 Two years ago the Bemidji football team was one in eight and lost 48 to nothing in their only playoff game. Cut to this week as the Lumberjacks are 9-1 with an asterisk on that loss and are gearing up for their first state appearance since 2014. It looks and feels like playoff football as the Lumberjacks prepare for their matchup against Cambridge, I-Santi. You know the kids are confident, they've attacked and accomplished one of their main goals which was to win a section title and now the goal is a state title and just be the best that we can be. The Blue Jackets seem built for the cold weather as they have a large physical football team. In their two playoff games they averaged over 400 yards per game on the ground compared to just 61 through the air. They have a lot of big guys and basically what we're going to do is we're going to put our big guys out in the field too so that's our tactic. We need to mash that physicality if we do that and we win the turnover battle I feel good about where we're at. The Lumberjacks have been more balanced throughout the season though the base of their offense begins with a triple option. When we can run the ball effectively with our triple option game we found that it opens up other opportunities for the other kids. We have so many athletic wide receivers that can catch and make plays afterwards. I mean we have like a bunch of Rines on the team now really so it's a lot easier for me so I don't just throw it up to Ryan and I can actually make my reads and throw it open guy. Coming off a hard fought three point win over Brainerd in the section final, for Midgee is confident they have the experience and big moments to come away with the win. We just trust the brother next to you you just play, do your job and hope that your partner is doing what they need to be doing and when it comes down to the wire that's when you're at our best. It's been vital for any team to have close games and find a way to win is really a key to being a successful football team. These kids have found ways to win weekend and week out and I don't look for that to change. And that game will be played Saturday night in St. Cloud at 8, the second of two games hopefully that first one doesn't go long because it's going to be cold. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.