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.

Story will be updated with additional game details, photos and quotes.

MINNEAPOLIS — Reaching the Class A state semifinals for the second time in program history, the third-seeded Murray County Central football team’s notable season came to an end Saturday afternoon with a 28-21 loss to No. 1 Breckenridge Saturday afternoon. The game came down to the final minutes in the fourth quarter, where the Rebels ultimately fell short with the Cowboys scoring the game-winning touchdown with 1:51 to go, and forcing a final turnover on downs against MCC.

The Rebels finish their historic 2025 campaign 9-3 overall, who quickly turned their season around after an 0-2 start to earn a state tournament berth for the fourth time in program history, first since 2021, and entered Saturday on a nine-game winning streak.

Neither MCC or Breckenridge allowed one another to break away to a large lead, seeing three ties at 7, 14 and 21.

Carson Lewis had a pair of rushing touchdowns on the day, in the first and third quarter, while Jordan Sturges scored one in the second quarter.

The Rebels and Cowboys were locked with a 21-21 tie heading into the fourth quarter with a trip to the prep bowl on the line.

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 followed by a Meyer short gain to put the Rebels on the 4-yard line.

On the next play, MCC fumbled the ball on a Frisk rushing attempt that was recovered by the Cowboys to take over on their own 9-yard line.

A pair of MCC penalties, a horse collars tackle by Lucas Kuball and unnecessary roughness from Lewis, gave Breckenridge 30 yards as the Cowboys made their way down the field with time running down onto MCC’s 33-yard line following a Riley Knapps 15-yard carry.

The Rebels’ defense continued to challenge Breckenridge with two near interceptions, but the Cowboys still broke into the red zone onto the 4-yard line following three more carries.

Knapps put Breckenridge on the 1-yard line on the following play, as David Erlandson scored the go-ahead touchdown with just under two minutes to go.

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 first down at MCC’s 42-yard line as Breckenridge took over on downs, and two two knees to end the game.

MCC head coach Patrick Freeman called a timeout following the turnover, huddling everyone together for a final time on the field.

Freeman, alongside Meyer, Kuball and Luke Iverson, all noted postgame that while the season ended in a heartbreaking manner, the team looks to one another as family and shares a strong brotherhood, and are proud of how far they were able to bring the program and represent Slayton.

MCC’s tenacious run game, which has brought the Rebels an ample amount of success over the season, flustered the Cowboys throughout the afternoon.

Overall, MCC 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 98 yards on 15 attempts.

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

In the end, the Rebels had two fumbles lost and 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.

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 runners-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.

Prior to this year, the Rebels last played in the state semifinals was 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.

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, Brooz Platt and Wyatt Thompson.