HARMONY, Minn. (KTTC) – Kane Larson used to look up to the great Fillmore Central football players.
“I was a manager from third to sixth grade,” Larson said. “Watching guys like Brady Ristau growing up, I wanted to be like him when I was growing up. All the good guys when I was a manager, I wanted to be like.”
Now, he’s one of them. With two touchdowns on Friday, he totaled 21 on the year — a single season record for the Falcons.
“I take a lot of pride, but I want to give a lot of the pride to the offensive line obviously,” Larson said. “Without them, the job doesn’t get done. They make it all possible, I kind of just run behind them. So it’s pretty easy.”
Running behind his line to the tune of 36 career touchdowns — another school record. It’s a milestone he’s earned.
“I think if you watched Kane throughout the week, and you watch how much time he studies film and he studies his opponents and how much time he puts in the weight room, the film room… he’s like having another coach on the field,” head coach Chris Mensink said. “He’s a great kid.”
Effort is a trademark of Larson’s character, and it’s driven by competition.
“I hate losing more than I like winning,” Larson said. “I think using pressure as a privilege and helping that push you… I just love winning.”
Larson knows a thing or two about winning. He’s the reigning Class A 172-pound state wrestling champion. The skills on the mat translate to the field.
“Wrestling really helps you just hold yourself accountable and realize it’s on you,” Larson said. “Holding yourself accountable on the football field makes it easier for the other ten guys to do their job.”
It turns out winning translates as well. Fillmore Central is 8-0 entering the postseason. With a run first identity, Larson has played his part.
“When you’re going to tackle him, you’re going to know you tackled him,” Mensink said. “Kane is a physical runner. He’s a kid that you can give the ball to 30 times a game. You’ll never know if he was hurting or not hurting, he’s going to give you the same effort.”
Running like the players he used to look up to. And now with his name etched in school history, he hopes he can be to others what those players were to him.
“At halftime when all the little kids come up and give us high fives, it really just shows that I’m giving them some sort of hope and they hopefully want to be me one day,” he said.
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