One game after breaking Wabasso’s single-game rebounding record with 34, Caden Frericks put his name on another honor. The junior forward grabbed 27 rebounds on Tuesday night to set a new program single-season record of 488 and counting. The previous school record was 475 in a season set by Tanner Bock in 2013-14.

Frericks now holds the state’s seventh-highest single-season total in rebounds, according to the Minnesota State High School League. There are now two Rabbits represented on the record list, as Frericks joins Bock, who currently sits 10th.

“Just joy. We haven’t been this far since probably 1996-97, so I’m excited. I’m just happy for the boys. They played their hearts out, and they deserve it,” Wabasso head coach Scott Leopold said. “They worked so hard all season, and they deserve it. We’re like a family … That’s why I’m doing this, to give them the chance to do something great and that I see their potential. It was fun to see them reach their potential.”

Wabasso got off to a hot start and went into the break with an 11-point lead, 45-34, over Dawson-Boyd. In an energetic atmosphere with both schools drawing a large crowd, the Rabbits withstood the Blackjacks’ pressure to come away with the upset over the 2025 Class A defending state champions.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Wabasso's Brayden Guetter steps back and pulls up for a shot in the first half against Dawson-Boyd Tuesday night in the Section 3A North subsection semifinals. The Rabbits defeated the Blackjacks 89-70 to advance to the subsection championship.

“Like we talked about before the game, [it’s about] momentum. When you have two teams that you feel like are fairly evenly matched, you got to find ways to steal the momentum from them, and hold on to momentum yourself,” Dawson-Boyd head coach Cory Larson said. “We kind of had things moving that way in the second half, but we just couldn’t quite get enough stacking up scores and stacking up stops to make it happen … [Wabasso] did a nice job on both ends of the floor, and I felt like they were the better team for a good chunk of that game.”

Gunner Liebl and Carson Stratmoen got some Dawson-Boyd momentum going to open the second half with a 3-pointer each, followed up with a floater down the middle of the lane from Liebl to cut into a 49-44 deficit.

Stratmoen shortly after made it a one-possession game after drilling in another 3 near the top of the key to force Wabasso to call a timeout with a 53-49 lead and just over 12 minutes left to play.

Along with Brayden Guetter and Drew Kemp’s strong shooting performances for Wabasso, Frericks’ rebounding power once again made a difference for the Rabbits in getting more offensive opportunities.

Guetter credited his team’s depth for their success and consistent shooting, which has served them well all season, and specifically noted Frericks’ positive impact in continuing to crash the boards.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Dawson-Boyd senior Gunner Liebl brings the ball up the court in the first half against Wabasso Tuesday night in the Section 3A North subsection semifinals. The Rabbits defeated the Blackjacks 89-70 to advance to the subsection championship.

“They [Dawson-Boyd] are great shooters. They are a great coaches team … They know how to play in close games,” Leopold said. “So, our approach was to run them off the line, make them drivers, and then just try and outrebound them, because our rebounding is top-notch.”

The two teams continued to go back and forth, matching one another’s physicality with all players clearly putting their bodies on the line, as tension built up by the possession.

Although Dawson-Boyd continued to chip away, Wabasso came up with a handful of clutch defensive stops and shots to prevail down the stretch, sparked by a 3-pointer from Kemp to earn back a 10-point lead with 2:36 to play, 77-67.

A Rabbit steal then led to a fastbreak layup for Kemp to deepen their lead, as the Blackjacks began to intentionally foul. Wabasso performed well at the foul line to finish off the night.

“It feels good. They only beat us by [10 points] the first time, so we knew we had a chance coming in,” Guetter said. “It feels good to move on, and it’ll be our first time ever playing at SMSU.”

Photo by Samantha Davis: Dawson-Boyd senior Gunner Liebl (0) is comforted by head coach Cory Larson after subbing out for the final time in his prep basketball career Tuesday night in the Section 3A North subsection semifinals at Montevideo High School.

Kemp, Frericks and Guetter combined for 75 points in the win for Wabasso.

Guetter finished with a game-high 30 points, four blocks and six assists, along with six rebounds. Frericks followed with 23 points to his 27 boards, while Kemp added in 22 points on 3 of 6 shooting from deep, with four assists.

Wabasso also outrebounded Dawson-Boyd 49-32.

For the Blackjacks, Liebl led the way with 28 points on 47% shooting and eight rebounds, along with a game-high six 3-pointers. Jaxton Hastad followed with 21 points on 10 of 13 shooting from the field, along with six assists and three steals. Stratmoen also tallied 10 points.

Dawson-Boyd went 11 of 41 from the perimeter, and Wabasso shot 5 of 16 from deep.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Dawson-Boyd's Carson Stratmoen attacks the lane and looks across in the first half against Wabasso Tuesday night in the Section 3A North subsection semifinals. The Rabbits defeated the Blackjacks 89-70 to advance to the subsection championship.

“They [Wabasso] kind of spun things and played a different defense than we anticipated, so big game plan on their part. When you look at their zone coverage, I mean, they gave us plenty of open looks from the perimeter, but shooting 41 3s, you can’t only make 11 of them,” Larson said. “We just didn’t get any second chance opportunities, very few anyways, and when we did, we didn’t really capitalize … They beat us up on the boards, and we just could never find any rhythm offensively. We’d have some possessions where we get some good looks on the inside, but never anything consistently.”

With about 45 seconds remaining, Larson subbed out Liebl for the final time in his stellar prep basketball career, and the two shared a hug as Liebl also did with his teammates down the bench.

“Gunner, a kid who came off the bench for us as a ninth grader, and then has been a full-time starter for three years, he’s had some really cool experiences. Like I told him, he has less than 15 losses in his whole career. There are a lot of kids in the state, there are a lot of seniors in the state of Minnesota, that lost 15 games their senior season, so he did in the whole career,” Larson said. “What a phenomenal career he’s had, not only as an individual, but as the groups that he’s been on.”

Dawson-Boyd will graduate Liebl, Landon Kemen, Broady Nelson and Cole Percy.

“Cole went down with a torn ACL about a month or so ago … Broady and Landon, those guys were coming off the bench. But I tell you what, those guys show up every single day for practice, and give us everything they have,” Larson said. “Those guys are awesome teammates.”

Photo by Samantha Davis: Wabasso's Drew Kemp dribbles between the legs in the first half against Dawson-Boyd Tuesday night in the Section 3A North subsection semifinals. The Rabbits defeated the Blackjacks 89-70 to advance to the subsection championship.

The crowd and student sections on both ends showed their support from the jump, filling the gymnasium with cheers following every basket.

“It was awesome, we have the best fans in the world. I couldn’t ask for any better fans. They were right on the floor with us yelling and cheering. It’s a lot of fun,” Leopold said.

Wabasso initially took to a 20-10 lead to start the night with its shots falling promptly, along with applying a frequent full-court press, and Guetter found his hot hand quickly on the scoring end. He had 12 of the Rabbits’ first 24 points and finished with 13 in the first half alongside Kemp.

Liebl also had his rhythm going and led all scorers with 16 first-half points.

Both Dawson-Boyd and Wabasso have spent a large part of the regular season ranked top-10 in the state for Class A, or were receiving votes. The two met once in the regular season, with the Blackjacks winning by 10 points.

Wabasso (26-3) now moves onto the North subsection championship, and the winner from there will advance to the section title game next Thursday with a state tournament berth on the line.

The Rabbits will face top-seeded Central Minnesota Christian (26-1) on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Southwest Minnesota State University.

“It’s one game at a time. We refocus really well. We’ll celebrate tonight, we’ll have a good time, and then we’ll refocus tomorrow, and we’ll come back,” Leopold said. “The boys have been on a mission since day one this season, and they believe they can do it … They believe in themselves.”

Photo by Samantha Davis: The Wabasso boys basketball team and student section cheers after a 3-pointer in the first half against Dawson-Boyd Tuesday night in the Section 3A North subsection semifinals. The Rabbits defeated the Blackjacks 89-70 to advance to the subsection championship.