10/24/2026
Varsity Football - Andover vs. Blaine
Last night, the Huskies visited their neighbors to the east for the regular season finale against the Blaine Bengals. What a game it was!
The teams would exchange touchdowns in the first half, which saw exciting/explosive plays, and even a bit of trickery by Blaine on a 4th and goal play from the 1 yard line on their opening drive. The teams entered halftime locked up, 14-14.
The middle of the second quarter through the latter part of the third quarter saw exceptional defensive play on both sides, with teams exchanging punts in a field position battle for several possessions in a row.
Blaine would find the endzone towards the end of the third quarter, and early-ish in the fourth quarter on passing connections of 25 yards and 83 yards from Gavin Olson to Elijah Johnston. Trailing 28-14 in the 4th quarter, the Huskies would make it 28-21 on an outstanding catch from Michael Fields. All 3 Huskies touchdown catches were tightly contested, highlight reel catches.
The Huskies would subsequently make a stop on defense to get the ball back, but a booming Bengal punt forced the Huskies to start from their own 4 yard line with 2 minutes remaining. After a couple first downs, the game was sealed on an interception at midfield by Blaine's Peyton Lizakowski with 45 seconds left.
Both teams enter the playoffs next week, and await the bracket release. Huskies will be facing either Maple Grove, White Bear Lake, or Prior Lake on the road as a #5 seed. The Blaine Bengals will enter as a #2 seed, and will face either Roseville, Farmington, or Edina. Brackets will be released tomorrow morning. Best of luck to both squads moving forward!
Prints, digital downloads, and additional images from this game available at https://davemadsenpics.smugmug.com/Football/High-School-Football/2026-Season/Varsity/Andover-vs-Blaine
