A Mattson Hoff interception setup the first score of the day as the Knights went 58 yards in 10 plays and scored on a 16 yard pass from Anthony Sykora to Cole Anderson.  The two-point conversion run failed and the Knights led 6-0 with 5:47 left in the first half. West Central Area/Ashby held Maple River on their next series, forcing a punt, however, Zachary Hermann intercepted a Sykora pass, giving the Eagles possession on the Knights 47 yard line with 1:18 remaining.  A key fourth down conversion put the ball at the 3 yard line and with 13 seconds left in the half Boden Simon scored a touchdown to tie the game.  Landon Fox added the extra point kick for a 7-6 Maple River lead at halftime.

In the third quarter Maple River turned the ball over on downs, giving WCA/Ashby possession on their own 45 yard line.  The Knights moved the ball down to the Maple River 38 and a deep pass by Evan Paulson was picked off by Skyler Jenkins at the one yard line.  On the Eagles second play from scrimmage Jenkins was tackled in the end zone by Hunter Norby for a safety, giving the Knights what turned out to be the winning points in the game as they took an 8-7 lead with just 1:04 on the clock in the third quarter.

The Knights were driving in the fourth quarter when William Trio intercepted a Sykora pass at the Maple River 6 yard line.  WCA/Ashby stopped a long drive by Maple River with a sack of Fox by Norby on fourth and eight from the Knights 30 yard line with 3:31 left in the game.  Maple River’s defense held and forced a short punt that gave the Eagles a chance as they started a drive at the Knights 40 yard line with 3:01 to play.  The WCA/Ashby defense once again stopped the Eagles on downs, this time at the Knights 12 yard line, preserving the lead.  West Central Area/Ashby was able to kill the clock with 3 kneel downs and advance to the Class AA championship game with an 8-7 victory. 

The Knights were held to 185 yards with 135 coming on the ground and 50 through the air.  They managed just 11 first downs on the day.  Sykora ran for 90 yards on 17 attempts and Hoff added 25 rushing yards and 27 yards receiving.  Paulson and Sykora were a combined 3-for-13 passing the football for 50 yards, one TD and 3 interceptions.  The defensive leaders were Nasir Dotts-Wakemup (11 tackles, 4 solo tackles, one pass breakup), Norby (9 tackles, 5 solo tackles, 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss, safety), Hoff (9 tackles, 4 solo tackles, interception) and Carson Spangler (8 tackles, 5 solo tackles, sack, 2 tackles for loss, one pass breakup).

Maple River finished with 247 yards (91 rushing, 156 passing) and 17 first downs.  Fox hit on 14-of-22 passing attempts for 156 yards and his leading receivers were Mason Schirmer (6 catches, 49 yards) and Mason Frank (3 receptions, 54 yards).  Simon led the ground game with 93 yards on 19 carries.  Ethan McGregor had a team high 11 tackles and Timothy Buckholtz had 9 tackles.  Cooper Ochsendorf recorded the only sack for the Eagles.  Trio, Jenkins and Herman each had an interception.

The Knights will play the Chatfield Gophers at 1:00pm Friday, November 26 at US Bank Stadium to decide the Class AA champion.