Friday, August 27^th saw numerous teams in Central Minnesota Kick off High School football in the 2021 season. One of the biggest matchups in the area showcased a border battle between Sartell-St. Stephen and St. Cloud Tech.

The first game of the season called for “Tackle Cancer” night at Tiger Stadium, and the action started early with the Sabres erupting on a dominant first drive of the game ending in a Gavan Schulte 10-yard touchdown run.

With 45 seconds before the half, Sartell-St. Stephen needed to convert on fourth down. Junior Quarterback, Cole Hentges, found Senior, Austin Henrichs in stride towards the endzone from 32-yards away to put up the Sabres second score of the game. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful making the score 14-0 entering the break.

Coming out of the intermission, the Tigers put together a strong offensive drive shaving plenty of time off the clock, finishing in a Garrison Murray 1-yard keeper to cross the goal-line. Austin Gottwalt’s extra-point was no good, cutting the lead to just eight points.

Defense was strong the remainder of the way, holding both offenses at bay. The Sabres regained possession of the ball with six minutes on the clock and chewed five of those off, resulting in a failed fourth down conversion on the one-yard line. St. Cloud Tech tried all they could to march the remaining 99 yards, but Junior, Parker Knutson intercepted Murray and returned to the endzone for the first pick-six of the season. Hentges would convert the two-point conversion finishing the game with a 22-6 final.

St. Cloud Tech falls to 0-1 on the season and returns to action next week on the road in Moorhead on Thursday, September 2^nd. That game can be heard on our sister station 97.5 FM Radio X.