Maple Grove came through on avoiding an 0-2 start by out-running Hopkins on Friday, Aug. 28, in a 44-36 victory.

“We played with more enthusiasm,” Maple Grove football coach Matt Lombardi said. “I thought we played a faster game. We made a lot of major mistakes that kids were trying to improve on, but I thought the attitude was good when we came out.”

Now, the Crimson get a bigger challenge in terms of size when they host Edina on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Hornets average more than 285 pounds for their defensive line, and their offensive line has good size too.

“Edina is as about as big of a football team as you’ll ever see,” Lombardi said.

He sees that as a challenge for his team in the trenches, but the Crimson has some experience with Edina to go off of. Last year, Maple Grove overcame the Hornets’ size in a 27-8 road victory to open the season.

Winning again will not come as easily as a three-touchdown victory looked on paper. Neither will Edina’s 41-7 loss to Eden Prairie on Aug. 28 fool the Crimson.

“Eden Prairie caught them in a couple big plays early that put them in a hole,” Lombardi said.

Maple Grove has seen sizable adversity this season in general with losing their opener to Osseo 22-15 on Aug. 22. It looked like adversity may continue on Aug. 28 when Hopkins led twice in the first quarter against the Crimson on a touchdown run by JaMichael Ellis and a TD pass by Oscar Johnson-Dorothy.

Maple Grove took the lead on an Isaac Collins 20-yard TD run and then again on a 50-yard score by Lasana Sesay off of a fumble recovery. Collins then punched in a 6-yard TD early in the second quarter, and the Crimson never trailed again.

Ryan Hanscome then got in on the act with a 5-yard TD run, and Eddie Lee added to the lead 31-21 before halftime with a 22-yard field goal. Hanscome finished with 129 yards rushing on 7.2 yards per carry and TD in his second varsity game. He also had two receptions for 24 yards.

“He’s been a pleasant surprise,” Lombardi said.

Collins continues to get lions’ share of touches for the Crimson and fittingly so in the case of the second half against Hopkins. He scored two more TDs on 2-yard runs to protect the team’s lead.

Collins finished with four TDs and 182 yards rushing on 6.3 yards per carry. He also caught three passes for 29 yards with 9.7 yards per catch, and he averaged 27.5 yards on kick returns.

Overall, the Crimson ran for 346 yards and averaged 6.4 yards on the ground. The offensive line had a big role to play with those numbers against the Royals.

“They did a nice job opening up [holes], and our backs ran really hard,” Lombardi said. “Isaac and Ryan are hard-nosed backs.”

Lee also helped in the passing game with two catches for 29 yards, and Teddy Raasch likewise made two receptions. Junior quarterback Brad Davison finished with 10-15 passing, 102 yards and an interception.

Maple Grove created their share of turnovers,including the Sesay fumble return for a TD on special teams. Lukas Barrington and Peter Doyle picked off passes, and Zion Allen recovered a fumble.

“That’s a big part of what we’re about, and they did a job good at that,” Lombardi said.

The Crimson defense still has a ways to go in allowing 394yards against the Royals. Moreover the Crimson defense has allowed 58 points in two games.

“It’s tough to be a great defense because you have to be in every play, and I think we’re playing very well for about 80 percent of the time,” Lombardi said. “The 20 percent, we’re committing really big errors. That’s how the points add up.”

Doyle led the team in tackles, and Leroy Kwateh had seven. Collins finished with six.

Hopkins tried to claw back with a 77-yard TD pass by Johnson-Dorothy with 4:32, but the Crimson held on for the win at home.

The Crimson will now look to improve to 2-1 on the season in Thursday’s game with Edina.