It is hard to believe the first half of the regular season came to an end last Friday night at Bengal Stadium in Blaine.  Blaine is a program we have the utmost respect because they have had a history of success that is one of the best in the state of Minnesota.  We came away with a 31-7 win in a game that was very workmanlike and left our kids with a good feeling at they left the game because it was a well-earned victory.  

Defensively, we did a great job controlling the momentum and getting our team rolling as we struggled early offensively.   Theo Frier had every defensive lineman's dream as he read the screen to perfection, stepped in front, picked it off and outran a receiver to the endzone.  Emmanuel Ehrich came back from an injury and had a huge game with 13 total tackles, and six tackles for loss, Jake engelken had 12 tackles, and Gunnar Ayres and Blake Whitecotton each had big games up front with nine and eight tackles respectively.   Outside of a hiccup in the third quarter, our defense controlled the game and came up big in numerous game changing type situations.  We know we have to keep getting better, but it was a step in the right direction for this unit and they keep learning how to prepare every week.

Offensively, we struggled early, but we controlled the line of scrimmage as the game went on.  Early on, Karl Altenberg was able to complete some important passes to Brady Engelke, Tyler Coyne and Adam Brant which allowed our running game to take stride and run for over 280 yards against a good run stopping defense in Blaine.  Clark Wieneke had a huge game with 183 yards on 15 carries and 4 TD's, Tahi Nomane was able to rush for over seventy yards, and our offensive line did a great job getting movement play after play.  It was fun to see our kids step up in moments that showed duress.  At the end of the half, the stretch where we stopped them on a 4th and 3 inside the 20 as they had momentum coming into score, and then our offense coming right back on the field and going over 80 yards on three plays at the end of the half was great for the resolve of our team.  We look forward to playing next week and hopefully seeing a bunch of alumni at 'the Grove' for homecoming Friday night!  It is a big game for us because we need to get step 5 against a hard-nosed Anoka squad, but more importantly, we hope to make the family that is Maple Grove proud as they exit the stadium concluding the game next week!  GO CRIMSON!