The Rematch is set.
The Minnesota Sting will play for the Midwest Premier Football League title for the second straight year against the Brainerd Lumberjacks.
The Sting advanced to the championship game on Saturday, July 20, on their home turf - the Perch at East Ridge High School - where they beat the West Central Broncos 38-6.
Two 14-point quarters bookended a three-point second quarter and a seven-point third quarter for the Sting. The Broncos' only points came in the third quarter.
Quarterback Tim Bona had a stellar game for the Sting, passing for 318 yards for four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Wide receiver Damien Lolar was the recipient of two Bona touchdown passes. He was one of two Sting players to amass triple digits in receiving: Lolar caught four passes for 102 yards, while Jauhem Byrd caught five passes for 150 yards and a touchdown. Rounding out the Sting receiving corps was Josh Swift, who hauled in four catches for 46 yards and a touchdown.
Running back Darren Edwards led the Sting rushing attack with 105 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown. Chris Momoh rushed for 29 yards on the day, while Bona contributed 12 rushing yards on two carries.
The Sting defense was stingy against the Broncos, who play out of New London, Minn.
"We were kind of prepared for what they were going to do," said Sting defensive coordinator and assistant head coach Shawn Anderson.
The Broncos' offense is predicated on the run, he said, so the Sting put an extra player in the box, suffocating West Central's inside rushing attack.
Linebacker Derrick Brooks led the Sting in tackles with 11, while fellow linebacker Ross Seiffert, a Hudson resident, recorded nine tackles. Park alum Brandon Johnson, a defensive lineman, contributed two tackles in the game.
The Sting made two sacks in the game - one by linebacker Chueye Kong, the other by linebacker/defensive lineman Cortney Ferrell. Defensive back Derric Outlaw recorded a forced fumble and the only interception of the game.
Seiffert, who also doubles as the Sting's kicker, connected on one of two field goal attempts and drilled all five extra point attempts.
The Sting now prepare for the Lumberjacks, a familiar opponent. The Lumberjacks fell to the Sting 27-0 in last year's championship game.
"We'll have our hands full with them," Anderson said.
The game kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday at East Ridge High School.
