Maple Grove continued its impressive late-season run with a dominating 20-7 home win over Elk River Friday, Oct. 13.
Senior running back Josh Throndson scored on touchdown runs of 4, 15 and 51 yards to account for Maple Grove's scoring. The Crimson defense gave up a touchdown pass on Elk River's first possession, but put the clamp on the rest of the way. The normally explosive Elks were held to 146 total yards, only 48 in the second half.
"The defense just played a fantastic game," Maple Grove coach Craig Hansen said. "Elk River is a very talented team with some good athletes, so I was really excited our defense did so well. Elk River moved the ball on us in the first quarter but after that we didn't give up much." It was a family affair on defense for Maple Grove as the Greeder and Johnson brothers teamed up to shine. Linebackers Andy Greeder (12 tackles and two half sacks) and Luke Greeder (10 tackles and one sack) led the battle up front while corners Jake Johnson (two interceptions) and Jesse Johnson provided solid defense in the back. Defensive linemen Justin Kokales (four tackles and one sack) and Patrick Henderson (four tackles) also had strong games.
Offensively, the Crimson piled up 411 yards. Throndson rushed 21 times for 156 yards and Jon Hicks added 127 yards on 17 carries. Quarterback Ryan Koch completed eight of 10 passes for 129 yards. Brent Sorbel caught three passes for 48 yards, Peter Dering caught three for 42 and Jake Johnson hauled in two for 49 yards.
"It was a great team effort," Hansen said. "Elk River was double and triple covering Jake and that opened things up for the other kids and they responded. We are so thrilled that we got better each week. In the last three weeks, we played hard and got better and better. Now we want to fine tune and continue to improve."
The Crimson, now 5-2 after three straight wins, conclude the regular season with a home game against Anoka Wednesday, Oct. 18. The team should receive a high seed in the upcoming Section 6 playoffs and open the tournament at home Tuesday, Oct. 24.