Blooming Prairie, Hayfield football co-op a smashing success in Year 1

Nov. 6—It was to the point last year where both the Blooming Prairie and Hayfield football teams were facing the same quandary: Would either of them have enough healthy bodies to complete their seasons? They both made it through, but just barely. And both struggled in the win-loss department, Blooming Prairie going 2-7, Hayfield 1-8. The number of players going out for football had gradually dwindled at both places, something of a national trend. As Blooming Prairie coach Chad Gimbel and Hayfield coach Derrick Thompson did some head counting at their respective football camps this summer, this season looked like it was going to bring more of the same. Both coaches worried about injuries, not wanting to have to call on not-physically-ready-to-go freshmen and sophomores to make it through the year at the varsity level. Blooming Prairie had 28 players come out for the team this year, Hayfield 30. The towns are separated by just 11 miles. The 56-year-old Gimbel and 41-year-old Thompson know each other well, Thompson a former player of Gimbel's and a 2004 Blooming Prairie graduate. The two got to thinking: What if they merged into one team? That would take care of much of the risk taking that comes with playing younger players. It could even produce a winner, something that Blooming Prairie had done a lot of under Gimbel. The 31st-year coach's record with the Blossoms is a gaudy 221-85, they've qualified for state six times and won a state championship in 2019. And Hayfield? In his four seasons as Hayfield's coach, Thompson's teams went a cumulative 6-30, including 1-8 last year. The last time the Vikings finished above .500 was in 2001. They last went to a state tournament in 1978. So combining the two schools for football, it made complete sense for both. And they do share in everything. Half of the practices are at Blooming Prairie, half of them at Hayfield. They also split the numbers of games at each site. Before each game, the players go out to eat together, usually at Pizza Ranch in Austin. All of it has paid off. The co-op of Blooming Prairie and Hayfield is 7-3 this season and will face off with No. 5 Class 2A ranked Waterville-Elysian-Morristown at 7 p.m. today in the Section 2, Class 2A championship, the winner advancing to state. It will be the second time the teams will meet this season. W-E-M handed the Blossoms one of their three losses this season, back on Oct. 9, winning 34-15. To say that this has been a seamless joining of forces would not be an exaggeration. It started with a cookout with both teams joining each other in late July. That marked the beginning of a bonding that has never let up. "It has been awesome," said Blossoms player Eliot Gimbel, son of the coach and a Blooming Prairie senior. "The Hayfield kids, you can just see their energy and how excited those players are. It's been great for the players and the town." It's been just as great for Blooming Prairie, which has owned a forever proud football program that suddenly hit hard times last year and didn't like it much. But this has been about more than winning. It has also been about making relationships. "There have been a lot of new friendships that have developed from this," said Chad Gimbel, who acts as co-head coach with Thompson, the two sharing duties and insights. "And it's been great to meet other coaches and get other perspectives. Derrick, he does a really good job of looking at the details and breaking down film. Plus, he is very good with the kids and keeping them motivated." The motivation aspect hasn't been too difficult this year. Both sides were aching to get past what happened to them respectively last year. Winning is a lot more fun than losing. "It really has been fun," said Blooming Prairie/Hayfield quarterback Chase Escamilla, a Hayfield senior who has passed for 1,800 yards and rushed for 600. "It really is a lot more fun winning more games. I never thought I'd be here, but here we are." Thompson said he has appreciated the taste of winning and also joining forces with his old coach, Gimbel. Things have been seamless with them, too. They each have their distinct roles. In sharing duties, they say not a stitch of awkwardness has come with it. Just a whole lot of happiness going on between them, this team and both towns. They were ready for this. "To get to the section championship game — I knew the combination of our teams would bring success," Thompson said. "But I was not thinking it would get to this level. Now, I'd like to make this the standard. We'd like to build to that."