3 days Ago By Jason Feldman
KASSON, Minn. — It’s been three years, but Ryder Stern still remembers the mixed feelings. He remembers them because, well, they don’t get much more mixed than what he felt on Nov.
27, 2021. ADVERTISEMENT Stern, a freshman at the time, stood on the sideline at U.S.
Bank Stadium, an injury keeping him off the field as his LeRoy-Ostrander Cardinals blew out Fertile-Beltrami to win the program’s first football state championship. “I didn’t get to play in the championship and that really got me going,” Stern said. “That was a feeling that I’ll never forget.
I hated it. I hated just sitting there watching, knowing I wasn’t going to be able to be out there making plays.” Three years later, Stern is getting a second chance.
Friday night, he caught two passes — both going for touchdowns — to help the LeRoy-Ostrander/Lyle-Pacelli Cardinals blow out Renville County West 50-0 in a 9-Player football state quarterfinal game at KMTelecom Stadium. Stern and the Cardinals are going back to The Bank. Their opponent in a state semifinal game at 4 p.
m. Thursday, Nov. 14? None other than Fertile-Beltrami.
“A lot of us, our guys, ever since we were little, like fourth or fifth grade, we’ve talked about not just playing for a championship, but going to state in general, and playing at U.S. Bank Stadium,” Stern said.
“That’s been one of our big dreams since we were little. It means so much, obviously, with all the work we’ve put in over time and now it’s showing up. ADVERTISEMENT “We’ll be there on Thursday.
” The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Stern will be a massive part of the game plan this time against fellow unbeaten and No. 3-ranked Fertile-Beltrami (11-0). “Man, he’s one of the greatest kids you could ever coach,” L-O/L-P head coach Trevor Carrier said.
“He’d be a great fit in anyone’s locker room. His selflessness — he’s never selfish. He doesn’t care what he’s asked to do.
He blocks hard all game long, so it’s great to sneak him the ball when we can. ..
. He’s a great player and such a phenomenal kid, on and off the field.” Now a senior whose play and leadership is relied upon on both sides of the ball, Stern rarely — if ever — leaves the field.
On offense, he’s a sure-handed tight end whose blocking skills essentially make him an extra lineman in the Cardinals’ potent rushing attack. On defense, he’s one of the team’s best tacklers and run stuffers; he has more than 130 tackles and 13 sacks this season. He also punts and kicks PATs for the Cardinals.
“He’s a really aggressive player,” Carrier said. “His dad (Kyle) is our defensive coordinator, and Ryder does such a great job of getting in the film room and studying video. Especially in high school, some people say they do it, but he’s a real student of the game.
He has a pretty good idea on tendencies and how he wants to play things. “He has a very good IQ and with his size, the body he has, that’s a pretty good fit.” The responsibility of being a senior leader isn’t a role that Stern takes lightly.
ADVERTISEMENT “For all of us seniors, (the coaches) ask a huge role out of all of us,” Stern said. “They ask us all to be leaders and just be great people on and off the field, and try to set examples for all these younger guys, show them the way to get here. That way, next year they’re going to want to come back and they’re going to want to be even greater.
” Thursday’s game won’t be Stern’s first time playing in U.S. Bank Stadium; he was on the field in the 2021 semifinals when the Cardinals blew out Kittson Co.
Central 49-0. But, back then he played a lot of special teams and spotted in on offense and defense when the game situation allowed. This fall, he’s as vital to the Cardinals’ success as just about anyone.
“We had a great team (in 2021), no doubt,” Carrier said, “but now these kids are grown and they have the spotlight on them. That’s what every kid looks forward to — Thanksgiving time and, when they’re outside throwing the ball around with their moms and dads and family members, this is what they look forward to.”.
