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Coaches Corner 2014: Week 4

By Coach Lombardi, 09/21/14, 7:45PM CDT

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After another great crowd arrived in ‘the Grove’, our football team was fortunate enough to walk away with a 43-14 win against a very good Champlin Park team and get our record to 4 – 0.   It was not without adversity, as Champlin opened the game with a well-executed drive that resulted in a touchdown, but our kids showed good resilience as they came right back and scored on the following drive and kept pressure on them throughout.   All in all, I was very proud of the effort given by the kids last week and the belief they showed in just staying after it throughout a 48-minute stretch. 

 

Defensively, after a first drive that involved a different look given by Champlin, Coach Tommy Becker did a fantastic job making adjustments with the kids and getting them to play near shut-out ball for the rest of the game.   They also forced turnovers that gave us the ball at the 12 and one that directly resulted in a touchdown, so the defense made a major impact in the game.  Individually, Adam Brant had a huge game with 13 total tackles and a forced fumble, Grant Hemze had 6 total tackles, a forced fumble, sack, and fumble recovery, and Lukas Burrington pulled in two interceptions taking one to the house for six points.   Every week we strive to get better on this side of the ball for it truly is the lifeline of our team, and it’s fun to see this group develop from week to week.

 

Offensively, we did a great job controlling the ball and the line of scrimmage as our primary blockers that consist of Ben Shoults, MJ Dorn, Logan Newell, Max Zwach, Kayode Awosika, Sam Renner, and Will Reul did a great job opening up holes for all of our backs.    It was the first week both of our tailbacks were able to run for over 100 yards, as Clark Wieneke had 117 yards on 19 carries and 3 touchdowns and Isaac Collins rushed for 120 yards on 16 carries.   Also, Kyle Anderson found the endzone two more times on his 4 carries and Brad Davison completed big passes on 3rd and long situations that allowed our drives to continue, so it was a great team effort by everyone.

 

Next week is a fun week for the community, as it is homecoming at Maple Grove.  Culminating that week on Friday Night will be a huge test for us against Totino-Grace, an undefeated team that is always playing late into November.  This is what it truly is all about.  An unbelievably well-coached team with kids that play with every ounce of who they are coming in on a Friday night giving the best of what high school football is about.  It is a great opportunity for us to go against a great football team and more importantly learn how great it is to prepare and get ready for a big game in an environment that should be awesome!  It will be a fun week five!  Hope to see all of you out there and GO CRIMSON!