The Maple Grove football team added another chapter to its historic season when it routed Wayzata 28-7 Section 6 championship game Friday, Nov. 6, at Osseo. The Crimson win make their first appearance in the football state tournament at Cretin-Derham Hall Friday, Nov. 13.

The Crimson showed why they the No. 1 seed in the section by dominating the second-seeded Trojans. After losing the ball on their first drive, they scored two touchdowns in the first quarter and never trailed.

Senior quarterback C. J. Woodrow completed a 13-yard own pass to senior wide receiver Jeff Hesse in the right corner end zone for the first touchdown. Woodrow then tossed a two-conversion to junior fullback Caleb Marx to give Maple Grove an 8-0 lead.

Woodrow who rested his shoulder most of the game in the Crimson’s semifinal win over Armstrong a week ago, said he was for the game. “My shoulder is fine. It just needed time to rest," he said. "I felt I played well. I was reading my keys and executed the plays. My line gave me plenty of time to throw and that was the key. And it’s always nice to have a big target like Jeff to throw to."

On Wayzata’s next possession, junior linebacker Justin Davis intercepted a pass and the Crimson converted that into a one-yard touchdown run by senior fullback Justin Lehman. Woodrow made it 16-0 with a two-point conversion to Junior receiver Brent Johnson.

Maple Grove clinched the win adding two touchdowns in the third quarter. Woodrow scored on a 10-yard run and finished the scoring with a 30-yard strike to Hesse.

“In the first half we made a couple mistakes and didn't capitalize on key possessions," Woodrow said "In the second half, we were able to capitalize and put them away. We're pretty excited. We kept the game ball and celebrated for a while. It was good thing for our school."

The Crimson once again showed a balanced attack. Woodrow completed 10 of 20 passes for 99 yards and had 60 yards on 12 rushes. Marx led the ground game with 99 yards on 12 runs and Lehman added 64 yards on 12 carries.

The winner of the Maple Grove Cretin-Derham Hall game will play the winner of the Champlin Park-Brainerd game in the state semifinal Friday, Nov. 20 at the Metrodome.

Going to the state tournament is big for any team, but especially for a Maple Grove program that is only in its third year of existence. The Crimson suffered growing pains in the first two years and had only two wins. Woodrow remembers those lean years.

"We were smaller and younger than anybody else and it takes time to grow up," Woodrow said. "We definitely have to make up for the last two years. That's the point that we emphasize."

The Crimson certainly make up for the bad years in a big way. They will carry a 9-1 record into the state tournament.

"We knew we were talented and we had an idea about the conference, but we never really sat down and set goals," Woodrow said. "We just want to see how long this will run. We are not just happy to be there; we are going there to win some hardware."