Photo by Samantha Davis: Murray County Central seniors Broox Platt (78) and Lucas Kuball (back) share a hug with one another following the Rebels 28-21 Class A state semifinal loss to Breckenridge Saturday afternoon at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. MCC finishes its season 9-3 overall after breaking through to the state semifinals for the first time since 2000. Below: Freeman speaks to the team in the final timeout in the fourth quarter. Below: Teague Meyer looks down the field to make a pass. Below: Jordan Sturges runs into the end zone for a touchdown. Below: The MCC fans cheer on the team.

MINNEAPOLIS — Reaching the Class A state semifinals for the second time in program history, the third-seeded Murray County Central football team’s season came to an end with a 28-21 loss to No. 1 Breckenridge Saturday afternoon. The game came down to the final minutes in the fourth quarter, but the Rebels ultimately fell short when the Cowboys’ the game-winning touchdown in the final minutes before forcing an MCC turnover on downs.

The Rebels finish their memorable 2025 campaign 9-3 overall with a nine-game win streak after an 0-2 start. The Rebels qualified for the state tournament for the fourth time in program history, first since 2021, and reached the state semifinals for the second time ever.

“I don’t think words can express that enough of how proud I am. The senior group really led us. All season long, even after a tough start, there was never a doubt. There was always a belief,” MCC head coach Patrick Freeman said. “A lot of that has to reflect on the type of character that our guys have every day. They come into practice with a focused mindset. We always talk about our core values and what we really stand on, and our guys, each and every week, I thought really demonstrated that, and you could see the growth as the season went on.”

Stickered on the back of each Rebels’ helmet in white is the word ‘family,’ which Freeman, alongside Teague Meyer, Lucas Kuball and Luke Iverson noted postgame is how the team this year operates.

While the season ended in a heartbreaking manner, Freeman and the players expressed the group’s strong brotherhood and are proud of how far they were able to go and represent Slayton.

“It means everything to be a Rebel. We are a family. A lot of teams say that, but I truly feel that,” Meyer said. “Everyone on our team is brothers, and we’d go to war for these guys.”

“I started playing football in seventh grade, and it was just for fun at that point. But, then you got to freshman year, and it was a huge shift,” Iverson added. “It’s like, these are your guys. You’re going to play and do everything for them. You’re just not going to play for yourself. You’re to be selfless and just do everything you can for the county and everybody. You’re playing for a whole county.”

MCC and Breckenridge were as evenly matched as they come, with the game tied at 7, 14 and 21.

Carson Lewis had a pair of rushing touchdowns on the day, in the first quarter on a 37-yard carry and again in the third, going three yards, while Jordan Sturges scored in the second quarter.

The Rebels and Cowboys were locked with a 21-21 tie heading into the fourth quarter. MCC had possession and Breckenridge was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty on Meyer to give the Rebels a first down on the Cowboys’ 12-yard line.

Noah Friske ran a trick play to receive the snap, rather than Meyer, for a 6-yard gain and Meyer followed with a run to the 4-yard line, but MCC fumbled on a Friske rushing attempt that was recovered by the Cowboys to take over on their own 9-yard line.

A pair of MCC penalties, a horse collar tackle by Kuball and an unnecessary roughness penalty on Lewis gave Breckenridge 30 yards as the Cowboys made their way down the field with time running down onto MCC’s 33-yard line. Riley Knappes then ran for 15 yards to enter the red zone.

“We always talk that every play matters, and those things of turnovers, which we talked about before the game, penalties, those are key parts that kind of either can extend drives or they can kill drives … Those are the differences in the game. Like I said at the beginning, they made one more play than us here,” Freeman said. “Our response matters, bad things are going to happen. Teams are going to make good plays, penalties are going to happen. But more importantly, we stand up and we attack that challenge, and I thought our guys did a good job of that all night, not giving up the really big play and understanding that we’re going to make them earn everything.”

The Rebels’ defense continued to challenge Breckenridge with two near-interceptions, but the Cowboys still broke into the red zone with three carries from the 4-yard line, capped off by a David Erlandson go-ahead touchdown with just under two minutes to go.

The Rebels knew in advance that Breckenridge would come in with an explosive offense and a strong run game, Freeman said, crediting Breckenridge, but felt that his team responded well after struggling in the first half.

“I thought the second half, we came out with just more of a focused mindset on that,” Freeman said. “Part of that, too, is just continuing to believe. Guys that really stepped up, our defensive line has been something that we’ve been proud on all season long. They definitely control the line of scrimmage, and really focused on making sure that we dominate up front first, and then our secondary and linebackers flow the football.”

Meyer had a 35-yard return to MCC’s own 44-yard line on the Rebels’ final drive, but was tackled for a loss of six yards two plays later to back up to the 37.

Breckenridge broke up a Meyer pass attempt intended for Carter Hanson to force fourth-and-17, and Meyer’s next complete pass to Frisk came up short of the sticks as Breckenridge took over on downs before kneeling twice to run out the clock.

Freeman called a timeout following the defensive stop, huddling everyone together for a final time on the field.

“It’s all about the love and just making sure that when we leave that field, it’s one family. We’re together. We talked about embracing the opportunity here today… I thought just making sure that we ended like we wanted to, and that means one together,” Freeman said regarding what he talked about in the timeout. “That timeout was just bringing everyone together and to realize how much this team accomplished. Being in the semifinals, top four, no one’s going to take that moment away. Obviously we came up short here today, they made one more play than us, but together, we finished together. That’s the most important mindset that we have. We talked about the family being the glue, and that’s what keeps us tight.”

MCC’s signature run game flustered the Cowboys throughout the afternoon. The Rebels finished with 285 offensive yards, 273 rushing, to Breckenridge’s 266 total yardage and 176 rushing.

Lewis led the Rebels with 105 rushing yards with his two touchdowns on 16 carries, while Sturges followed with 102 yards on 15 attempts. Meyer followed with 44 yards on 16 carries and completed a pass for 12 yards.

Breckenridge’s Erlandson had a game-high 123 rushing yards on 23 carries and a trio of touchdowns.

The Rebels lost two fumbles and committed six penalties for 52 yards, while the Cowboys did not have a fumble but committed seven penalties for 66 yards.

Breckenridge struck first in the first quarter, but Lewis had a quick response with a 37-yard rushing touchdown to tie the early game up 7-7.

The two continued to feed off another one, with the Cowboys scoring again off a 1-yard rush in the second quarter before Sturges did just the same with 1:17 to go in the half as the Rebels consistently fed him the ball on the drive, and running right, to tie the score up again at 14-14.

Breckenridge created a 21-14 halftime lead with another Erlandson rushing touchdown after moving down the field quickly, yet Lewis’ third-quarter score didn’t allow the Cowboys to hold onto their lead long.

When the Cowboys were moments away from moving forward to the prep bowl for the first time since 1995, senior Lawson Oliphant stepped onto the field for the first time since early October, when he was severely injured in a car crash, for the game’s final snap.

“Lawson is one of my best friends, and there is a very likely chance that I was in that car accident with them that day, because all my other friends were in there,” Breckenridge senior Henry Slettedahl said, emotionally. “Just so grateful to have him back on the field with us.”

MCC had a thrilling postseason run, upsetting top-seeded Springfield in the Section 3A Championship to put an end to the Tigers’ three-year state runner-up streak. The Rebels also defeated No. 2 Fillmore Central out of the South division in the state quarterfinals last week, 29-26, after building a 21-0 lead in the second quarter.

“I think the biggest thing about our guys is that we don’t play for stats. We play to win as a team, it’s team effort. It’s not all about one person,” Kuball said. “11 guys on the field, every single guy has their own job to do. I think that’s important.”

“I think when I look back at my career, I’m not going to remember any of my stats or how many yards I rushed for. I am going to remember this team, and touching on the family thing again, everything that we do together, that’s what’s going to stick in my head,” Meyer added. “It’s not going to be that we lost 28 to 21 to Breckenridge. It’s going to be all the memories and the good times that we had together.”

The Rebels last played in the state semifinals a quarter century ago in 2000, and the crowd dressed in school colors of purple and black made their support known with a large turnout after making the trip.

“I think our community is really great,” Meyer said. “They’re always supportive. We started 0-2 … I felt like our community never wavered. They were always behind us. Even today, you look out in the crowd and we’re filling up a whole section, which was just amazing to see.”

MCC graduates a strong group of seniors in Meyer, Gabe Tentinger, Hanson, Sturges, Kuball, Quintin Lewis, Iverson, Jaxon Wendorff, Noah Mathiowetz, Aubin Licht, Colby Kesteloot, Gabriel Wolske, Broox Platt and Wyatt Thompson.

“Selflessness is the word that I think of. This group, each guy just does their job, and is not looking for recognition. We talk a lot about serving… We’re always focusing on how can we help others, and how can we make other people better? That’s what true leaders are, and that’s what I’m proud of,” Freeman said about the senior group. “These guys, after they graduate here, you’re going to see great things, because it’s not just focused about them. That humility and understanding that servitude is what we’re about, and that’s a reflection on this group … If you want to ask me what it means to be a Rebel and what this team represents, that’s the word, I would say — Humble in servitude.”