Class 5A Elk River 33, Alexandria 24 Tied 24-24 at the half, the Elks’ defense rose up over the final two quarters, shutting out Alexandria’s explosive offense after the break to lift Elk River to its second state title in three years. Of course, that only meant delivering two stops. The Elks compiled 388 yards on the ground for the game, with three players — Gavin Schmidt (123 yards), Brecken Keoraj (114) and Carsyn Kleffman (112) — all going over 110 yards rushing. Kleffman scored twice, while Keoraj and Levi Harris each had rushing touchdowns of their own. That rushing offense delivered a pair of drives that broke Alexandria’s back in the second half. The Elks (12-1) received to open the third quarter, and proceeded to march down the field on a 17-play, 80-yard drive that ate up nine and a half minutes of clock and concluded with a 1-yard plunge by Harris into the end zone to put Elk River up 30-24. Less than two minutes later, Harris intercepted Alexandria star quarterback Chase Thompson at the Elks’ 17-yard-line, and then history repeated itself. The Elks compiled another 17-play drive, this one going 72 yards in 9 minutes, 12 seconds. Twice the Elks picked up fourth-down conversions on the drive — once on a 4th and 1 from their own 26-yard-line, when Schmidt picked up two yards. The other time on a 4th and 4 from their own 48-yard-line, when Harris got exactly the four yards needed to move the chains. The drive didn’t reach the end zone, but Spencer Burgoon’s 28-yard field goal with just north of three minutes to play put the Elks up two scores to effectively put the contest on ice. Alexandria (10-3) possessed the ball for less than four minutes in the second half. Thompson threw for 305 yards and three scores in the defeat. Class 3A Stewartville 43, Dassel-Cokato 22 Parker Wangen scored two rushing touchdowns on Saturday and added a receiving score as Stewartville successfully completed the defense of its state title in its typically dominant fashion. The Tigers have won 28 straight games, none by fewer than 13 points. Wangen also had an interception, made a field goal and completed a pass on a do-it-all day. Dylan Scanlan ran for 140 yards and two scores for Stewartville on a day where the Tigers tallied 243 total yards rushing. The Tigers (14-0) led 43-7 early in the final frame. Kobee Thielen ran for 107 yards and a score for the Chargers (11-2), while Caleb Smock added 92 yards and a touchdown rushing. But the Chargers committed two turnovers in the game, and both resulted in Stewartville touchdowns going the other way. Isaac Spencer led the Tigers with 11 total tackles and a recovered fumble. Stewartville is 46-2 over its last four seasons. 9 Player Fertile-Beltrami 20, Hills-Beaver Creek 8 Fertile-Beltrami star Isaiah Wright ran for 185 yards and also had an interception to guide the Falcons to their first state title in program history after near misses in previous seasons. Wright finished the year with 2,613 yards and 40 scores on the ground. His production Saturday provided more than enough offense for the Falcons’ defense, which held Hills-Beaver Creek to just 206 yards of total offense while recording three interceptions. Wright had one of those, while the other two were hauled in by Bryer Strem. Jonah Harstad also ran in two scores for the Falcons, including a one-yard, punch-in insurance score early in the final frame. The big play of the day for Hills-Beaver Creek was a 53-yard scoring strike from Jamin Metzger to James VandenBosch to trim the deficit to 14-8 late in the third quarter Related Articles High School Sports | High school football: Maple Grove beats Minnetonka for Class 6A state championship High School Sports | Prep Bowl roundup: Minneota, Jackson County Central win state titles with one likely hero, and a surprising one High School Sports | High school football: Rice Lake surrenders lead, state title in Wisconsin Division 2 championship game High School Sports | Prep Bowl: Becker’s defense stifles Totino-Grace for Bulldogs’ first title since 2015 High School Sports | High school football: Saturday’s state championship game predictions