By TIM LIEGHTON
November 1, 2011

Mounds View's Quinn Madsen was certain his football career was over late Saturday night.

The senior wide receiver, who said he doesn't plan to play in college, was moments from stepping away from the game. But in doing so, he was going to bring with him not only a painful loss but also the sour taste of committing a personal foul in the waning moments of his final season.

An opportunity for redemption found its way to his gifted hands, and he wasn't about to fumble it away.

Madsen ran the wrong route but adjusted and caught a 5-yard touchdown pass on a high fade pattern from Mike Kerfeld with no time remaining to give the Mustangs a stunning 19-18 victory over Still-water in a Section 2AAAAA semi-final game at Mounds View.

The victory, which seemed unlikely 72 yards and 59 seconds earlier, propelled the second-seeded Mustangs (9-1) into the section championship game Friday at Totino-Grace (9-1).

"Honestly, I was teared up because I thought my football was all over,'' said Madsen, a 6-foot-2, 168-pounder. "When we had another shot at it, I knew I had a chance to make things up to my teammates. I had to make some plays.''

In the seven-play, 72-yard drive, Madsen caught four passes for 40 yards. His final reception could go down in Mounds View football lore for him not only adjusting after running the wrong pattern, but also for the way he caught the floating pass and secured it in the back left corner of the end zone. The miracle finish set off a frenzy of thousands of Mounds View students who flooded the field in celebration.

"I have complete faith in my guys to come through at gut-check time," Kerfeld said. "I was confident on that last play that we were going to pull this thing out."

Good fortune played a role, too.

In the anxious moments of a season slipping away, Mounds View's comeback hopes soared when junior running back Austin Smestad caught a deflected pass intended for Mad-sen for a 24-yard gain to gave the Mustangs the ball at the 5 with 6.1 seconds left. Kerfeld had to spike the ball on the next play before tossing the winner.

"Good things can happen when you have five receivers running 'go' routes," Mustangs coach Jim Galvin said. "I certainly didn't envision this happening. I was preparing to congratulate (Stillwater coach) Beau LaBore on a great game. Their defense played the heck out of us. But our guys, they kept their composure and got the job done."

It was a stunning reversal of fortune for Stillwater (7-3). Just moments earlier, the Ponies appeared on their way to the section final after Nick Anderson ran 51 yards for a touchdown with 1:08 remaining in regulation, but the play was nullified by a penalty.

With just more than two minutes remaining, Stillwater had gained possession when defensive back Charlie Register intercepted Kerfeld. On that drive, a 21-yard pass from Kerfeld to Madsen was wiped out after Madsen shoved Register to draw a 15-yard personal-foul penalty.

"The guy grabbed me by the neck, and I just lost it," Madsen said. "I couldn't help it."

Said Kerfeld: "I got in (Madsen's) head after that and told him we'd get it back. I told him to get it out of his mind because we needed him to stay focused."

Stillwater quarterback Nate Ricci rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns, including a 1-yard run with 4:20 left in regulation.

"Our guys played their tails off," LaBore said. "They played as hard as they could and did some great things on the field. Things didn't work out the way we wanted it, but they worked their butts off to the bitter end. Their effort on the field far outweighs the numbers on the scoreboard."