LEVELING BLOCK ­— Fairmont fullback Hank Artz (center) ranges Luverne linebacker Elliot Domagala with a block to clear operating room for Fairmont quarterback Blaze Geiger throughout the two groups’ Section 3AAA soccer semifinal on Saturday at Thomas Mahoney Field in Fairmont. Fairmont performs Waseca at 7 p.m. Friday night time in New Ulm for the sectional championship. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — Sectional showdown 3.0.

The No. 1-seeded Fairmont Cardinals (9-1) take intention at a 3rd consecutive Section 3AAA soccer crown at 7 p.m. Friday night time on the unreal turf in New Ulm.

Meanwhile, the No. 2-seeded Waseca Bluejays (8-2) search to avenge back-to-back losses to Fairmont within the sectional finals and seize their first state bid since 2019.

“This will be the 12th time we’ve played during the last 10 years, so our programs know each other inside and out,” stated Mahoney, whose lineup holds a slim 6-5 edge in head-to-head gridiron clashes throughout the previous decade. “I don’t anticipate something new, however anticipate a 3rd excellent sectional championship sport in a row and nothing much less.

“Monday, we watched film from the first time we played this year, and are focusing on cleaning up our mistakes.”

Safety Levi Pooley pocketed two interceptions to assist Fairmont’s protection put up certainly one of its 5 shutouts of the autumn — a 21-0 regular-season and near-perfect victory over Waseca on Oct. 18 at Thomas Mahoney Field in Fairmont.

Running again Elijah Johnson rushed for 146 yards and one landing on 25 totes, quarterback Blaze Geiger threw for 150 yards, together with one TD to Pooley and one other to Jace Teveldal, whereas finish Gage Borntrager and the Cardinals’ protection restricted the high-octane Bluejays to 54 yards on the bottom and 72 extra by means of the air.

“After looking at the film from a couple of weeks ago, we need to coach better and play better,” stated Waseca head coach Brad Wendland. “We can’t commit four turnovers and be flagged for eight penalties if we want to compete — it’s that simple.”

The Bluejays utilized a powerful passing efficiency from sophomore quarterback Jordan Johnston to roll to a 21-7 sectional semifinal win over No. 3-seeded Jordan on Saturday in Waseca.

Johnston fired a 28-yard scoring strike to receiver Carson Ohnstad and related with receiver Deron Russell on a 36-yard TD spiral, whereas junior operating again Micah Allen-Haas ran for a 3-yard rating.

Zach Hulscher kicked all three PATs for the Bluejays of their sectional semifinal win over the Hubmen.

“Micah’s a big strong powerful kid who has a high ceiling offensively, but is still a bit inexperienced,” Wendland stated in reference to the up-and-coming 5-foot-10, 190-pound junior. “He’s a player we (coaching staff) hope gets better every time we roll him out of the backfield.”

Ironically, Allen-Haas has been certainly one of various teammates seeking to fill a part of the void created when sprinter extraordinaire Kaeden Johnson tore his ACL throughout Week 5’s conflict with Jordan.

Waseca additionally has been with out the gridiron expertise of receiver/security Damarius Russell, who has missed his group’s earlier two sectional video games as a consequence of an harm.

“He’s not 100 percent, but we will make a decision on him later in the week,” Wendland stated in reference to Damarius Russell.

Fairmont edged Waseca by a 35-26 resolution throughout the 2022 Section 3AAA finale after the Bluejays coasted to a 32-14 regular-season victory over the Cardinals throughout Week 4 final fall.

“I told our players and coaches to think back to last season, and to throw our regular-season win over Waseca this year out of the window,” stated Mahoney. “Take nothing for granted. There are no guarantees.”

Fairmont downed Waseca for the 2021 sectional crown by a 27-6 margin after successful their Week 4 regular-season battle, 28-15.

After a pandemic 2020 season, the Cardinals edged the Bluejays throughout the common season in 2019 and 2018, whereas Waseca rolled to 5 consecutive regular-season wins over Fairmont from 2013-17.