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Crimson look to rebound from stinging loss against Eden Prairie

By admin, 09/22/16, 7:30AM CDT

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by Matthew Davis

Weather in the Twin Cities can vary from one side to another.

Maple Grove and Edina didn’t have to contend with storms in their football clash on Friday, Sept. 16, as their east metro counterparts did. Yet, Crimson coach Matt Lombardi and company would have preferred the natural kind of rain instead of what they saw in a 21-20 loss to the Hornets. Lombardi said it “rained flags” for his team.

“We had to set a state record for penalties,” Lombardi said. “I don’t know what it was, but we had to set. We constantly, offensively and defensively, shot ourselves in the foot.”

The sheer volume of penalties stymied the Crimson all night. Nonetheless, the Crimson pulled within a point on a late TD. They came no closer though with a botched extra point and failed two-point conversion try on the same play.

“There’s still three minutes left in the game, and we had all the momentum I thought,” Lombardi said. “I felt really good if it was 21-21. I thought we’d get another possession actually.”

Senior quarterback Brad Davison scored on a 9-yard TD run for the Crimson with 2:52 remaining in the game. It put the team within a point at 21-20, but a botched extra point attempt ended up as a failed two-point conversion try. Edina then retained the ball on the onside kick attempt and ran out the clock to seal the game.

“I thought the team really came back from adversity, we had some key players make some huge plays which created a lot of momentum for us,” Crimson senior receiver Teddy Raasch said. “Unfortunately we came up a little short, but we are going to move past it and get ready for Eden Prairie.”

Maple Grove fell for the first time this season and will need to rebound quick against No. 4-ranked Eden Prairie (2-1) on Friday at home in a 7 p.m. kick-off. The Crimson came close to becoming the first team to knock off the Eagles last season but came short in a 28-20 loss.

“Eden Prairie is a great team they are very well coached, but our mindset is that we are the better team,” Raasch said. “We are going to be studying film all week and really make sure we are 100 percent ready for them.”

In order for the Crimson to become the second team to beat the Eagles this season, they will need a greater showing than the one at Edina. The Hornets went up 13-0 through the early portion of the third quarter before the Crimson ever sniffed the end zone.

“Sometimes you have to lose a game in order to grow,” Lombardi said. “This is one of those situations I think because even in the games we won, we didn’t play 48 good minutes.”

Davison still had another strong performance under center with 161 yards on 14-25 passing and along with one TD. He rushed for 130 yards in 21 attempts and scored twice.

Senior running back Ryan Hanscome also chipped in some offensive yardage with 68 rushing and 68 receiving. Ky Carlson caught Davison’s lone TD pass and had good averages rushing and receiving with 6.0 and 9.0 respectively, but the senior receiver only touched the ball five times in the whole game.

Beyond those two, no other skill players amounted to more than 23 yards rushing or receiving. Receivers Jeff Dugan and Teddy Raasch each averaged 11.5 and 10.5 yards receiving but only had four catches between the two.

Defense played a role at times in keeping the game close for the Crimson. Michael Engelken led the unit with nine tackles and one sack.

“Just flying to the ball and swarming was a big thing,” Crimson senior linebacker Zion Allen said.

Jake Hanson, Carter Kitterman and Gabe Hanson each posted nine tackles too. Tony Jokismovic had one sack and tallied seven tackles. Curtis Haugen picked of one pass and added five tackles.

Maple Grove’s defense get its biggest test of the season with Eden Prairie. The Eagles piled on 41 points in a shutout win over Hopkins on Sept. 16. The Crimson offense likewise will have a test in an Eagles defense that has allowed 23 points in three games.

“Hopefully we’ll play 48 minutes against them,” Lombardi said.


Maple Grove’s Teddy Raasch knocks an Edina pass down during the game on Sept. 16. (Photo by Rich Moll- richmollphotography.com)


Crimson quarterback Brad Davison scores a touch down late in game trailing Edina 21-20. (Photo by Rich Moll- richmollphotography.com)