For the first time as an 11-man program, the MMCRU football team has won the state championship. They defeated second-ranked Saint Ansgar 30-17 on Thursday afternoon in the Class A state championship game.
The moment was humbling for head coach Kyle Oswald who lead the MMC Eagles to two eight-player titles in 2012 and 2015. He says he was fortunate to be the leader of a great program.
Brayson Mulder was named the player of the game for the championship with his two rushing touchdowns. He says the moment hit him late in the game, and he enjoyed the feeling.
The Royals were able to take advantage of a miscue on the opening kickoff. Luke Kintigh forced a Saint Ansgar fumble that Mason Carver recovered to give the Royals the first possession of the game. Coach Oswald says that play ultimately made the difference in how things progressed later.
Michael Schmillen says there is no bigger spark than a great defensive play.
The Royals scored on that short field with Eli Harpenau connecting with Schmillen on a 12-yard touchdown pass. Schmillen says it was a tough play to make, but he stayed focused to haul in the deflected pass.
MMCRU then forced another turnover on Saint Ansgar’s first offensive possession and turned that into a field goal to go up 10-0 halfway through the first quarter. Coach Oswald says getting up big early was crucial against a team that runs the ball like Saint Ansgar.
On the first play of the second quarter, Eli Harpenau ran in for a six-yard score to put the Royals up 17-0. That score was short-lived as Korben Michels returned a kick for a touchdown to get Saint Ansgar on the board. Following that, it was a struggle to score, and that was thanks to some untimely Royal turnovers. Harpenau says a regroup at halftime helped get him back on track.
He was able to get back into a rhythm thanks to some easy completions that helped move the Royals down field. Harpenau says he has some great receivers that he is thankful to play with.
As MMCRU tried to add to their lead, the defensive focus was putting Saint Ansgar into some uncomfortable situations. Schmillen says when the Saints were forced to throw the ball, that played into MMCRU’s hands.
After a Saint Ansgar field goal in the third quarter, the Royals knew they had to run the ball to take some clock down. They did that to start the fourth quarter with a 14-play drive that took five minutes off the clock and ended with a Brayson Mulder touchdown run. Coach Oswald says he was not sure the I-Formation would be effective in the running game, but he says his guys were able to make plays happen.
MMCRU went up 23-10 on that Mulder run. Saint Ansgar answered with a big pass play to make it 23-17. The Royals then went on a slow and methodical drive that ended with another Brayson Mulder touchdown run with 1:10 on the clock. Mulder says he could not believe how much room he had to run it in for a touchdown.
That score put the Royals up 30-17, and that was the final score when the clock wound down. The 13-0 season caps off a remarkable career for a class of 21 seniors that have thoroughly turned the program around. Coach Oswald says they had some tremendous gifts.
Mulder says the seniors were motivated to get here by the 2015 MMC state champion team when they were younger.
Harpenau was a junior on this team, but he played amongst a great class of seniors. He says the support they gave gives him motivation to provide that same spark next year.
The championship is a full-circle moment for Oswald who led the MMCRU 11-man program through some dark days. They won just four games through their first six seasons together, and he wondered if it was even worth it to put in all the work. He says this moment makes up for all of the years of struggling on the field.
MMCRU caps off a perfect 2025 season with a 13-0 record and the school’s first-ever 11-man championship.
