A suffocating defense and a methodical offense propelled the Crimson football team to an impressive 27-8 season opening win at Edina last Friday.

“It was a great opening win for us,” Maple Grove coach Matt Lombardi said. “Edina is a very good opponent and it was the first test for many of our kids. For their first game the kids did a very, very good job.”

The Crimson defense, which featured many starters making their varsity debut, was swarming and unyielding, especially against the rush. They held Edina to -1 yard rushing, 188 yards via the air and only one score.

“The defense played really, really well,”Lombardi said. “Linebacker Chad Fondakowski had an unbelievable game and safety Adam Brant also had a great game. Coach Tom Becker did a great job of preparing our kids for this game.”

Fondakowski led the way with 10 tackles and two sacks, Brant had five tackles and several breakups, Jake Willson had three tackles, and Sam Franta had two tackles and an interception.

Offensively, the Crimson showed balance with 264 yards rushing and 145 passing. Junior Karl Altenburg started at quarterback but sophomore Brad Davison came in on the third offensive drive and led the Crimson from there on.

Maple Grove took a 7-0 lead at 5:07 of the first quarter on Wieneke’s 4-yard touchdown run. The Crimson increased the lead to 14-0 at 4:01 of the second when Davison hit Will Ruel for a 12-yard TD pass.

Edina cut the lead to 14-8 two minutes later but Wieneke punched in a 3-yard TD run with 14 seconds left in the half for a 21-8 advantage.

The Crimson put it away with 2:18 left in the fourth quarter when Wieneke scored his third TD of the night on a 7-yard run.

Wieneke finished with 153 yards on 29 carries and Isaac Collins added 91 on 15 runs. Davison completed 12 of 21 passes in his varsity quarterback debut. Brant had 91 yards on four catches, Collins added 53 yards on five receptions and Ruel, Sam Renner and Eddie Lee each had a catch.

“Our offense played a very methodical game,” Lombardi said. “We moved the ball down field and the offensive line did a great job. We had the ball for 36 minutes and had drives where we had 15, 16 plays. We must do a better job of finishing our drives better.”

Everyone knew the Crimson can run the ball but Davison’s performance reveals Maple Grove will have an effective passing game as well.

“Brad showed good poise and good command of the huddle,” said Lombardi, adding that Davison is the starting point guard for the basketball squad and is accustomed to the spotlight. “He did very well for his first varsity game.”

Lombardi stops short of saying Davison has earned the starting quarterback job.

“Brad is the one who will get lots of playing time but we are fortunate to have two good quarterbacks in Brad and Karl,” Lombardi said. “Both of them can do a very good job for us.”

The Crimson will have their home opening Friday, Sept. 5, against Robbinsdale Armstrong. It will be Youth Night.