touchdowns, running back Kyle Daniels with 582 yards and eight touchdowns, and fellow receiver Greg Kennedy, who has chipped in 211 yards and three touchdowns receiving. In order to slow down the Falcons’ offense, Meyer says that Springfield needs to put Fillmore Central in second- and third-and-longs.

“If we can disrupt their run game and put them in passing downs, that will put our defense in a good spot to make plays,” Meyer said.

Meyer said winning in the trenches and the turnover battle, along with being on the right side of explosive plays, would be key to continuing their march to the state championship.

“The line of scrimmage is always so important this time of year,” Meyer said. “Being able to run the ball offensively and slowing down their run game will play a big role in this game. Turnovers will also be important, they do a great job of taking care of the football, it will be important we do the same and make them drive the field. Lastly, explosive plays will be important in this game. They have some long runs this season and it’s important that defensively we make them put long drives together to score. On offense, creating some explosive plays to either flip the field or score will be important as well.”