Friday, November 2, 2012
Special teams and defense, two ingredients missing from the Elks' first two playoff wins, were the key in a 24-10 win over the Knights.
With a pass rush in his face, Cole Krutzig faded to fire from his quarterback position, deep in the St. Michael-Albertville end zone. He never saw the defender coming to read his intended throw. As Elk River defender Alex Plaisted grabbed the ball out of the air, he put the first nail into the coffin that was the STMA football season. The final nail came one play later, as Elk River punched in a 5-yard touchdown run, sealing a 24-10 victory in the Section 6-5A final. For the Elks, it was a "rising from the ashes" moment. The program was in complete turmoil just two years ago, when a hazing scandal saw a host of starters suspended from the team for an entire season, and the squad went winless in nine games (including a 50-12 loss to STMA…
Friday, September 28, 2012
Watch and listen to this week's game, which features homecoming festivities, the battle for the Muddy Crow trophy and a Knights team in search of its fourth straight win.
You can watch tonight's homecoming game and annual battle for the Muddy Crow right here on St. Michael Patch. The Bison are simply trying to save their season, while the Knights are looking to stay in the hunt for the Mississippi 8 title with a fourth straight win. The video feed is courtesy of the Knights' home page at iHigh.com, created and managed by the coaching staff and student managers. You can get the audio feed one of two ways. Our friends at the Minnesota Sports Broadcasting Network are streaming the game via BOB 106 FM. That feed is available by clicking here and using the online player. Wright County's own KRWC is also providing an audio feed from the high school in Rogers. It will be carrying a host of STMA games, …
Monday, September 24, 2012
The Knights moved to 3-1 in the Mississippi 8 Conference and on the season by picking up a much-needed win over the Royals.
From the outset, it was clear the coach Jared Essler and the St. Michael-Albertville Knights were going to attack the Rogers Royals defense. And while Rogers did everything it could to defend the STMA air assault, it committed too many penalties from the opening drive on, and could only watch as the Knights left town with a 28-14 win, Essler's first over the Royals. STMA's Cole Krutzig used his arm to set up the Knights' offense from the opening snap, and junior running back Chris Kartes carried it the rest of the way with his legs, racking up three touchdowns on what finished as a blustery, wet night in Rogers. Krutzig and the Knights drew not two, but three interference penalties on their opening drive, then converted on a fourth down…
Friday, September 21, 2012
St. Michael-Albertville's offense has scored 43 points its last two games. Rogers has two conference wins and is looking to keep pace with Monticello. The two square off tonight in Rogers, and you can watch and listen here.
The Rogers Royals have had the St. Michael-Albertville football squad's number as of late. Tonight, the surging Knights are looking to make it three wins in a row, as Rogers looks to remain unbeaten on this young season. The two square off tonight in Rogers, and you can watch and listen here. The video feed is courtesy of the Knights' home page at iHigh.com, created and managed by the coaching staff and student managers. You can get the audio feed one of two ways. Our friends at the Minnesota Sports Broadcasting Network are streaming the game via BOB 106 FM. That feed is available by clicking here and using the online player. Wright County's own KRWC is also providing an audio feed from the high school in Rogers. It will be carrying a…
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Finally, the St. Michael-Albertville offense gave the Knights' coaching staff something to breathe a bit easier about in a 43-13 romp over Big Lake.
For head coach Jared Essler, Friday night was about two months in the making. With so many key components back on offense, Essler and the St. Michael-Albertville coaching staff figured the offense would be the key to the Knights' success in 2012. Cole Krutzig, fresh off an all-conference performance in 2011, is back at quarterback. Ryan Lyzhoft, arguably the Knights' best all-around athlete, is there to carry the ball and catch passes in the slot. The Knights' receiving corps, though inexperienced, is tall, lean and mean. And then there's Bennie Wilson, who can pulverize his way to yards from the fullback spot. But the Knights were held scoreless in its home-opener vs. Cambridge, and the special teams and defense scored three times in …
Friday, September 14, 2012
The Knights look to make it two in a row tonight at home.
The St. Michael-Albertville football team, fresh off a drubbing in Duluth over the East Greyhounds, look to make it two in a row tonight at home. The Knights will take on the Big Lake Hornets, a team that upset STMA last year on its home field. Look for the home squad to exact some revenge.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
In just his second year as head coach, Jared Essler has a conference contender on his hands. He'll need a bit of luck and a healthy squad to survive the new Mississippi 8.
It's been nearly a decade since St. Michael-Albertville football has seen the big spotlight, making their way through a playoff run, and feeling that articifial turf at the Metrodome. Now, the Knights are poised, under second-year coach Jared Essler, to return to the big dance. Two factors are pointing to signs of big success-one internal, the other external. First, the external. The Knights are part of the new Class 5A, with the top 32 team moved up to Class 6A. That means no more Maple Grove, Osseo or Wayzata standing in the way come playoff time. Instead, it will be more familiar foes in Section 6-5A, like Rogers, Monticello and North Suburban member (again) Elk River. Second, the Knights are simply loaded where it counts. They …
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
National Signing Day was prime time for two St. Michael-Albertville football standouts, and a girls' basketball signee made her choice official.
Zach Anderson and Joe Williams, two standouts from the St. Michael-Albertville football program last fall, made it official Wednesday morning in the quiet confines of the high school conference room. Surrounded by coaches, family and friends, Williams signed his letter of intent to Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. Anderson, his longtime teammate on both the football field, will play for the University of Minnesota-Crookston. "It's no accident. These guys are really two kids who worked hard on the football field, in the wieght room and have done really well in the classroom," said Knights assistant coach Keith Cornell. "It's really fun for us, as coaches, to have the opportunity to go watch these guys on Saturday." Williams…
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Wednesday, October 26, 2011
The Knights' football season came to an end in the first round of the Section 5-5A playoffs Tuesday night, thanks in large part to some huge turnovers in the first half.
St. Michael-Albertville's offense was looking impressive in its first possession of its first-ever Class 5A playoff game, piling up yardage and moving deep into Maple Grove territory as time ran off the clock in the first quarter. The Knights, a favorite as the No. 3 seed, were smaller than the squad from "big-school" Maple Grove, but were getting a good push up front. Then, on a third down play at the Crimson 25-yard line, the game completely changed. Junior Ryan Lyzhoft was hit and fumbled on a nifty defensive play by a Crimson linebacker, and senior linebacker Dylan Steman of Maple Grove scooped up the ball and ran 75 yards, untouched, for the game's first score. Looking to recover, the Knights fizzled on their next offensive …
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Thursday, October 20, 2011
The Knights should be the No. 3 seed in Section 5-5A, a division that includes No. 1 overall Wayzata. Let's delve in to what the QRF means and what implications it will have on this year's playoffs.
In years past, high school football coaches across the state followed the same routine on the Wednesday before Minnesota Education Association weekend. Wake up. Go to school. Play your final regular-season game. Start preparing for your first-round playoff opponent immediately after that game. Only this year, most coaches did not know who they were playing in the first round until Thursday morning at the earliest. That's because this year, the Minnesota State High School League adopted the Quality Results Formula system for seeding teams, and the complex tabulations involved in figuring each team's QRF were not complete Wednesday night. But with a 42-20 route over Elk River, St. Michael-Albertville looked to be moving up. The Knights were…
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Saint Michael-Albertville Middle School West
11343 50th St NE, Albertville, MN
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Mike Schoemer
9:33 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
Knights win 28-14! more ›