Undefeated Falcons thrive on both sides of the ball

Armstrong football dominated St. Louis Park in a 49-15 win at home Oct. 26 to clinch a spot in the upcoming Section 5AAAAA championship game.

Armstrong entered last week ranked third in Class 5A, forming a top three of 8-0 teams with Moorhead and Owatonna. St. Louis Park were competitive in the Northstar East-Gold Conference this season, finishing second and 3-1, though four non-conference losses adjusted their record to 3-5.

Armstrong got to work quickly on Saturday, stopping Park’s opening drive with three tackles from Avery Oseth, Cal Pilon, and Bram Hetteen. That set up Kevon Johnson’s first touchdown of the day after three minutes, a 32-yard carry. Luke Weisjahn had a strong day and started it with an extra point to make it 7-0.

Park responded well with a shocking 92-yard kick return touchdown from Dashon Amos, but Armstrong did not break a sweat. Quarterback Dawson Franke found Gideon Breker for a 53-yard reception and touchdown, before Johnson got his second of the day following a drive helped along by two receptions for Eli Kuempel.

A sack by Fred Dassin helped ensure that Armstrong led 21-7 going into the second quarter.

Kuempel kept the fun coming with a 72-yard reception for a touchdown. Farelle Deline then made an impressive 25-yard reception to set up a third Johnson touchdown, making it 35-7 after two PAT’s. Johnson scored yet another touchdown in the final seconds of the half, set up by a few big receptions for Lucas Wodtke after a block by Dylan Gilles helped end a Park drive early.

The first half, and entire game, saw a continuation of Johnson’s phenomenal season as a senior running back. He now has 34 touchdowns and 1863 yards in 2024, remaining one of the top running backs in the state both statistically and to the eye. As of Oct. 27, he was first on rushing touchdowns and second on yards in the state.

Senior running back Kevon Johnson told the Sun Post that the Falcons have remained focused on their goal, allowing the noise growing around the team and himself as motivation without becoming distraction.

“We have a goal as a team to make it to the bank after getting close for several years,” Johnson explained. “We feel like we can finally punch it in this year and get that bank status and awards that this school’s deserved for a long time. ... I’ve got a lot of people talking to me about the future and it’s motivation for me. I want to get out there as much as possible, perform every game, so that schools are ready to reach out to me and find the right school for me.”

The fun continued in the second half. A prolonged slug eventually found Johnson running in his fifth touchdown of the day, setting up a 49-7 lead that felt inescapable for Park. The Orioles did try, scoring a safety and a last minute touchdown to close the gap to 49-15, but the damage was done.

Defensive coordinator Alex Leitch has had a strong impact in his first season with Armstrong and told the Sun Post that it’s been a great journey so far following the win over St. Louis Park.

“It felt like a long shot at first when I decided to try and come here,” Leitch said. “I didn’t have a direction connection with [Jack Negen] or the program, but I was looking for a community that would accept me. Ended up taking some guys out to get some food and get to know one another and we ended up being able to steamroll into the season, develop that trust. We’ve got great coaches and great kids.”

Leitch added that the Falcons will need to clean up and focus on the basics in their upcoming section championship game against their Robbinsdale rivals at Cooper.

“For next week it’s going to about taking it one play at a time as always,” he said. “Some of the situations of one guy missing their opportunity to do their job was the difference today. We’ll try and clear that stuff up. We were able to have a lot of guys play today and they’re all charged up to go.”

Franke ended the day with two passing touchdowns, throwing for 226 yards from 13 attempts on Saturday. Johnson had five touchdowns and 196 rushing, while Kuempel led on receiving with 100 yards and one touchdown.

Ray Ayala led on overall tackles with seven while Hetteen added six and both Oseth and Jackson Wylie had five each.

Armstrong will now play Cooper in the Battle of the Robbinsdale Birds in the Section 5AAAAA championship game, played at Armstrong Friday, Nov. 1.