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They beat the undefeated Huskies, in Albany, for the conference title. (It would be 20 years before Paynesville beat Albany in football again.)

Eric Setterberg, a junior in 1979, led the Dogs' rushing attack, gaining 989 yards and scoring 18 touchdowns, as the Dogs went 10-1 in football.

They finished 10-1, losing only to Apple Valley in the Class A state semifinals 21-0.

Twenty-five years ago, in 1979, the Bulldogs football team completed its best season ever, winning ten straight games before falling in the state semifinals. That is the only state appearance for Paynesville in football.

"We just had a run of some real good athletes," said Virg Vagle, who coached that team during his 30 years as varsity football coach. "It wasn't just the seniors," he added. "It was the junior class, too."

The 1979 team, according to Vagle, was good in every facet of the game: strong offensive line and running game; fast, physical, stingy defense; capable of big plays (passes, reverses, returns, blocked kicks, etc.); good punting; best kicking in school history; and great depth.

For Homecoming, the Dogs started 19 players (only three started both ways, though more played both ways). This is nearly a full platoon - it takes 22 players to start both ways for a full platoon.

In contrast to most teams, who are trying to find enough varsity-caliber players to fill out the starting lineup, the Dogs in 1979 had so many good players that they could start them on one side of the ball only. "We had a problem that was nice to deal with: where to fit them in," said Vagle.

The 1979 Bulldogs football team - with 15 seniors and 13 juniors - ran onto the field for a home game.

Their depth meant that if someone got hurt or was tired, someone else could take their place, said Todd Fenske, a senior defensive end and punter on the 1979 team. "You really didn't miss a beat," he explained.

The Dogs had strong football teams in 1972 and 1974 but the 1979 team was the strongest team that he ever coached, said Vagle, who actually credits a game in 1978 with jumpstarting the 1979 season.

In 1978, the Dogs trailed Rocori - the 1977 Class A runner-up featuring star halfback Ricky BellÊ- 26-6 at halftime but outscored the Spartans 14-0 in the second half to lose 26-20.

The Dogs finished 7-2 in 1978 and lost several seniors, but they returned 15 seniors - Jake Beckius, Bryan Bork, Jim Dahl, Al Faber, Fenske, Tom Fangmeier, Rick Holthaus, Jim Hunter, Mark Knebel, Bob Loomis, Tom McCoy, Tim Manz, Duane Schmitt, Dan Schwandt, and Mike Thyen - and 13 juniors - Peter Beckius, Scott Deadrick, Dave Dilley, Bob Holper, Tom Johnson, Mark Lingl, Gary Ludwig, Roger Mackedanz, Mike Olson, Eric Setterberg, Doug Tigner, Greg Welle, and Mike Wittgraf - in 1979.

Wally Thyen remembers looking at the programs in 1978 and seeing all the strong senior classes and thinking: "We're really going to shine next year," he said. True, the Bulldogs were losing some good seniors, too, but all the good teams were losing more. "When the football season started (in 1979), I thought we would go undefeated because I just couldn't imagine who would beat us," he said.

The 1979 season started with five consecutive shutouts. The Dogs did not allow a touchdown until mid-October in a 21-6 victory at Melrose.

The cheerleaders, joined by other female fans, cheered for the football team from the sidelines.

By then, the Dogs had beaten EV-W 58-0, NL-S 42-0, Benson 3-0 (with Wittgraf kicking a school-record field goal, at the time, for the only points), Crosby-Ironton 28-0, and Rocori 19-0.

"It was exciting for the kids. When they got success, it snowballed," said Vagle.

"It just kind of all came together. It was a team effort. As the season went on, I think we surprised ourselves," agreed Setterberg, who led the team in rushing and started at linebacker. "The whole season was a lot of fun. Everybody was really committed and really worked hard."

Setterberg, who along with Fenske still lives in Paynesville, said the Dogs were not the biggest team, but they were very quick. "There were teams that were bigger than us - both heightwise and weightwise - but we got off the ball so fast," he explained.

Manz, who started at nosetackle, and Holthaus, who started at tackle and played on the defensive line, epitomized the Dogs' great line play, according to Vagle and Setterberg. Neither was particularly big, but both were strong, fast, and intense.

Manz, a fiery leader, set the tone for the defense, said Setterberg. For the year, the Dogs allowed only 69 points, just over six points per game. The Dogs held opposing offenses to 122 yards per game. The team's speed led to lots of gang tackling, said Fenske. And the Dogs allowed only 30 pass completions, compared with 27 sacks, with opponents netting only 30 yards passing for the season (319 total passing yards while losing 289 yards on sacks).

Holthaus - along with Dahl, Faber, Knebel, and Olson on the offensive line - paved the way for the Dogs' rushing attack with their quick feet and strength. The Dogs averaged 195 yards of rushing per game, with Setterberg leading the team with 989 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns.

But Vagle still remembers Holthaus' quiet leadership. When the coaches played some additional players on the defensive line, curtailing some of Holthaus's playing time on defense, Holthaus was all over the field the next week in practice, showing the coaches that he deserved to play both ways. Holthaus, said Vagle, "let his actions speak" for him.

As the Dogs' unbeaten streak grew - from one game to eight games - the goal was to win the conference, not to make state. In those days, only the conference champ advanced to state. Not all teams qualified for the playoffs like today.

Throughout the season, undefeated Paynesville and Albany appeared to be on a collision course, said Thyen, like two freight trains approaching, setting up a regular season finale between the two 8-0 teams in Albany.

The Dogs relied on quickness off the ball, stout defense, and great depth in 1979. They outscored their opponents 287-69.

The Dogs beat Albany 34-20 to win the Central Gopher Conference. Setterberg remembers fans rushing field at Albany after that game and he remembers seeing the line of cars driving in the St. Martin flats as fans and the team bus returned from Albany.

Having the football team go through the regular season undefeated and qualify for the state playoffs boosted school spirit and community pride, said Thyen, who remembers football players working at his grocery store on Saturday mornings. They didn't get much stocking done because all the customers wanted to talk about their latest victory. "There wasn't a lot of work done; there was just a lot of football talk about the night before," said Thyen with a laugh.

The Bulldogs had a bye in the first round of the state playoffs, and Montevideo upset top-rated Hutchinson 4-3, getting two safetys, including one on the last play of the game when a Hutch defender caught a Monte field goal attempt, stepped back into the end zone, and got tackled for the game-winning safety, according to Paynesville resident Paul Evans, who played for that Montevideo team.

Montevideo came to Paynesville the next weekend. "As big as we were, they were bigger," said Vagle.

Montevideo took a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter, but the Dogs rallied in the second quarter. Manz blocked a punt to set up the Dogs' first touchdown. When the Dogs scored again in the second quarter, quarterback Jim Hunter faked the extra-point attempt, running for a two-point conversion instead to give the Dogs a 15-14 lead.

Neither team scored in the second half, though the Dogs drove twice to Monte's goalline only to be stopped on downs, recalled Vagle. On their last possession, Montevideo connected on a long pass play, but Mike Thyen was able to catch the receiver from behind. Tom Johnson sacked the Montevideo quarterback on the last play, and time ran out before Monte could try a field goal.

In the state semifinals, the Dogs faced Apple Valley. Because PHS did not have enough seating, the Dogs hosted the game at Rocori.

In those days, playoff seeding was based on the conference. The Dogs were actually a Class B school in size, said Vagle, but the Central Gopher was a Class A conference. Apple Valley, on the other hand, was a Class AA school in size (the largest class for football at the time) but played in a Class A conference.

In sub-zero temperatures, Apple Valley took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and won 21-0. The ground for that game was hard as a rock, said Fenske, and it was tough to stay warm on the field.

It would have been nice to play in the Metrodome in state semifinals, agreed Setterberg.

Fenske, Setterberg, and Vagle said the Dogs could have beaten Apple Valley if they had played better. Vagle noted that the Dogs nearly blocked Apple Valley's first punt of the game, getting a roughing penalty instead, which could have altered the outcome.

Fenske said the Dogs might have been intimidated against Apple Valley and did not give their best effort. "That was probably the biggest disappointment when it came to Apple Valley: We knew our depth and our potential; we just didn't play up to our potential," said Fenske.

Apple Valley lost the next week to Rochester Lourdes in the Class A title game 22-6. The Dogs finished their 1979 with a 10-1 record and their highest finish in school history in football.

Opponents 28 14 13 14 - 69
Paynesville 70 95 64 58 - 287

Individual Statistics
Rushing (attempts-yards-AVG-TDs): Eric Setterberg 218-989-4.5-18; Bob Holper 137-703-5.1-5; Bryan Bork 26-172-6.6-2; Mike Thyen 22-150-6.8-4; Dave Dilley 7-56-8.0-2; Paul Voss 6-43-7.1-0; Brent Nehring 5-22-4.4-1; Todd Fenske 6-19-3.2-0; Mark Lingl 2-(-5)-(-2.5)-0;

Passing (completions-attempts-yards-INTs-TDs): Hunter 45-87-681-8-7; Dilley 0-2-0-0-0;

Receiving (receptions-yards-AVG- TDs): Dan Schwandt 12-260-21.6-2; Thyen 12-216-18.0-2; Duane Schmitt 10-119-11.9-1; Setterberg 5-45-9.0-0; Doug Tigner 3-21-7.0-0; Holper 2-4-2.0-0; Dilley 1-4-4.0-0;

Scoring: Setterberg (18 TDs) 108 points; Thyen (6 TDs) 36 points; Mike Wittgraf (1 FG, 30 PATs) 33 points; Holper (5 TDs) 30 points; Schwandt (3 TDs) 18 points; Hunter (2 TDs, 1 PATs) 14 points; Bork (2 TDs) 12 points; Dilley (2 TDs) 12 points; Nehring (1 TD) 6 points; Schmitt (1 TD) 6 points;

Kickoffs: Wittgraf 42-1,766-42.0;

Kickoff Returns (attempts-yards-AVG): Thyen 5-104-20.8; Bork 6-83-13.8; Holper 3-43-14.3; Voss 1-25-25.0;

Punts: Fenske 25-813-32.5;

Punt Returns (attempts-yards-AVG): Thyen 8-97-12.1; Dilley 3-36-12.0; Bork 1-25-25.0;

Interceptions: 1; Dilley 1; Tim Manz 1; Schwandt 1; Tigner 1;

Sacks: Jake Beckius 12; Manz 5; Tigner 5; Tom Johnson 3; Fenske 3; Rick Holthaus 2; Bork 1; Jim Dahl 1; Scott Deadrick 1; Schmitt 1; Schwandt 1;

Fumbles Caused: Johnson 3; Manz 3; Beckius 2; Bork 2; Dahl 1; Dilley 1; Mike Olson 1; Tigner 1;

Fumbles Recovered: Manz 3; Beckius 2; Deadrick 2; Dilley 2; Fenske 2; Holper 2; Johnson 2; Olson 2; Tigner 2; Dahl 1; Holthaus 1; Tom McCoy 1; Schwandt 1; Thyen 1;

Tackles (solo-assists-total): Tigner 23-68-91; Manz 21-63-84; Beckius 22-42-64; Holthaus 17-61-78; Johnson 20-51-71; Setterberg 19-50-69; Bork 14-34-48; Schwandt 14-32-46; Dahl 12-23-35; Dilley 12-22-34; Holper 8-24-32; Thyen 19-9-28; Deadrick 4-20-24; Fenske 9-14-23; McCoy 1-16-17; Roger Mackedanz 1-13-14; Schmitt 7-6-13; Mark Knebel 3-5-8; Greg Welle 2-5-7; Bob Loomis 0-6-6; Lingl 1-3-4; Al Faber 0-4-4; Tom Fangmeier 0-4-4; Voss 0-4-4; Tim Leyendecker 1-2-3; Bryan Stanger 0-3-3; Wittgraf 1-2-3; Peter Beckius 0-2-2; Steve Fuchs 0-2-2; Gary Ludwig 0-2-2; Nehring 0-2-2; Dan Beckius 0-1-1; Hunter 0-1-1; Todd Klover 0-1-1; Olson 0-1-1; Lee Schmidt 0-1-1.

Team Statistics
Pay -- Opp
Points 287 -- 69
Rushes-Yards 486-2,147 -- 386-1,024
Passes-Yards 45-89-681 -- 30-103-319
Total Offense 575-2,828 -- 489-1,343
Total First Downs 133 -- 74
Penalties 62-492 -- 43-416
Fumbles Lost 14 -- 23
Interceptions Thrown 8 -- 5