Led by seniors Brayden Sturm and Gavin Vanderwerf, the Tigers rolled to a 27-6 win over fourth-seeded Sleepy Eye United in a Section 3A Football Tournament semifinal game at Riverside Park.

The Tigers (9-0) will now play No. 3-seeded Murray County Central at 10 a.m. Friday at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. MCC (8-2) defeated Adrian-Ellsworth 38-8 on Saturday to advance to the finals.

SEU finished its season 6-4 with the loss.

Frequently announced during the game as “Blanket Sturm” for his tight coverage on defense, Sturm was a menace in the secondary again Saturday as he came away with two interceptions for the Tigers. He also got it done on offense, catching six passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns while adding a 2-point conversion catch.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau
Springfield’s Gavin Vanderwerf (28) runs the ball during the second half of Saturday’s Section 3A semifinal game against Sleepy Eye United.

“The coaches we have, they set us up for great opportunities,” Sturm said. “They get me out wide, we’ve been switching it up sometimes in the slot, even in the backfield a little bit, just mixing it up and giving us great opportunities. And, especially, I couldn’t do it without everybody else on the team. The talent on this team is just something I’ll never forget and the family that’s made, those are what stick with you forever. I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without our receivers, without our line, without our quarterback. But the schemes of our offense set us up for great opportunities to make plays and get us in space and just play football.”

Sturm has been nursing a hamstring injury since a road game at Wabasso on Sept. 20, but he said he feels much better now thanks to Springfield trainer Sheena Dauer.

Tigers quarterback Parker Kuehn finished with 145 yards and three touchdowns through the air, while running back Vanderwerf rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown.

Aiden Moriarty helped out on defense for Springfield also in the game, leading with eight tackles and a sack, while Joe Nachreiner had seven tackles and Nick Wester recovered a fumble. Vanderwerf also had an interception.

Gavin Fischer ran for 48 yards on 15 carries to lead SEU, while Cody Schultz had 10 carries for 28 yards. Quarterback Carson Uecker threw for 28 yards and a touchdown to Wyatt Pollard.

Nick Tauer led the SEU defense with nine tackles and a fumble recovery, while Schultz had six tackles and Brandon Braulick and Keeyan Netzke each recovered a fumble.

Talan Helget, SEU’s top target all season, was held to one catch for 6 yards as he was drew extra Springfield eyes throughout the game and was routinely guarded by Sturm.

“We knew coming into the game that they were going to put a bunch of guys on me and try to stop me,” Helget said. “Game plan for us was just try to get as many guys on me and just run it the other way and get other people wide open.”

The problem for SEU, however, was that even with extra attention on Helget, Uecker was pressured into some throws on the run by a strong Springfield defense, leading to some takeaways.

After exchanging three-and-outs to start the game, the Tigers got on the board with 7:59 left in the first quarter on a 27-yard throw to Sturm, who hauled in a contested catch in the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked, giving the Tigers a 6-0 lead.

SEU appeared to tie it up on a 36-yard TD run by Fischer, but a hold brought it back and a deep pass intended for Helget was intercepted by Sturm at the Tigers 5. The Tigers got nothing out of that takeaway, but they did end the quarter with Vanderwerf passing 1,000 yards rushing for the season and the ball at the SEU 4.

“I wasn’t really worried about the 1,000 yards, it just comes with playing football,” Vanderwerf said. “I was just more worried about defeating Sleepy Eye and moving on to the next stage in our season and keeping it going.”

After a false start backed Springfield up to second-and-goal from the 11, Isaac Fredin caught a wide-open touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter to put the Tigers up 12-0. A 2-point conversion throw was incomplete.

Springfield again drove down the field late in the half but the SEU defense remained tough, forcing Springfield back from a first-and-goal at the 1 to a fourth-and-goal at the 3. After a timeout from both sides, Springfield decided to go for it but were denied on a dropped ball in the end zone. SEU then kneeled the remaining seconds in the half off the game clock to trail 12-0 at halftime.

After forcing an SEU punt to start the second half, the Tigers got a pair of first-down catches from Fredin and Sturm and an SEU pass interference to set up a catch by Sturm, who stiff-armed his defender and scampered 14 yards down the sideline for a touchdown and 18-0 lead. Sturm then grabbed a 2-point conversion catch for a 20-0 lead with 6:24 left in the third quarter.

SEU got some life out of its offense its second drive of the half after recovering an onside kick at the 50. After benefiting from a face mask penalty and a 10-yard keeper by Uecker, Uecker finished the drive with an 11-yard TD pass to Pollard to make it 20-6 with 2:44 left in the third.

Springfield then recovered an onside kick to start its next possession and also drew a face mask to aid its offense, which found the end zone again with 11:19 to play on a 1-yard TD run by Vanderwerf. The extra-point kick was good by Madden Lendt to make it 27-6.

“Coming out on a Saturday after the bye week, hey, there’s a chance we come out slow,” Sturm said. “But we [focused] on our jobs and we talked it over well at half. We knew we came out slow and the score shouldn’t have been what it was, but how the game rolls sometimes.

“And we’ve got to have them leaders step into the shoes and lead the team. Next-play mentality, the next play’s the only one that matters. What happened happened already and now we’ve just got to play our brand of ball.”

Helget, a Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s senior and one of SEU’s 12 seniors, was an original leader from the program’s inception last season. He said he enjoyed his time playing with United and appreciated all the support from the community each week.

“I think it was a great thing for Sleepy Eye to join in and all your friends, you get to play together and meet new people and stuff,” Helget said. “It’s good for the community and Sleepy Eye’s done everything for us, cheered us on every game, so, I appreciate everything they did. And kind of just paved the path for the next couple years for the younger guys and hopefully they keep doing it.”