For the Osseo High School football team, the section quarterfinal loss at Maple Grove Tuesday, Oct. 22, reflected most of their defeats this year.

The undermanned Orioles battled hard and hung with the Crimson for almost the entire game only to falter in the final minutes in a 24-7 defeat. The loss ended Osseo's 2-8 season.

The game got off to a poor start for Osseo. Its offense stalled and had to punt from the end zone. A short punt gave Maple Grove great field position. The Oriole defense held and Maple Grove settled for a 27-yard field goal.

Osseo had an excellent drive on its next possession. A big kickoff return by Jesse Becker gave Osseo excellent field-position and two runs by Ben Roff and Chris Lorenz brought the ball to the Maple Grove 15. But a sack and a false start penalty pushed Osseo back and the Orioles came away empty-handed when Maple Grove’s standout linebacker Luke Greder partially blocked Osseo's field goal.

The Osseo defense was stellar and held and a short punt by the Crimson gave Osseo the ball on the Maple Grove 37. A 12-yard run by Roff put the ball on the Maple Grove 27 but the Orioles again stalled and had nothing to show for their effort when a 40-yard field goal fell short.

"Osseo is a good football team and we knew it would be a physical game," Maple Grove coach Craig Hansen said. "In the second half, we gained momentum and wore them down."

The Crimson struck early in the second half. Crimson quarterback Mitch Brecke hit favorite receiver Greg Martin on a slant pattern and Martin sprinted all the way to the Osseo 1. On the next play, Crimson back Ryan Iskierka dove in for the touchdown to make it 10-0.

Osseo made it interesting with a nice drive. Senior quarterback Paul Solberg hit junior receiver Tony DeBoer with a long pass.

On the play, Maple Grove’s defensive back Chase Mudd was injured. The game was held up for almost an hour and both teams went back to the locker room. Action resumed after Mudd was taken by an ambulance to the hospital, where he was treated for a concussion.

When' play resumed, Osseo drove in to score early in the fourth quarter. On third and 16 at the MG 18, Solberg hit Becker, who made a leaping one-handed catch in the end zone for the touchdown.

But that was all the offense Osseo could generate against the stingy Crimson defense. The Crimson offense finally wore down Osseo's defense and scored on a 12-yard touchdown run by Brecke with 4:29 left to make it 17-7. The final score came when Greder intercepted an Osseo pass and ran it back 45 yards for a touchdown.

"It was a difficult season from a wins and losses standpoint but we had great spirits throughout," Osseo coach Claud Allaire said. "The kids played hard and made every game competitive. Our greatest asset this year was the positive leadership we received from our seniors.”

Brecke, the second leading passer in the conference completed five of eight passes for 130 yards. Martin, the conference’s top receiver, caught three passes for 106 yards. Ryan Gust led the Crimson with 105 yards on eight carries but suffered a turf toe and had to sit out the next game.