Caledonia gets chance to three-peat

Caledonia will play for a third straight MSHSL Class 2A state championship. The Warriors punched their ticket to the 2012 title game with a 26-24 victory over BOLD. With the win, Caledonia is now 12-0 on the season.

There have been two consistent keys to Caledonia's success this season. Their defense has held opponents to less then a touchdown per game. And the running game averages over 250-yards per contest.

Neither played a dominating factor in the state semifinal. BOLD's 24-points were the most allowed in a game this year by Caledonia. And the Warriors ended the game with 78-yards rushing.

Caledonia just made the most of their opportunities. They broke a 7-7 tie in the 3rd quarter when Levi Schmitz blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the endzone.

Then in the 4th quarter with a 20-17 lead, Jacob Swindell picked off a pass deep in BOLD territory which set up an Alex Varney touchdown run.

Varney was also close to flawless when it came to throwing the football. He completed 7 of his 11 attempts for one touchdown on a 46 yard pass to Schmitz. Another Schmitz grab got the Warriors to the one yard line setting up a Ryan Pitts touchdown run.

Caledonia moves on to the championship game to face Moose Lake/Willow River, a rematch of the 2011 state title contest. It will be played November, 23 at 1:00 p.m. at the Metrdome.