The Annandale Cardinals are back in the Class AAA state football tournament for the third straight year and are looking to get back to the state finals, which they reached in 2023. The North Polars are looking for their first state championship since 2016. Below is a preview and a prediction for the Polars vs. Cards state semifinal game.
Who: The Minneapolis North Polars vs. The Annandale Cardinals.
What: The 2025 Class AAA MSHSL Prep Bowl Semifinals.
When: Saturday, November 15th, 4:30 PM.
Where: US Bank Stadium, downtown Minneapolis, home of the Vikings.
Where can I listen? AM1360 KRWC, krwc1360.com and on our app.
Michael Kovall, above, after missing most of last season with an injury, is back guiding the potent Cards offense.
The Teams:
Minneapolis North Polars
How they got here: Went 11-0 in the regular season, then defeated Breck, 58-7, and St. Croix Lutheran, 56-44 in the Section 4AAA playoffs. Last week defeated Pine Island, 50-21 in the state quarterfinals, and are the #3 seed from the South.
State Appearance: 12th, state champs in 2016, runner up in 20015, and 2019.
Key Players: QB Logan Lachermeir, RB Tyshone Jenkins, and WR J’Marion Sanders.
About North: The Polars dominated there opponents all year with a quick pass, quick strike offense. North avg. 47 ppg this fall, with their only real challenge being a 34-27 win at Washburn. In the sections, the Polars breezed past Breck, but trailed 48-44 with just sixteen seconds left against SCL, but Lachermeier hit Cordae Williams with a 55 yard TD with just sixteen seconds to pull out the miracle win. In the quarterfinals, the Polars forced four turnovers and Lachermeir threw for 337 yards in the Polars 50-21 win over Pine Island.
Did you know? Tyler Johnson was not on the state championship team of 2016. The former Gophers and current New York Jet was on the 2015 team that lost in the championship to Minneota, 35-18. Johnson played QB that season and combined for 306 yards rushing and passing and also had an interception in that game. The Polars lost that game and won the next year at Huntington Bank Stadium because US Bank Stadium wasn’t finished yet.
Logan Lachermeier, above, is up for the Star Tribune player of the year.
2025 Minneapolis North scores:
Simley 45-7, @ St. Anthony, 59-0, Mpls. Southwest, 41-24, @ Washburn, 34-27, Johnson, 45-18, @ Roosevelt, 61-0, Camden, fft. win, @ Johnson, 46-0. Playoffs 4AAA: Breck, 58-7, and St. Croix Lutheran, 56-44. State Quarterfinal: Pine Island, 50-21.
Jeremiah Jackson, above, #8, celebrates a TD against Pine Island last week.
Minneapolis North Starting Lineup:
All stats are season stats.
Offense:
WR: #1 J’ Marion Sanders, Sr., 52 rec, 1037 yards, and 15 TD’s
WR: #2 Anthony Deline, Sr., 43 rec, 953 yds, and 13 TD’s.
LT: #58 Anersa Dotson, Sr., 6’0, 220.
LG: #56, Anthony Palmer, Sr.,
C: #51 Camarrious Sweezy, Jr., 6’0 235.
RG: #53 Samaj Clark, Sr.
RT: #55 Malachi Tolliver, Jr., 6’3, 245.
QB: #4 Logan Lachermeir, Sr., 293 yards passing per game, 42 TD’s, 6 INT.
RB: #15 Tyshone Jenkins, Sr, 1294 yards, 129 ypg, 21 TD’s.
WR: #8 Jeremiah Jackson, Sr., 31 rec, 585 yards, and 1 TD.
WR: #6 Cordae Williams, Sr., 17 rec, 297 yards, 4 TD’s.
Above, #56, Anthony Palmer, and #51, Camarrious Sweezy, and the rest of the line will have to provide protection to Lachermeier for the North offense to click.
Defense:
DL: #55 Malachi Tolliver, Jr. 27 tcks, 10 TFL’s.
DL: #56 Anthony Palmer, Sr. 17 tck, 2 sacks.
DL: #51 Camarrious Sweezy, Jr., 27 tackles, 9 TFL’s, 3 sacks.
DL: #53 Samaj Clark, Sr. 11 tck, 3 sacks.
LB: #23 Morgan McDonald, Sr., 66 tck, 2 INT.
LB: #58 Anerse Dotson, Sr., 83 tck, 5 TFL.
LB: #24 Ahmod Powell, Jr., 105 tck, 5 TFL.
DB: #3 Quantayvious Roberts, Jr. 39 tck, 4 INT, 2 Pick six.
DB: #6 Cordae Williams, Sr., 33 tck, 5 INT.
DB: #5 Ronnell Willis, Sr., 25 tck, 2 INT.
DB: #14 Bravo Niyonkuru, Sr., 23 tck.
Ryan Jackson, above, and the rest of the North defense have forced seventeen turnovers this fall and scored four TDs on defense.
Three Keys for North to win.
- Speed, Speed, and more speed: North can overwhelm you with their team speed, led by a dynamic receiving core, that can turn a one-yard pass into a touchdown, and also can get behind the defense in the blink of an eye.
- Big Play D: The Polars have forced 24 turnovers this season, including 17 interceptions, and four pick sixes. In last weeks 50-21 victory over Pine Island, the Polars forced four turnovers which led to the blowout win over PI.
- Motivation: DeShaun Hill would have graduated last year, and was an up and coming star QB for the Polars before he was murdered after his freshman year. The Polars have dedicated this season to Hill, and his #9 and name will forever be in the program for North’s football and basketball teams.
Above, North players walk by their former teammate, DeShaun Hill’s memorial every day on their way to practice. The Polars have dedicated their season to Hill, who would have been a Senior last season.
The Annandale Cardinals
How they got here: 11-0, #1 ranked team in Class AAA, defeated Pine City, 66-0 in semifinals of Section 5AAA, then defeated Foley in the Section finals, 37-14, and advanced to the state semifinals with win over Litchfield, 19-7.
State Appearance: 8th. 2023 runner up.
Key Players: WR/CB Gabe Westman, RB/LB Cam Ergen, and OL/DL Ben Walter.
About Annandale: Went 8-0 in the regular season and finished as the #1 ranked team in the state in AAA, outscoring their opponents by almost 40 points per game. The Card’s starting defense has only given up three TD’s all season. The only time the Cards trailed was against #3AAA Holy Family, 10-9 at the half in week five, but outscored the Fire, 21-0 in the second have for a 30-10 win. In the sections, the Cards shutout out Pine City, 66-0, and didn’t allow a first down the entire game! In the 5AAA finals, the Cards led Foley, 37-0 in the fourth before but the Falcons scored two TD’s late to end the shutout. In the state quarterfinals the Cards faced their rivals form Litchfield and survived a 19-7 slugfest to reach the state semifinals.
Did you know? Annandale won their first and only state basketball championship against Minneapolis North in 2022, 60-49. It was the last game that legendary coach Larry McKenzie coached at North. Skip Dolan, the head coach for Annandale in 2022, retired after the 2024 season. Hawkin Miller scored 18 points, while Brady Spaulding added 13 in the Cards win. Jackson Neutz and Braylon Fobbe, who are on this year’s Cards football team, had brothers who played on that 2022 team, while assistant coach Chad Gagnon’s son was a starting guard on that team.
Braylon Fobbe, above, who splits time with Michael Kovall at QB, is the brother of Bryce Fobbe, who was the starting point guard on the 2022 Annandale state championship basketball team.
2025 Annandale Cardinals Scores.
Little Falls, 54-6, @ Glencoe SL, 46-0, @ Foley, 40-6, Watertown-Mayer, 49-0, @ Holy Family, 30-10, Rockford, 35-7, Milaca, 56-6, @ Jordan, 38-7. Section 5AAA: Defeated, Pine City, 66-0, and Foley, 37-14. State, defeated Litchfield, 19-7.
Gabe Westman, above, had a monster Sr. year at WR for the Cards and is headed to Winona St. to play football next season after he graduates in the spring.
Annandale Cardinals Starting Lineups:
All stats are from last week’s game against Litchfield.
Offense.
WR: #1 Gabe Westman, Sr., 3 rec, 47 yards and 1 TD.
WR: #3 Cooper Broman, Jr. 1 rec, 12 yards.
LT: #72 Kane Fobbe, Jr. 6’2, 240.
LG: #74 Charlie Peterson, Sr., 6’0, 210.
C: #52 Ben Walter, Sr., 6’0, 200.
RG: #54, Adam Klatt, Jr. 5’11, 260.
RT: #64 Owen Pederson, Sr., 6’3, 240.
QB: #7 Michael Kovall, Sr., 4-9 67 yards passing, and #12 Braylon Fobbe, Jr., 9-12 93 yards and one TD.
RB: #22 Cam Ergen, Sr., 14 carries for 62 yards.
WR: #41 Isiah Turner, Sr., 1 rec, 17 yards, also four carries for 22 yards and a TD.
WR: #6 Colton Purcell, Jr. 5 rec, for 59 yards.
Colton Purcell, above #6, gives Annandale two dangerous and big outside WR’s for the Cards, along with Gabe Westman.
Defense:
DL: #62 Owen Pederson, Sr. 4 tcks.
DL: #54 Adam Klatt, Jr. 3 tck, 2 TFL.
DL: #52 Ben Walter, Sr., 3 tck.
LB: #9 Cam Helget, Sr., 6 tck, 1 Int for 10 yards, and 2 TFL.
LB: #51 Keegan Grube, Sr., 11 tck, 4 TFL.
LB: #34 Rylan Horsch, So., 4 tck.
LB: #10 Dom Dircks, Jr., 3 tck.
DB: #11 Tavin Long, Jr., 3 tck.
DB: #1 Gabe Westman, Sr., 1 tck.
DB: #19 Noah Elam, Jr., 5 tck.
DB: #6 Colton Purcell, Jr., 6 tck.
Ben Walter, above, #52, leads a ferocious Cards d line.
Three Keys for the Cards to win.
- Physicality: The Cards can throw the ball, but they are not a finesse team! They have a physical offensive line, and three great backs! Cam Ergen will run you over, Isiah Turner will run around you, and Rylan Horsch, will do both! If the Cards dominant the ground game and time of possession, they should be fine, because if North doesn’t have the ball, they can’t score.
- Relentless: Not many teams match the speed, strength and especially the relentlessness their defense plays with. More than that, they can tackle, which is paramount to them defeating North.
- That sour taste! In 2023 the Cards reached the state championship, and on that team they had a lot of sophomores who contributed to that team, including, Westman, Turner, Kovall, Walter, and Ergen. Not to mention all the seniors where suited up for their state championship loss to Stewartville. The seniors have been motivated by that loss for two years and this is their final chance!
Adding Rylan Horsch, above, a sophomore to the running the game the last few weeks has made an already dynamic Annandale offense even better.
So who wins?
I see this game going two ways. The Cards will surprise North with their speed and physicality and will dominate the game. On the other hand, if Annandale can’t handle the speed of North, it could go the other way. The saying is, don’t blink, I don’t think it’s about blinking this game, it’s about overwhelming the other team and knocking them out. It’s hard to tell which one will be Mike Tyson, and which one will be Michael Spinks. When I really broke this game down, I really feel like the Cards have a massive edge on offense as long as they don’t turn it over, because they can run you over or throw it behind you. I also think North could hit some big plays early, but eventually the Cards will figure them out and slow them down. Don’t forget about special teams! North really doesn’t have a punter and they usually go for two. Meanwhile the Cards have a young kicker in DeBore that is very consistent, and Helget is an outstanding punter. The Cards also have a game wrecker on special teams in Ben Rubink, who caused a fumble and had another big hit in last week’s game.
Tyler Johnson, above a former Gopher and current New York Jet, helped North reach the state title game, and the Polars won it all the next season. This year the Polars are just two wins from winning a second state title.
Enough already, who wins?
Keeping with the boxing analogy, I feel like both teams will throw haymakers early, and I could see a high scoring first half, but at this time of year, I always take the more physical team, and the better defensive team, and that is clearly Annandale. Once Cards settle in, they will wear down North with their running game, and on defense will get some key stops and win, 42-21, advancing to the state championship for the second time in three years.
Keegan Grube, #51, celebrates a big play with his teammates, #52 Nick Walter, #9 Cam Helget, #77 Broyde Patch and #62 Owen Pederson, all are seniors for one of the best defensive teams in the state. If they can handle the speed of North, they could advance to the state championship for the second time in three years.
2025 MSHSL State Football Webpage link: https://www.mshsl.org/sports-and-activities/football
