Saw Jon Bakken the other day, and bumping into the jovial Waterville-Elysian-Morristown football coach always brings back memories of Prep Bowl.

Prep Bowl is one of the great events on the high-school sports calendar, almost always providing memorable games.

There was Bakken’s team in 1997 that played Pelican Rapids. After a half of watching his team get thoroughly dominated, Bakken tried to play keep-away in the second half. The Bucs didn’t punt, figuring every time Pelican Rapids got the ball, it was a touchdown, so he went for it on every fourth down. After touchdowns, he tried onside kicks.

WEM still came up short in that game, losing 34-32, but it might have been the greatest coaching job and team execution in Prep Bowl history.

In 2001, Mankato East seemed destined to win a state championship after placing third the season before. The Cougars won at St. Thomas Academy in the state quarterfinals, then dispatched Red Wing in the semifinals, going into the championship game undefeated against Detroit Lakes.

Quarterback Craig Dahl was nearly unstoppable, rushing for four touchdowns. But the game remained close late and East faced a fourth-and-2 with about two minutes to play. Detroit Lakes would then stuff the run on fourth down and take over possession.

Soon, Detroit Lakes was in range for a game-winning, 22-yard field goal with four seconds remaining that kept East from that elusive state championship.

On Saturday, when most high school and college football teams have packed away the gear, Mankato West will play for its third state championship in the last 10 seasons.

The 1999 championship was exciting because it was so unexpected. West had not seen much success previously in football, and that year’s team started the season by losing four of their first six games. But the offensive combination of quarterback Jay Nessler, running back Chris Boyer and receiver Chuck Wiest was potent and the defense was stout, led by linebacker Eric Stenzel, pushing the Scarlets to the championship.

In 2002, there was still some naivety to the program. The victory in 1999 was fresh, but championship are tough to come by. The Scarlets seemed to improve with nearly every game that season, and by the time they reached the state semifinals, they were playing well.

But running back Nick Wilson, who led West in both rushing and receiving, broke his ankle in the first quarter of the semifinal game, putting the Scarlets’ chances in jeopardy. However, Jordan Stolp, Jeremy Lund and Drew Hood picked up the slack offensively to get the Scarlets to the finals.

The championship game against Mahtomedi was a rumble, as both defenses dominated, but Nick Jost’s interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter provided security for a 17-7 victory, which in a way proved that the 1999 championship wasn’t a fluke.

This team might be the best of all, with quarterback Ray Teachout handing off to Paul Berndt or thrwoing to the Richter brothers on offense, Ben Dobson, Alex Dahlke and Drew Weber leading an underrated defense and Colby Straka and Brandon Ross anchoring both lines. West has made it look easy all season, in winning 12 of 13 games.

West has already beaten Northfield 35-13 in the first game of the season so no doubt, fans think this game against Northfield will have a similar result. However, clichés exist for a reason, so beating a team twice in the same season must be tougher than it seems.

If West wins, you can make an argument that this is the best team ever to come out of Mankato. The game will be memorable for the players, but ask the East kids from that 2001 team or WEM’s 1997 squad: when you’re this close, finishing second is tough.