Maple Grove gave traditional football power Elk River a good fight before falling 21-19 in a Twin Cities Suburban Conference football tilt at Elk River Friday, Oct. 3. The Crimson, fresh off their first-ever victory, attempted to spoil the Elks' homecoming and came very close.

"It was by far our best game," Maple Grove coach Craig Hansen said. "It was their homecoming and a big night for them. Our kids just came out and took off right from the start. They were not intimidated. We didn't go up there and take a back seat. They were confident and felt we could play with them and did it."

The Crimson's offense opened the game with a 6-minute drive that ended with a fumble on the Elk River 20. But the Crimson managed to keep the explosive Elk River offense off the field. Maple Grove's defense did its job on Elk River's first possession. The Elks drove to near midfield when the Crimson, led by Tom Owen, stuffed them on fourth and inches.

The Crimson took the ball down the field and scored. Senior fullback Kyle Olson busted a long run on the first play and senior running back Justin Lehman ended the dive with a 6-yard touchdown run and a 6-0 lead.

The Elks exploded for three unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter and a 21-6 lead. Maple Grove, however, came right back with a 13-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback C. J. Woodrow to senior tight end Justin Amundson just before halftime to cut Elk River's lead to 21-12.

Maple Grove's defense held the high-powered Elks scoreless in the second half and Caleb Marx blocked a punt to set up a 20-yard touchdown run by senior back Kyle Olson in the third quarter. Olson kicked the extra point to pull Maple Grove to within 21-19. That, however, was as close as the Crimson could get as the Elks held on.

"We were disappointed to lose but it's exciting to know we could compete with the good football teams," Hansen said. "We were gaining confidence each week and.1 was exciting to see that maturing take place. Offensively we had 60' plays and just kept eating up the clock and throwing timely passes Defensively, when we were on the field we were fresh and played re. ally well. Elk River is a high-powered offense and we did well against them. Our special team also played well and Kyle Olson had a great night punting. He averaged 46 yards and had one 65-yard punt. That re. ally gave us great field position."

Defensive tackles Justin Kehner and Tom Bertram combined for 15 tackles. Linebacker Brett Schendel had 12 tackles, defensive back Jon Dubel had 11 tackles and an interception and Marx had a blocked punt and seven tackles.

Offensively, Woodrow completed 9 of 18 passes for 93 yards, and Jeff Hesse had six catches for 72 yards. The Crimson had 173 yards rushing. Olson had 19 carries for 91 yards and Lehman followed with 17 carries for 71 yards.

The Crimson next host Hill-Murray Friday, Oct. 10.