Chanhassen vs. Elk River. It had the promise of a big-time, high-scoring, Prep Bowl-caliber matchup.

Not so fast on the offensive explosion part. But the past two Class 5A champions delivered with a classic battle that went down to the wire.

In a 5A semifinal Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium, Chanhassen avenged last year’s playoff loss and took down defending champion Elk River in a come-from-behind, 22-19 victory to advance to next week’s Prep Bowl against Spring Lake Park.

The Storm (11-1), who won the state title in 2023, trailed for most of the game, but they took the lead in the fourth quarter and sealed the game with an interception by Peter Vidmar with 1:37 to play. That ended a 20-play drive that saw their defense bend to Elk River’s daunting rushing attack but not break on the last fourth-down stand.

“It usually comes down to four or five big plays,” Chanhassen senior offensive lineman Owen Linder said. “Our team all year when we might not have the best game, we made big plays when it matters most. That’s what we’re best at.”

Senior tight end Kade Bush, committed to West Virginia, took the snap and spun his way into the open field for a 42-yard run and the deciding score with just under 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

“We were kind of game-planning that play all week with the Wildcat,” said Bush, who had four carries for 56 yards. “I just thought it was going to be a first down. I didn’t expect to break free like that. It was a good feeling looking back on the Jumbotron to see how far back he was behind me.”

The Elks (9-3), who rushed for 390 yards, attempted only two passes in the game — the second became an interception in the end zone on a throw by Levi Harris on their last drive.

Harris was also stopped for a big loss on third-and-goal from the 4-yard line on the final Elk River drive. But he had the first score of the night for a 98-yard touchdown run near the end of the second quarter.

The South Dakota commit ended up being limited in the second half after a rib injury, but Harris kept playing.

Carsyn Kleffman, the team’s leading rusher this season, was banged up and didn’t play much in the second half. But Braedon Becker finished with 171 yards and two touchdowns.

“It felt like we were running out of cowboys there,” Elk River coach Steve Hamilton said. “For them to get us here to U.S. Bank just shows how awesome these seniors are because I don’t know if I’ve ever had a year where we had so many kids go down.”

Chanhassen’s Nathan Ramler redeemed himself after an earlier interception to orchestrate a five-play, 59-yard scoring drive in the last 25 seconds of the first half, capped by a 22-yard TD pass to Loghan Gustad to make it 12-7 at halftime.

In the second half, Graham Degler’s 18-yard touchdown run gave Chanhassen a 15-12 lead before Becker put Elk River ahead again in the third quarter with his second 37-yard scoring run of the game.

Chanhassen had two of the best senior prospects in the state in Linder, committed to Iowa, and Bush. They also had one of the top passers in Ramler. But the Storm haven’t been ranked No. 1 since they lost Sept. 19 to St. Thomas Academy, which was upset in Friday’s semifinals by Spring Lake Park.

Chanhassen has an opportunity again to finish at the top, after making sure Elk River didn’t stop it again this year. Last season, Chanhassen lost 21-19 in the semifinals to the Elks, who ended up winning their first state championship since 2016.

The Storm had zero state tournament appearances in their history when Cullen Nelson took over as head coach in 2019. Now Nelson has a chance to win the Prep Bowl for the second time in his program’s third straight state tournament trip.

“I tell guys this all the time that it’s not like this everywhere,” Nelson said. “It’s not just the coaches. It’s not just the kids. It’s the whole community and what our program has been fortunate enough to build over 17 years.”