By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor

Excitement in "Warrior Town" is at a height this week, as the local football team, and probably most of the inhabitants of the Caledonia Area School District, will be motoring up to the Twin Cities for the Class AA state semifinal game. By virtue of the very exciting 16-13 win over a large and physical Norwood Young America team Friday night at Park High School of Cottage Grove, the Warriors will be playing in the Dome for the third time in three years. Two years ago, the 2005 team won their semi final game and lost in the state championship game.

This Thursday will be my eighth trip up to the Dome to cover the Prep Bowl, and hopefully the day after Turkey Day will be my ninth. While I never had the opportunity to play on the artificial turf at the Dome (it was built a decade after I graduated from high school), being down on the carpet covering high school football is one of the most enjoyable aspects of being a small-town journalist.

Harmony High School won the 1984 title, being the owner, editor, photographer, reporter, and chief bottle washer at the Harmony News, I was there to cover the Cardinalsí big win. Back then, the semi finals were not played at the Dome, just the championship games.

Ten years later, my hometown high school McLeod West won the state championship. While I didnít get a chance to get down on the playing field for the semifinal or championship game, I celebrated with many of my former school mates who served as coaches or had sons playing for the McLeod West Falcons.

During my six years working for Phillips Publishing of Spring Valley, I was lucky enough to be part of two state championship runs by the Kingsland Knights. In 2001, the Knights won both their semifinal and championship games. The following year, Kingsland topped Norwood Young America in the semi finals, but lost to Breck in the championship game.

Two years later, the Lanesboro Burros fought their way to the semifinals. Lanesboro High was one of the schools Phillips Publishing covered with the Preston-Lanesboro weekly, and since I was serving as sports editor for the newspaper chain, I once again had the privilege of covering the game.

If youíve never been to the Prep Bowl (Iím sure most of you readers were there twice in 2005), it really is something to experience. Iíve tried to take in as many of the games as possible each time Iíve been there, although I must admit, I really do enjoy the small school contests the best. Itís great to see the support these small towns bring to the Dome. Thereís massive signs and banners, and you can always tell where the cheering section is for each team by the matching shirts and school colors.

In 2001, the Three Rivers Conference did something no other conference has done before or since. Rushford-Peterson won the Class A title, Kingsland won the Class AA title, and Plainview-Elgin-Millville won the Class AAA title. The MSHSL officials had their thinking caps on when they decided where the fan sections for each of the teams competing were to be located. They had the three school from the TRC line up right next to each other on the same side of the Dome for both the semi finals and the championship games. When the R-P Trojans played, the entire side of the Dome cheered. When Kingsland played, their neighbors from Southeast Minnesota all chimed in. And when the PEM Bulldogs took the field, the massive crowd supporting the TRC teams continued in a unified effort. That was really something to be a part of.

Iíd like to congratulate the Houston Hurricanes for the excellent season they had, and also the La Crescent Lancers. For a while, it appeared is if Houston County was going to have three schools heading for the Dome. It didnít quite work out for the ëCanes or the Lancers, but the Warriors are still in the running for a state championship.

Good luck Warriors, and letís have everyone from the entire area up at the Dome this Thursday and again next Friday to cheer on another state champ.

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