2024 Football, Class AA Semifinals: Staples-Motley 36, Chatfield 24
Posted: Friday, November 15, 2024 - 9:02 PM
It has been three dozen years since the Staples-Motley football team has found its way into a championship game. The long dry spell ended on Friday, Nov. 15 when the Cardinals plowed their way to a 36-24 victory over Chatfield in the Class AA semifinals of the Minnesota State High School League’s Football State Tournament at U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis.
Junior Colbe Tappe led the way for the Cardinals (12-0) with 170 rushing yards and four touchdowns. His longest run was a 51-yard scamper that gave Staples-Motley a 30-14 lead midway through the second quarter. Junior quarterback Eli Rutten completed 13 of 19 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns to send Staples-Motley to the Class AA championship game on Friday, Nov. 22 against Jackson County Central at 4 p.m.
That berth is the first in a championship game since 1988 when the Cardinals finished as the Class A runner-up. Staples-Motley also had state tournament appearances in 1989 and 2004.
Chatfield (11-1) pulled to within 30-22 late in the second quarter when senior wide receiver Ben Carrier caught a 54-yard touchdown strike from senior quarterback Carson Rowland. Those two also were a successful connection on the two-point conversion.
Tappe restored Staples-Motley’s two-score advantage on a 1-yard run with 39 seconds left in the third quarter.
