Local Sports

Springfield stomps Southland, advances to semis

KASSON -- No. 2 South-seeded Springfield opened the 2026 Class A State Football Tournament with a statement, defeating No. 3 South-seeded Southland 44-6 Friday at Kasson-Mantroville High School.

"We just played really fast to go get this win," Springfield's Parker Kuehn said. "The line did a great job today, they were moving people up front, and then the defense got tons of stops which helped the offense to capitalize, and that was really big ... It's always fun to win, but it's really fun to win like that. With this group of guys and being a senior, it's a really cool experience to be going to The Bank now."

With the win, Springfield advances to the state semifinals against Upsala/Swanville, who is the top seed in the north bracket, on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 9 a.m. at US Bank Stadium.

"This means everything to the team," Springfield's Madden Lendt said. "This is what we've been looking forward to all season. It's been all of our goals since the beginning. We're not done yet, we still have some games to go, but it's definitely exciting going to The Bank now."

Springfield went up 14-0 in the first quarter, thanks in large part to Lendt, who scored the first 14 points of the game for Springfield and also had an interception of Southland's first offensive drive.

"I'm put in the situations by my coaches and teammates and I couldn't do it without them," Lendt said. "It's not just me making the plays, it's everyone on the team. I'm very grateful for the plays I made tonight and our team."

That hot start continued for the Tigers, who scored on their first four drives while holding Southland scoreless.

"All week in practice we wanted to get off the ball fast today," Kuehn said. "I think we really did that to start the game. Not letting them get set on defense so we were able to move on them so they weren't in the right spots that we could attack."

"Our last game started off slow, so it was nice getting going right away in the beginning here," Lendt added. "It was just our game all along. Felt very nice."

The defense continued that shutout into the fourth quarter, when the junior varsity unit entered the game for Southland's final drive.

"It took a really focused week," Springfield's Aiden Moriarty said. "Just guys doing their job and doing in consistently every play. We scouted them up on film, tried to figure out what they were doing, but at the end of the day, it just came to coming out here and hitting them at the mouth.

Lendt finished with seven receptions for 122 yards and four touchdowns, while Kuehn was 15 for 19 for 216 yards and four touchdowns and one interception on a heave late in the first half and added three carries for 27 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Carter Jackson had 15 carries for 151 and a touchdown, while Colten Sell had 11 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown. Braxton Brown added six receptions for 78 yards. Defensively, Kolton Vogel and Eli Trevino each had a sack, while Lendt, Brown and Ely Streich each had an interception.

Lendt got his interception in the end zone on the opening drive of the game, then Springfield marched down 80 yards, scoring on a 7-yard pass from Kuehn to Lendt, with Lendt adding the extra point for a 7-0 lead. Brown ended Southland's next drive with an interception of his own, and this time Kuehn hit Lendt for a 21-yard touchdown pass and a 14-0 lead. The Springfield defense forced a punt, and as the game ticked into the second quarter, Sell capped off a 59-yard Springfield drive with an 18-yard touchdown run for a 20-0 lead. Lendt got his third touchdown of the quarter after a Southland turnover on downs, taking a 7-yard pass from Kuehn into the end zone for a 26-0 halftime lead.

The Tigers came out of the half with a 72-yard drive, with Sell picking up a couple of big runs to help set up a 12-yard touchdown run by Jackson and a 32-0 lead. Southland turned it over on downs again, and Springfield scored once more as Kuehn hit Lendt in the end zone for the fourth time of the game for a 38-0 advantage. Kuehn showed Springfield could do no wrong that day as he took a ball that hit the ground after a mishandled handoff 30 yards into the end zone for Springfield's final score of the game late in the third quarter. Streich earned an interception to close out the Springfield starters' day as the Tigers reserves entered the game with 7:45 to play. Southland took the final drive down for a touchdown with 20 seconds left on the clock, but Springfield recovered the onside attempt to end the game.

Springfield will now make the trip to US Bank stadium for the fourth time in five years, with the team looking to continue its success.

"It's super special to us," Moriarty said. "We missed last year unfortunately, and we knew we had to come. When you get to the state tournament, there's not much of a gap skill-wise, so we had to play our best and that's what we did from the start. Guys flying around and making the other team play."

In order to continue the season, Kuehn said the team will have to continue to put in the work at practice.

"It's going to take what we did tonight," he said. "Playing strong, the line moving people and the defense playing good. Then we'll go capitalize. I think all week in practice we'll have to be strong. We'll have to play well and go make plays."