It was another week of football for the Chaska Hawks and second trip to Rochester for a game.
The weather was more seasonal for the Hawks’ matchup with Rochester Century (1-0). Being Sept. 11 and the 25th anniversary of that fateful day, the school held a moving and respectful tribute, with both teams and first responders from Rochester pausing to remember.
Rochester took the opening kickoff and met the Chaska defense, which forced a three-and-out. So far in 2026, Century has tended to lean on its passing game, and that was evident in the first quarter as the Panthers put together a number of plays to move the ball. At one point, Rochester had gotten the ball to Chaska’s 12-yard line, only to fumble and lose possession.
On the next series following the fumble, Chaska’s Justin Greathouse, a junior, hit junior Luke Raser, who then ran for an 86-yard touchdown with 4:52 left in the first quarter, giving Chaska a 7-0 lead.
The Rochester offense seemed willing to take risks and try plays designed to outsmart the Chaska defense. The Chaska defense was simply too disciplined and stout, shutting down that type of offensive approach.
Throughout the game, Rochester used a “look-to-me” tactic when lining up for plays. The offensive unit would line up at the line of scrimmage, see how the defense aligned, make adjustments, and then get set in position. Chaska figured this out quickly, and the coaches guided the team effectively in how to “re-adjust” and confound the tactic.
As the sun set and the game moved into the second quarter, the wind picked up significantly, blowing from the south end of the field. Both teams’ punters took advantage of the conditions, and the teams remained deep in their own territory for most of the second quarter.
That lasted until 8:48 remained in the quarter, when a Greathouse run broke through the Panthers’ defense for a 56-yard touchdown, giving Chaska a 14-0 lead at the half.
Senior Max Epple returned the second-half kickoff to the Rochester 44-yard line for excellent field position to start the half, but things did not pan out for significant yardage. After some back-and-forth play in the third quarter, Century got on the scoreboard at 6:13 of the third quarter on a seven-yard pass, making the score 14-7.
The fourth quarter saw both teams strive for yards while both defenses buckled down.
Rochester took possession with about 6:00 left in the game at its own 35-yard line. The Panthers slowly marched down the field. With 1:42 left in the game, facing fourth down and 14 yards to go from the 18-yard line, they went for the end zone. In what was the play of the game, the Chaska safeties knocked down the pass, killing the drive and sealing the win.
Rochester led in rushing with 134 yards on 27 attempts. Chaska had 113 yards on 24 attempts. Greathouse led the team with 69 yards on eight attempts.
Chaska led the passing game with 112 yards, with Luke Raser’s 86-yard touchdown reception leading the team. Rochester had 84 yards receiving on seven receptions.
The combination of senior Jacob Bellmont and sophomore Sire Ulmer led the team defensively with three individual tackles and an impressive seven team tackles each. Seven Hawks had two individual tackles. Senior Leonard Sanders and senior Carter Powers contributed six team tackles each.
Chaska Coach Bryan Dahl expressed appreciation for the team’s effort and the win.
“I’m really proud of how the team stepped up and made two long road trips in two weeks,” he said. “We hung in there tonight against a good team. I’m happy to get the win. We have some things to clean up, and we’ll work on those things to get even better.”
In other Northstar Gold South games on Friday, Chanhassen defeated Burnsville 28-14, Waconia defeated Apple Valley 28-7, Mankato West defeated Owatonna 38-14 and Mankato East outscored Rochester John Marshall 37-14.
Chanhassen and Mankato East are 1-1, while the others are 2-0 at this point in the season.
Chaska will have its home opener this Friday, Sept. 18, against Hastings (2-0) at 7 p.m.
