As we prepare for another exciting Friday under the lights, we have asked Minnesota high school students to share a game preview or season recap on their football team.
Harrison Smith
Hill-Murray
Eleven months ago, the Pioneers found themselves down 3-1 against the Richfield Spartans with 11 minutes to go in the class 2AA boys soccer state semifinal. The play on the field had taken a turn for the worse as the game progressed. Countless fouls were called, shoving matches were sparking on the field, and fans of the two sides were intruding upon each other's sections.
Despite the Pioneer's growing concern of their undefeated season being crushed, they did what they had done so well all season: score two goals in the final minutes, with Taylor Petrich scoring the equalizer and eventually notching the winning penalty kick. The two schools continued to banter, with Richfield getting the last laugh as the Pioneers fell to DeLaSelle on a similar last-minute goal in the state championship.
This up-and-coming rivalry now takes the football field at TCO performance center, but not for the first time. The two schools used to be in the same conference, facing off against each other yearly up until 2013. Hill-Murray has won the last six meetings, with Richfield last winning in 2007.
The Pioneers are not short of offensive talent despite losing running back Sawyer Seidl last year. Sawyer's younger brother, defensive back/wide receiver Simon Seidl, is the 7th highest-ranked player in Minnesota according to 247sports and has committed to the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. Senior tight end Luke Grigson, named to the preseason class 4A all-state team, is a terrific blocking tight end with offers from Northern Iowa and Winona State.
Junior quarterback Jackson Reeves leads the team in passing yards with 522, along with nine touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball, junior John Pietrezuski has three forced fumbles and two interceptions, including the game-sealing interception versus reigning champion Simley.
The Richfield Spartans will look to notch their fifth win in a row Friday night, coming off of wins versus St. Paul Johnson and Minneapolis Edison. Senior quarterback Jaxon Samuel has thrown for 622 yards and six touchdowns this season, 4 of which have gone to his main target, senior Henry Bandah.
Assistant coach Daniel Beyel, finishing up his second season on the team, isn't worried about the pressure of playing in the 6,000-seat stadium.
"We are an experienced team, and for us it is just another game. As for the 4-game win streak, we just have to play our game and make them do things they aren't comfortable with" Beyel says.
The Pioneers look to make a statement against Richfield and improve their record to 5 wins and 2 losses 7:00 PM Friday at TCO performance center.
Each week, we ask students to publish stories about their high school's football game on social media using the tag #studentsonthesidelines.
If you are a student journalist, get off the sidelines and share stories about your school’s high school football game. Just post your story on TikTok and tag us #studentsonthesidelines.
