Last weekend, I thought that this was going to be a tough week to help keep our players motivated and focused. There was a tweet out there that showed how many more points we had scored compared to our opponents and how many points Coon Rapids had been outscored by. I thought that this could and would provide a lack of focus because of it. I am proud to say that our players had a great week of practice, and it showed by their immediate impact that they had on the game. We were able to score 35 first quarter points and demoralize our opponent in the first few minutes of the game.

Our offense looked slightly different in the backfield with James Engle and Patrick Wright earning the starting job to help replace Charles while he recovers. They were both efficient with the few carries they had. Jeffrey Nordvold had an opportunity to see some varsity time and made the most of it right away with a long reception. Our offense was great in the passing game as well with very efficient passes including two touchdown receptions by Nathan Hromadka. Our offense only needed about 18 plays to score 5 touchdowns in the first half.

Defensively, the guys jumped on Coon Rapids early and often. We were able to create 3 and outs on the first 4 drives. We were able to get successful punt returns twice and then capitalized on a miscue by the Coon Rapids punt team on another. This miscue allowed Mike Tracy to pick up a fumble return for a touchdown. In the second quarter, Coon Rapids was able to move the ball a few times. We were able to take both of those drives and create turnovers, however. The second turnover was capped with a pick six by Gavin Elmquist. After that play, we were able to get our JV in for the final two minutes of the first half. This was an awesome opportunity for our players to be able to play on a Friday night under the lights and with a large crowd.

Our JV was provided 24 minutes of ball in the second half and had a few miscues but played a decent half of football. We were able to score once on offense behind some throws by Thor Soukup and some runs by our backfield. Our defense did a great job as well and only allowed one touchdown against the Cardinals. We had a few guys show up in the stats sheet for the first time on the season. As a coach, it is an awesome feeling knowing that these guys work so hard for opportunities like these and to see them be successful is why coaching is so exciting.

This upcoming week is our most important week of the season. It is our last regular season home game and therefore is considered “senior night or parent night”. It is always a blast having the players get to be recognized with their parents for the journey that they have went through and to get fifteen seconds of recognition is very cool. I can’t say Thank you loud enough or enough times for the support that the parents have shown their children and our program this year and through their journey. Maple Grove Crimson Football truly is a family, and I am proud of everyone involved. This week is all about defeating the Knights from up the road who are always very well coached. We are looking forward to this opportunity. Time to LEAVE NO DOUBT!

Coach Spurrell