FOLEY, Minn. — As Foley junior ATH Von Murphy took a screen pass with just over two minutes left in the game, he quickly evaded the initial line of defense and found an open seam to burst through. With each yard he gained, the possibility of a victory became tangible, and excitement built throughout the stadium until Murphy crossed the goal line 55 yards later, sending the crowd into jubilation.
Goes to show that some wins just mean a little bit more. This was the first time in 13 years that Foley beat Albany, holding on to a 22-19 win after senior ATH Brody Kipka had the game-winning pass break-up on the ensuing defensive drive for Foley.
With the victory, Foley secures second place in the Mid West Central-White and will have home field advantage to start sectionals. The Falcons also finish with a 6-2 regular season record, their best since 2013.
“Albany is a heck of a team,” head coach Dave Dahlstrom said. “We knew we had to play physical the entire game. It was really important to get a good start; we jumped on them [early] and our defense finished it. We talked about having playoff mentality tonight, and I thought our guys did that.”
That playoff mentality for Foley relies on physicality. It is what Dahlstrom and his staff have been preaching all week heading into the match-up.
More: Sartell sweeps Section 8AA, returns to state soccer tournaments
More: VOTE | St. Cloud Times Athlete of The Week, Oct. 12-18
What followed was an aggressive Falcon squad that came out flying around on their homefield, protecting it on senior night and heading into sectional play with an immense amount of confidence.
“Our whole thing is getting better each week,” Dahlstrom said. “Tonight was a test. Have we gotten better each week when you match up with a team like [Albany] down in the [last week] of the season? I feel like that our guys have been coming in every day, getting better and this was a result of working hard. We’ve gotten better as the season has progressed, which is what you want to do as you get into the playoffs.”
Junior running back Jacob DeMarais had two touchdowns in the effort, including a 70-yard score on the opening drive of the game to strike first on the scoreboard. Albany's Dylan Hoffarth had two scores in a losing effort.
“This win means a lot for the section,” DeMarais said. “We were saying it was going to be a dogfight, which it really was. After I scored the first one, Adversity is the biggest thing; you can’t just give up when you’re ahead because they can come back just like that. But we have that adversity so we were able to fight back and win.”
While DeMarais was the feature back tonight, the Falcons have a trio of ball carriers able to be called upon on any given day.
Between DeMarais, Kipka and junior Levi Shaw, all three take advantage of their touches and will continue to be crucial to Foley’s game plan moving forward towards sectionals.
“They’re all going to have their chance for a moment,” Dahlstrom said. “All three of those guys have been doing a great job for us. They’re going to be key for us because we got to be able to score, and we got to move the ball.”
More: Apollo hoops star De'Anthony Sells commits to St. Cloud State, hopes to leave legacy
More: How William Ahlrik's pride for faceoffs has boosted St. Cloud State hockey
Foley and the rest of the area schools will learn their sectional opponents by the end of the week, but in the meantime, the Falcons will be sure to enjoy this victory as their regular season accomplishments go out the window and playoff football soon begins.
“You win or go home,” Dahlstrom said. “We got to keep working because we want to keep playing. If we stay with it and get better, the results will happen.”
You can reach St. Cloud Times sports reporter David Jacobs and send story ideas and tips to djacobs@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @davidrjacobs10, and on Instagram @ByDavidJacobs.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Foley leans on Jacob DeMarais, beats Albany for first time since 2013