Prep Bowl III and the Ponies were happy to be back for more. We scripted our first 20 plays for this state championship game. On the third play of the first series, starting quarterback Greg Brown was injured. Coach Thole rushed onto the field to assess the damage. When he came to the sideline, I asked, “How bad is it?” He proceeded to tear up my script. All I could say was, “That bad, eh?” This set the stage for our attack for the rest of the game. All-state running back, Aaron Oden, now had to move to quarterback and junior Paul Gibson came off the bench to take his place in the backfield with running mate Ken Dahlin. We ran the veer along the dive left and dive right all night. Lou Holtz, doing the play-by-play, stated that the Ponies were killing the Braves “by inches!” Credit to the offensive line, anchored by center Dennis Weimann and tackle Mike Schmitt in opening the running lanes for our backs. Running back Gibson set a Prep Bowl record with 32 carries that night. The defense, led by Brent Larson and Jim Nelson, was able to stem the potent Burnsville attack. Jack “the Blade” Kindseth made the defensive play of the game when he scooped up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown on the game’s first series. He dropped and picked it up about three times on his way to the end zone. It looked like he was dribbling a basketball. Jim Schoenecker ran 60 yards with a fake punt, called the “Bummer-ooskie,” that set up a touchdown. Punter Chris Gibson had a crucial 63 yard punt that gave us great field position. We scored late in the game on, guess what? Dive Right! Our third State Championship was ours - everyone was happy - let’s go home!