Blooming Prairie v BOLD 2019 Prep Bowl Championship Game [LISTEN]

Blooming Prairie football captured its first state title Friday, November 29 with a dominating 41-15 victory over BOLD in the Class A Prep Bowl at US Bank Stadium. Listen below to the radio coverage of the game as broadcast by Jason Iacovino and Brennen Toquam of Kat Kountry 105/Owatonna and the Townsquare Media Southeast Minnesota Sports Network.

Pregame:

Blooming Prairie v BOLD:

Postgame:

The Awesome Blossom squad is also a Cash Wise Foods Team of the Week recipient in closing out a perfect season with a 13-0 record. Cash Wise Foods of Owatonna and Waseca will donate a $50 gift card to a charity in the district of the winning team.

This year marked Blooming Prairie's ninth state tournament appearance and first trip to the Prep Bowl. BP lost to BOLD in the 2018 semifinals.

Coach Chad Gimbel talked all season about the veteran leadership and ability of the offensive and defensive lines. Each was on display in the title game. On offense, the line set the stage for a big game through the air, capped by a circus catch in the end zone that landed on ESPN's Top Ten list. Defensively, the line put tremendous pressure on the BOLD signal-caller.

On Saturday's AM 1390 KRFO Coaches Show, Gimbel said, "It's amazing for the kids and the community and coaching staff. Long-time coming but well deserved for everybody."

He also spoke of the way the team dedicated itself toward reaching this goal, "That's what we always tell the kids, 'Actions speak louder than words.' And these kids talked about it last year. But they didn't just talk about it. They did it. And they motivated themselves. Better than the coach telling them they need to do this. They did it themselves. They set out to get it done and they did."

Gimbel said the community support has been staggering, "It's unbelievable, the support this community has for Blooming Prairie football. That's one of the things I mentioned during our 'Welcome Home.' We outnumbered the BOLD fans. There's a picture on social media showing the Blooming Prairie crowd and showing the BOLD crowd. I'm sure it was two-and-a-half-to-one. And that's quite the compliment to our fan base."

"The kids can feel it and they can feel the love. It was so loud down on the football field. It helped motivate them. I can't say 'Thanks' enough to everybody."