Football: Alexandria hosts Bemidji in Section 8-5A semifinals – Alexandria Echo Press

ALEXANDRIA – After a first-round bye, the Alexandria football team will face the Bemidji Lumberjacks for the fourth time in 13 months.

Alexandria defeated Bemidji 35-13 on Oct. 4 in the 2024 regular season, and turnovers were a big reason why.

And turnovers could play a role again in Saturday’s Section 8-5A tournament semifinal game.

“The most important thing for us is to just worry about football,” Alexandria head coach Mike Empting said. “Bemidji has come a long way, even since we first played them this season. They are good and played against tough competition.”

Bemidji (7-2), the No. 3 seed in the group, defeated No. 6 St. Cloud Tech (2-7) 35-21 on Tuesday to advance to Saturday’s group semifinals.

“It looked like St. Cloud Tech played a spirited football game against these guys,” Empting said. “They definitely played to keep their season going. And I think they probably gave Bemidji more than they expected up there. Bemidji ran the ball well and threw the ball for more yards than expected. I think Tech sold out to stop the run. “Especially in the first half and in the middle, it was pretty hard to take advantage of that a couple of times in the passing game and they were able to hit some pretty big passes, which put the game away not very busy.”

The release week gave Alexandria, the defending champions, a chance to recover from some injuries.

Empting said they are back to full strength for the first time since mid-September.

“We had some wounds that we had to lick and we had to get healthy,” Empting said. “During the course of the regular season, a few guys here had to deal with injuries. We needed some time to get some guys healthy again. Our team has been at full strength on the practice field since mid-September, but now.” The farewell was important for us in this respect. The injury bug hit us early on and it’s been a while since we’ve had our entire team together for practice, let alone a game.”

Alexandria started the season 6-0 but had a difficult end to the regular season after two games.

Alexandria lost 36-34 to Moorhead, the No. 1 seed in that bracket, on Oct. 11, then lost 44-34 to Elk River on Oct. 16.

“That was hard,” Empting said. “We’re a really good team, but so are both of us. It was a tough draw. They were complete opposites in the way the two teams played, but both were very difficult opponents for us. It was hard to come back after that, A short week after that Moorhead game it was a big task getting ready for an away game against a very physical and talented Elk River team. But man, we This goodbye was important to us emotionally and physically.”

Alexandria was without running back Mac Heydt and wide receiver Evan Kludt against Elk River on Oct. 16, but both could be back in the lineup soon.

The Cardinals defeated the Lumberjacks 35-0 in the semifinals of the 2023 Section 8-5A tournament and went on to win the section title and qualify for the state tournament.

Alexandria is hoping for a fast start like its regular season win over Bemidji to claim another playoff victory over Bemidji. Alexandria jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first few minutes of the game and cruised to a 22-point win.

“We had a lot of energy to start the season and now we’re getting a little refreshed,” Empting said. “Being refreshed mentally and physically will go a long way in getting us out of the gate quicker in this playoff game.”

Alexandria averages 38.9 points per game and holds its opponents to 16.9 points per game. Bemidji averages 29.1 points per game and holds opponents to 18 points per game.

The Cardinals have scored at least 34 points in each of their last six games.

The Cardinals will face a Lumberjack defense on Saturday that allowed the St. Cloud Tech Tigers to move the ball well. But the Cardinals know the Lumberjacks can be powerful when needed.

“St. Cloud Tech’s offense struggled after the first two games, but they were able to put together some nice offense against Bemidji,” Empting said. “St. Cloud Tech moved the ball well on the ground and through the air. I thought Bemidji’s defense played really well against us in the second half when we played them for the first time. We tried a few new things against them. Their defense is physical. “They are well coached and I think they will be ready to play even in a short week.

The winner of the Alexandria-Bemidji semifinal game will play either No. 4 seed Brainerd (5-4) or No. 1 seed Moorhead (9-0) in the Section 8-5A championship game on Friday, Nov. 1. 7:00 p.m. The top seed will host this sectional championship game.