I remember last year after our 2014 season we posted our schedule for 2015 and there was a great deal of excitement and a slight whispering of “Wow, that’s’ our schedule?”  Hard to believe, walking onto the field Friday night, we were at the final game of that schedule, and it’s been unreal to watch the growth in this team throughout those weeks.   Our final game was against a Shakopee team that has come miles since the beginning of the year, and formed a great opponent that made us work every second that we were out there on Friday night.   As the final buzzer sounded, we were fortunate to finish with a 28-0 victory with a feeling that we concluded our season with four great victories.

Offensively, we had to work for every ounce of what we earned against a defense that was well coached, played downhill, and challenged us every step of the way.   Isaac Collins concluded his unbelievable regular season with 184 yards on 18 carries and 2 touchdowns.   Isaac broke a Maple Grove single season record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 18, and he did it while still in the regular season.  He truly had a memorable regular season.  Ryan Hanscome added 61 yards on 13 carries and our offensive line battled an aggressive front all day to get us 270 yards rushing for the game.   Brad Davison was able to connect on some big passes that led to touchdowns and first downs, and Teddy Raasch redefined what a “post” route is with his 25 yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Defensively, we recorded our first shutout of the season and held the Shakopee offense to under 100 yards in total offense.   Kayode Awosika had a great game in the defensive line with 8 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss and a sack.  Ryan Shea, put in the game in an unexpected role, led the team with 10 total tackles and 3 tackles for loss, and did a great job keeping our defense rolling.  It’s great to see the momentum this unit has going into the playoffs and I truly believe the success in the playoffs begins and ends with this group.   A great defense makes a huge difference in October and November and provides a team a great opportunity in every game they face.  I can’t wait to see what this defense has to offer come next Friday entering the playoffs.

Our special Teams did a sound job all game. Tyler Knutson booted all four extra points and kicked three touchbacks that gave us great field position throughout.   Ryan Hanscome did a nice job in his debut as our punter and our coverage teams did a nice job.  We still have to keep improving these teams for next week and hope it becomes a part of our game that makes a huge positive impact every week.

We now enter that best time of year.   After every week, half of the state is whittled down and it ends in TCF with a great opportunity for two teams that get to experience a truly memorable event.    Our state has changed the format this year and created a NCAA tournament type bracket that shows the 32 biggest teams in the state battling all for the same goal.   We are fortunate enough to have our opening game in the playoffs at home against Eastview, a team that has a tremendous reputation in this state and is extremely well coached.   They will come into our game extremely well-prepared and with momentum as a last week they were leading 7-1 Burnsville by a point until they finally lost in the 4th quarter.  When in the playoffs, the most important game of the season is always the one you face, so we need to put every ounce of who we are into this game to come out on top.   We need the Grove rocking on Friday night, and even though it is during MEA weekend, it’s playoff time!  It’s what this all is about!    Congrats to the boys on a great regular season, but truly the beginning starts now.   It’s time to play forty-eight minutes at our level and to get Step one!

GO CRIMSON!

Lombo