Caledonia will be playing a giant killer at 1:15 p.m. on Friday for the state Class AA championship.

Eden Valley-Watkins (EV-W) pulled the upset of the tournament when it beat Pierz 26-7 on November 18. Pierz was undefeated and ranked number one in the final AP poll. EV-W was not ranked, and had lost to the Pioneers 48-0 in the regular season. Pierz also beat EV-W in the state finals last year, 39-14.

EV-W had five interceptions against Pierz. Senior Nate Schoenecker got two of them and ran one back 63 yards before getting caught from behind at the six-yard line. Senior running back Mike Berg scored twice on one-yard runs. Pierz dominated most of the offensive statistics, but were held to a single touchdown on a single red-zone scoring opportunity. The Eagles had four chances in the red zone and converted all four chances.

ìTheyíre very talented and we will have our hands full with them,î Warrior coach Carl Fruechte said said about the 11-2 Eagles on November 21.

EV-W is led by running back Adam Hiltner, who has rushed for 1,548 yards on 234 attempts. Mike Berg is second in rushing with 425 yards.

The team has a good passing game too, with quarterback Jason Huschle 69 for 143 and 1,138 yards. His main target is Nathan Schoenecker, who has caught 33 passes for 686 yards and 120 touchdowns.

The team is averaging 30 points per game and gives up 11 points. Their give-away/take-away ratio is 13/24.

ìWeíre primarily a running team,î EV-W coach Ray Tri said on November 21. They run both a one-back and pro set on offense.

Defense is the teamís strength, he said.

ìWeíre expecting a good, tough game. We saw them play Saturday. Weíre very impressed with Caledonia. Big and strong and physical and they play good defense,î Tri said. Kicker Lucas Nelson was impressive too, he added.

Asked what it would take to win, Tri said, ìBoth teams have got a chance, I think. Itís going to come down to that particular day and who plays better.î

He acknowledged that his players were fired up about beating Pierz. ìTheyíre pretty excited,î he said, then quickly added, ì[Itís] About time to get ready for work and get ready for Caledonia now.î

Caledoniaís defense will be looking for a pro I and split back offense, with jet sweeps and reverses, Fruechte said.

The Eagles have a good quarterback, running backs, and wide receivers, Fruechte feels. Their left tackle Matt Theis, stands 6-6 and weighs 260 pounds, he added.

Defensively EV-W will have 4-, 5-, and 6-man fronts.

The focus of Caledoniaís practices this week will be to spend more time on conditioning, and a little extra time on special teams, Fruechte said.

Theyíll be practicing indoors. ìWeíre going to crank the heat up a little bit and create the elements of the dome,î Fruechte said. That will include some loud music, something they used last week in practice too.

The Warriors are approaching the game like any other, Fruechte said. The philosophy is to be physical, play hard, and have fun.

The players are focused too, he added. Asked to describe the mood of the team, the coach answered, ìThey know what they have to do. Very mature. Iím very impressed. Theyíre just a great bunch of kids. I canít say it enough.î

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