ZUMBROTA — Nearly 30 years ago to the day, Josh Boraas quarterbacked Zumbrota-Mazeppa to the state tournament.

According to head coach Darin Raasch, one of the last sentences of a news article that day in 1996 provided a prophecy that now gives the longtime coach goosebumps.

"The last sentence in the article said, 'maybe several years down the road another Boraas will lead into the section finals, and they'll say he played like his old man,'" Raasch said. "You talk about spooky stuff."

On this Halloween afternoon, Josh's son Hadyn has made that prediction ring true, willing the Cougars with a gritty effort that certainly made his old man proud on Saturday.

Hadyn Boraas accounted for all four of Z-M's touchdowns, including two fourth-quarter rushing TDs as the No. 2-seeded Cougars knocked off No. 3 Winona Cotter 30-14 in a Section 1, Class 3A semifinal at Zumbrota-Mazeppa High School.

The Cougars (9-1) now head to their first section championship game since 2016, where they will take on top-seeded Pine Island at 7 p.m. on Friday.

"It's a really good feeling," Boraas said. "The guys put in so much work in the offseason and in the season. For it to pay off like this, you couldn't ask for a better outcome."

Boraas showed a grit and toughness few possess in this life.

The 6-foot-3, 211-pound battering ram delivered blow after blow to a tough Cotter defense. There were times when he stayed down an extra second or two as the hits started to stack up. But each and every time, he got right back up.

"He gets up smiling," senior receiver Ryan Tesmer said. "Normally when guys get hurt, they don't get up smiling."

Perhaps that's because Boraas was built for this moment. Built to live up to that prediction of 30 years ago, and his teammates follow suit.

"He's a special high school football player," Raasch said. "He's a special kid. ... When you see a guy take that kind of beating on two sides of the football, selling out. How can you not rally around that?"

Boraas got the Cougars on the board with a 12-yard TD run towards the end of the first quarter. He then completed the first of his three 2-point conversion passes to Chase Dorhn to make it 8-0 Z-M.

Z-M's next offensive series, he found a wide-open Tesmer for a 51-yard bomb to put the Cougars up 14-0.

Tesmer, too, put on an inspiring effort on Saturday.

He entered his senior season as one of the top wide receiver threats in southeastern Minnesota, but a Grade 2 hamstring tear suffered on Sept. 25 against Plainview-Elgin-Millville has limited him greatly. Still, he has tried to play through it. When not in the game, he can be seen with a jacket or a heat pad wrapped around his leg to keep his hamstring loose.

"It's been difficult, but I have had a great group behind me, pushing me to go through it," Tesmer said. "I have a great family, great teammates, great coaches. ... It's great to come back from injury and do something."

He and Boraas weren't the only ones banged up for Z-M. Several players were fighting through various ailments on Saturday.

"We got guys with hamstrings, with bad groins, with shoulders, guys that are sick," Raasch said. "I told them in the locker room, 'I know you're hurt, I know you're tired and I'm aware that we have a lot of warriors in here.' Now we're not advocating that kids play hurt, but they tap an energy source that is amazing and their ability to persevere is inspiring."

That perseverance was in full swing Saturday.

Z-M looked poised to take a 21-0 lead into the half, but an 80-yard rushing TD from Tate Olson was called back due to a holding penalty.

Cotter (7-3) went on to dominate the third quarter.

Rawson Sullivan caught a 24-yard TD pass and then gave the ball back to his offense when he intercepted a Boraas pass on the ensuing Z-M drive. Sullivan then made it 14-14 with a 9-yard touchdown run. Just like that, Cotter had all the momentum as the tied game headed into the fourth quarter.

Yet, the Cougars never flinched.

"Everybody was calm," Boraas said. "Everybody stayed calm and collected. We knew there was a lot of football left to be played."

Boraas and company had the answer.

Cooper Meyers made a great one-handed grab on third-and-long to put the Cougars at the Cotter 6-yard line. Boraas punched it in on the next play, running through a pair of Cotter defenders and a facemask penalty to find the end zone.

"That was something I couldn't believe," Boraas said of his TD run. "Once I crossed that goal line, it was an oh geez moment."

The Z-M defense answered the call, forcing a Cotter punt on the following drive with just over 6 minutes left. The Z-M defense was stout, holding the physical Ramblers to under 200 total yards of offense and forcing a pair of turnovers.

Coach Raasch gave a shoutout to linebacker Dohrn, who continually took on pulling Cotter linemen play after play. He, Leo Beyers, Olson and Boraas were great defensively.

"We have so many special players," Raasch said. "... The job our coordinators have done this year is absolutely second to none."

Getting the ball back, Boraas and the Z-M offense iced it with Boraas collecting his third rushing touchdown on a 15-yard run on third-and-7 with 1:59 left. Boraas finished with 49 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 17 carries. He completed 12 of 17 passes for 197 yards and a TD.

"He's a warrior," Raasch said. "We have a lot of Warriors."

Saturday afternoon's effort was a long time coming for the Cougars.

From 2018-2023, the Cougars won just nine total games. Those days are long gone, and now Z-M is one away from its first state trip since 1996. But tonight, they are going to enjoy this one.

"It's a quick turnaround," Raasch said. "But we've gone through too many years of one win, two wins, to not enjoy wins. We have to take a second to breathe and look at what we've done. We're going to wake up tomorrow and it's going to be back to the grind, and it's all Pine Island."

The defending Section 1-3A champion and top-seeded Panthers (8-1) used a 28-point third quarter to beat La Crescent-Hokah in the other semifinal on Saturday. Pine Island defeated Z-M 20-10 on Sept. 17 — the Cougars' only loss this season.

Just seven miles apart, the two schools know each other well, co-oping in several sports. In other words, get your popcorn ready.

"It'll be an extremely good football game," Raasch said.

No. 2 Zumbrota-Mazeppa 30, No. 3 Winona Cotter 14

WC 0-0-14-0 — 14

ZM 8-6-0-16 — 30

Scoring summary

First quarter

ZM — Hadyn Boraas 12 run (Chase Dorhn pass from Boraas) 0:09

Second quarter

ZM — Ryan Tesmer 51 pass from Boraas (pass failed)

Third quarter

WC — Rawson Sullivan 24 pass from Macalister Nisbit (Nisbit kick) 6:44

WC — Sullivan 9 run (Nisbit kick) 1:16

Fourth quarter

ZM — Boraas 6 run (Dorhn pass from Boraas) 10:08

ZM — Boraas 15 run (Cam Bredehoft pass from Boraas) 1:59