by Tim Kolehmainen
The BREAKDOWN
(posted 10/01/2008)
The Breakdown takes its weekly look at the top games in each class throughout the state. Here comes week 6 with the race to the postseason -- and a link to a Rick Reilly column about the Mc Leod West football program.
The big boys in the Classic Lake and Lake Conferences are bashing under the lights in the western suburbs, as unbeaten Eden Prairie, our No. 2 team but the top-ranked team in the AP poll, visits No. 4 Minnetonka.
The Eagles, as always, just churn out top athletes and can wear down opponents. Last Friday night, they shut down Burnsville, 28-0, behind a defense that allowed only 125 total yards and recorded two interceptions and two sacks. Six different running backs have between 25 and 56 carries and 140 and 244 yards on the season, led by Zach Burbur (56-244-3). The Eagles don’t have to pass the ball often, but when they do, they’ve been hitting more than 70 percent of their passes..
Minnetonka has only one loss on its schedule, a home defeat to top-ranked Wayzata back in Week 2. Coach Dave Nelson’s Skippers held down Edina’s vaunted attack in a 28-21 victory last Friday night. After spotting the Hornets a 14-0 lead behind two Anders Lee touchdowns, Minnetonka stormed back. Ismail Karon moved into the backfield from his usual linebacker’s spot and rushed for 121 yards and four TDs.
The defending Class AAAA champs are still smarting from that loss to Becker two weeks ago. Not good news for North Suburban Conference rival Spring Lake Park. But the Panthers have had good success against Totino in recent years – including beating them in last year’s regular season -- and just might be able to pull the upset.
After losing their first two games this year, Spring Lake Park has won three straight, all by shutout. The Panthers pounded St. Francis, 39-0, last Friday night. Backs Spencer Krischuk and Tom Brooks (11-101) each ran for two scores in the rout. Brooks leads the team with 571 yards rushing.
Totino comes in off a 27-7 victory against Chisago Lakes, in which junior John Crockett raced for two 20+ yard touchdown runs. The Eagles do most of their damage on the ground behind Pierce Lubinski (51-321-1), Crockett (36-162-3) and Joey Kinnan (24-129-4).
Kasson-Mantorville, with only a one-point hiccup to Zumbrota-Mazeppa in Week 3, hopes to keep pace with Lourdes in the Hiawatha Valley Blue race. The KoMets beat Byron 42-12 last week to hang one game behind the Eagles. Ivan Kroulik’s crew is led by senior captains Drew Austinson and Zach Krueger.
Lourdes has ridden its defense to five straight victories. The Eagles have allowed only two touchdowns all season and are coming off a 22-7 victory at Cannon Falls last Friday night in which quarterback Tyler Greguson threw for one score and ran for another after a 7-all halftime deadlock. Chris Griffin (9-117) and Adam Lentz (15-76) led the way on the ground in the win.
This one is likely the deciding game in the West Central Conference’s South division. Both teams are unbeaten and have been getting better by the week.
BOLD romped over Lac qui Parle Valley, 50-0, last Friday night to run its record to 5-0. The Warriors’ offense is rolling, as they’ve scored 50 or more points twice already this season. Against the Eagles, BOLD rushed for 365 yards and only passed three times, although one was a 77-yard touchdown from Grant Solem to Jay Lippert. Mitch Neubauer (9-118-2) opened the scoring with a 61-yard run.
ACGC has also cracked the 50-point plateau twice and approached it two other times. After allowing 42 combined points in the first two weeks, the Falcons have also tuned up their defense, holding the last three teams to just one touchdown each game. Last week, ACGC romped over Yellow Medicine East, 41-7, as Deron Buboltz scored on a pass, run and interception return.
New Ulm Cathedral has been dominant through five weeks, pitching four shutouts and outscoring foes by a combined 139-12. Last Friday night, the Greyhounds routed Buffalo Lake-Hector, 30-0. Cathedral is sitting at 2-0 in the Southern Minnesota Conference – East standings, one game up on much of the field. A victory here would get them one step closer to a title.
McLeod West had also crept up our rankings until suffering its first defeat, 18-14, to Cedar Mountain/Comfrey last Friday night. The Falcons are a great story. ESPN’s Rick Reilly even featured them in his column this week: http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3619502
The biggest game in the state this Friday night is tucked way up in the far Northwestern corner of the state, closer to Winnipeg than to the Twin Cities, where top-ranked Stephen-Argyle takes its state-record 72-game winning streak up against formidable Kittson County Central.
The Storm’s streak has been covered plenty. They haven’t lost since the 2002 state semifinals, during which time they’ve won five straight state titles. In that 72-game streak are nine victories over the Bearcats, including a 15-0 win in Week 5 of the 2007 regular season and a 34-15 victory in the Section 8 championship game.
Kittson County Central has only lost two other games in that time. This is perhaps their best chance to end the streak. The Bearcats have won their first four games by a combined 229-0. Yes, that’s right. No one has scored on them yet. Stephen-Argyle will change that, but KCC has a shot.
One common opponent this year is Clearbrook-Gonvik. KCC beat them 45-0 on Sept. 5, while the Storm won 41-18 last Friday night. Also of note: the Bearcats aren’t ducking the Storm, as this game is KCC’s homecoming game.
The Breakdown will be at this game, so look for photos and a story featured on the website.
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