On his 57th and final homecoming, Dwight Lundeen's 'Dogs rout Tech 57-0

BECKER — With 5:07 left in the third quarter, Becker football senior Tarver Schendzielos fielded a free kick off a couple of bounces and proceeded to weave his way through the Tech coverage to go up 57-0 over the Tigers.

Then the offense rushed out onto the field to take a knee on the extra point; their work had been done. A big "57" on the scoreboard luminated the field at Dwight Lundeen Stadium as the legendary coach the stadium is named after sulked up his final homecoming win, in his 57th season, adding to career total of over 400 wins.

"[This homecoming] probably ranks number one," Lundeen said. "It was very unique the way we ended up with that, and then the whole team thought, 'No matter what, we're not going to score.' That was special. It's fitting to have your last homecoming game ever end on 57 points. I'm really proud of the kids; they're a wonderful group."

It was not just the 2026 team honoring the school's first and only head coach. It was 57 years' worth of former players and coaches congregated back to their old stomping grounds to celebrate the legendary coach.

"That was amazing," Lundeen said. "I couldn't stop crying."

The night was a synopsis of six decades of Becker football under Lundeen: four state championships, hundreds of players and a yearly varsity squad that united an entire community together year-after-year.

Scoring as many points as they did and winning in shutout fashion was simply the cherry on top.

"It was awesome to look at the scoreboard, and it said 57," Schendzielos said. "To know it was 57 years of coach Dwight; that just meant something. To see my coach crying was special, it really meant something to him and that was the best part. If he needed something from me, I jump in a matter of seconds, no matter what it is. He's made me a better man throughout the year; I just love him."

Since starting the year 0-3, the Bulldogs have since scored 111 points over the last two weeks and are finally playing with the confidence that they entered the season with.

Senior quarterback Tristan Kowalkowski does not take lightly the role he plays in the history of Becker football as the final starting quarterback under Lundeen.

"It was special seeing because we worked really hard for this," Kowalkowski said. "Emotions were high, and it was just a special night with everybody here and celebrating the same thing. You see all the generations and all the people that he's worked with, and all of the hard work that he's put in with every single player. Being a part of that 57 is something special."

Just a couple of years removed from an undefeated state title run in 2024, the Bulldogs know what it takes to make a run back to US Bank Stadium. Kowalkowski started that season as a sophomore and linebacker Cody Deters had five sacks and 40 tackles anchoring the defense. Chase Stupar and Bennett Kujawa each contributed as well.

The D.N.A from that championship roster is still alive and well on this Becker squad, now they are seniors committed to get back to The Bank.

"We're going to be a really tough out right now," Lundeen said. "We work really, really hard on Monday's and fix what we can fix and then keep them positive. It has worked out well; we're playing pretty good football."

Becker is home against Totino-Grace next week on Oct. 9 before its season ends on the road against Rocori on Oct. 14 and Detroit Lakes on Oct. 21.

"I don't think anybody can break our confidence right now," Kowalkowski said. "We're high, and we're going to keep that going into the next game. We're going to carry this into TG, and we're going to win."

You can reach St. Cloud Times sports reporter David Jacobs and send story ideas and tips to djacobs@gannett.com . Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @davidrjacobs10 and on Instagram @ByDavidJacobs .