 It's been a season 27 years in the making for the Bemidji Boy soccer team. The Lumberjacks finished their regular season 14-2 and breezed through the Section 8A tournament, not even allowing a goal on route to their first ever section title. Now the Jax are state bound for the first time with big dreams in sight. Ever since the start of the season, the Lumberjacks had their eyes set on a Section 8A title. Last Thursday, that dream became a reality when Bemidji shut out Hillcrest Lutheran Academy to secure their first ever Section Championship. It was just a really good feeling knowing we had a whole community behind us and to finally accomplish that goal was huge. But now as the Lumberjacks prepare for the Class 8A tournament, they have a new goal in mind. We want to get through that first game. We want to show up and show not only our opponents, our fans, but ourselves that we are a quality capable team. The Jax will have to rely on good offensive possessions and solid play from their role players in order to advance. We need a great game from Brandon. It can't say enough about Ben Sine Aspen in the middle. They have to step up and play their game above their age, not above their talent level, but above what the people would look at them as freshmen and sophomores and say, you know, okay, they're going to have to have their game. We're going to have to be able to string together passes, keep possession, and when we have chances, like we have had chances all year, we're going to have to finish them. They head into the tournament unseated and will face top seeded Mankato West right out of the gates. But despite having to play underdog, they believe the tournament is wide open. Coming into the tournament as an underdog, it's kind of nice, you know, no one thinks they're going to win, so you can't have nothing to lose out there. I think there's a lot of potential for some upsets in this tournament. And, you know, you're going to have to show up and play your game and, you know, the team that has the best breaks and creates a few mistakes will probably come on top. And they're ready to put their section and their city on the map. Up north, we have good soccer teams too. I want to show the state what Section 8's capable of. This is a legitimate soccer community, and playing a team from the north, like Obamidji, is a challenge for your schedule. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.