 State football starts this week and five teams still alive in our viewing area. One of them, Pequot Lakes, finally back to the quarterfinals. Clayton Castle has more. It's only the second time in school history, but the Pequot Lakes Patriots are headed to the state football tournament with a lot of confidence and a lot of excitement. Going to state has been kind of like a dream of our senior classes for a really long time, since probably seventh grade. Now this is kind of our goal and we finally did it, and now we gotta see if we can proceed and make it to the bank. The match up against tomorrow will test the Patriots' offense, and all facets will need to be on point on Saturday afternoon. You just need to control the ball, eliminate the turnovers, and just do what we've been doing over the last eight, nine weeks. It's just running hard, and then we throw the ball pretty well as well. While the Patriots' passing attack is dangerous, much of the offense runs through Nathan Trout, the senior running back who averaged well over 100 yards per game. When the blockers do their job, it usually leaves me with one guy, and I usually can do something about it, and I can try to get past that guy, and then if I score a touchdown, I just give it all to the blockers pretty much. Having pitched three shutouts this season, the Patriots' defense will have to step up big against a more team that averages 30 points per game. The guys have to go out there and create turnovers like they've done in the past, and just stop the run. We can't give up the big play. No matter the score on Saturday, Coach Lowe Miller takes pride in this season and this special team. Seven of them of the seniors have played since their sophomore year, so they started a sophomore, so they have a lot of experience. This is their third time to the section championship, so they knew what it took to win it. Reporting in Pequot Lakes, Clayton Castle, Lakeland News. Saturday, 3 p.m., down at Alexandria High School, they'll play more. All right, wish them well. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.