Becker adds to football tradition, will represent Vikings in NFL - KMSP-TV

In his 44 years of coaching football, Dwight Lundeen has seen just about everything, and done just about everything there is to do when it comes to football. Three straight trips to the Prep Bowl and a class AAA championship in 2005 may highlight the list, but even Lundeen admits there is at least one thing he hasn't done in his years in Becker.

"I've never taken 12 players on an airplane," said Lundeen beaming about his Becker Bulldogs winning the NFL regional 7-on-7 championship.

That will all change when Lundeen and his team board a plane headed to Indianapolis representing the Vikings in the NFL 7-on-7 National Tournament. The Bulldogs defeated Edina 35-14 in the finals of the tournament held at Winter Park. It is there fifth year competing in the tournament against metro teams and the Bulldogs have two third place finishes to go along with their first place finish this year.

In the regional tournament they scored a touchdown on 31 of 31 possessions and were the only team to score on every offensive possession. Another trend Lundeen hopes continues when the shoulder pads go on this fall.

"It's our offense that we run on Friday night," said Lundeen. "It's probably not a great way to go into 7-on-7 because it doesn't make a lot of sense sometimes to put somebody in motion now but it does help in the building for Friday night."

Running the offense that the players will see when the leaves turn not only will create continuity and consistency for the players, it is also going to give the program a huge shot in the arm from a confidence standpoint .

"I think puts us in a position to gain a lot of confidence that I can play with Minnetonka, I can play with Dade County or Texas," said Lundeen. "It isn't always the best individuals that win, it's the best team that wins."

So Lundeen along with his son Mike, who is an assistant coach at Becker will board the plane along with 12 of Becker's finest. They will take on the best including the representative of the Miami Dolphins, Booker T. Washington who defeated Carol City 24-21. The team that has represented Miami has won the National Tournament for the past three years.

Lundeen sees the broader positives when it comes to the town of 4,500 along Highway 10. The community as they always have is rallying around the 12 Bulldogs selected to make the trip.

"Some of them have never been out of Becker," said Lundeen. "This is going to be a neat experience."