Eden Valley-Watkins Football Excited for State Semifinals at U.S. Bank Stadium
The Eden Valley-Watkins football team is 11-0 and will play 11-0 Chatfield High School in the Class 2-A State Tournament semifinals at U.S. Bank Stadium Friday at 11:30 a.m. The Eagles head coach is Adam Tri. He joined me on WJON. Tri says when the team closed out Sauk Centre in the State Quarterfinals last week 14-7 there was a lot of joy and relief when they realized they were headed to U.S. Bank Stadium. He says the team has put in a lot of work in going back to the summer.
The Eagles had a stretch early in the season where they were winning games pretty easy. Tri says the last couple of games has been challenging with a 26-20 win over Royalton in the Section Final before the 7-point win over Sauk Centre in the State Quarterfinals.
Tri explains they've had many top contributors on this year's team which includes the offensive line, which hasn't given up a sack all season. He says they'd had great play all season from junior quarterback Nolan Geislinger, senior running back Sam Nistler, and receivers Parker Schultz and Landon Nieman. Tri indicated about 5-7 players play both ways.
The excitement level is high in the communities of both Eden Valley and Watkins according to Tri. He says the communities have been very supportive and the students are excited about getting the day off of school to see the game Friday. If the Eagles win Friday they would play for the Class AA State Title December 2 at 1:00 p.m. against either Jackson County Central or Barnesville. The game will be played Friday at 9:00 a.m. at US Bank Stadium.
If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Eden Valley-Watkins head coach Adam Tri it is available below.