Maple Grove has five shutouts in past seven games

Gritty defensive play and rare scoring drives allowed has been the norm for Maple Grove football this season.

“They’re not very big, but they fly around and I think coach Tommy Becker does a good job with them,” Crimson head coach Matt Lombardi said. “They just believe it’s going to be tough to score on us.”

Seniors Adam Brant and Sam Franta along with junior Isaac Collins have been pillars for a Crimson defense that has shutout five teams since Sept. 26 when they beat eventual Class 6A semifinalist Totino-Grace 28-0. The Crimson defense continued its stellar play in the postseason as it allowed just one touchdown in Maple Grove’s 10-7 state quarterfinal win over Prior Lake last Friday.

All three are dynamic two-way players who make their marks in every game. Brant, a defensive back and wide receiver, has been tough in the backfield all year while leading the team in receiving. Franta, also a DB/receiver, likewise has kept opposing passing attacks at bay while providing a deep threat on offense. Collins, a free safety and tailback, also has stymied plenty of passing plays while providing instant offense.

While those three have led the way on the field, they all credit Becker for pushing them hard in practice.

“He just brings an attitude to us,” Collins said.

Notably, the Crimson held Lake Conference powers Edina and Wayzata to a combined 15 points in September. One more Lake Conference team stands in the Crimson’s way to reach the state championship game — the unbeaten and three-time champion Eden Prairie Eagles.

“We wanted them from the beginning of the season,” Collins said.

It has been as if they’ve been prepping for it all year on defense, going above and beyond the call of gridiron duty. The Crimson shutout Blaine in a 50-0 route the week after beating T-G. Spring Lake Park, a Class 5A state semifinalist, went down 40-0 on Oct. 15 to the Crimson.

“We have a swagger on our defense where we just play fast and physical,” Brant said. “We believe that no one is going to score on us. If we get scored on, we get pissed and we come out; we just play harder and it’s hard to beat us.”

Coon Rapids and White Bear Lake went packing by a combined score of 70-0 in two section playoff victories by the Crimson. Northwest Suburban Conference foes Champlin Park and Robbinsdale Armstrong both mustered a pair of TDs against the Crimson, but neither scored twice in a half.

“We’re a family,” Franta said. “It’s key to just know your defense and know that you’ve got your brother’s back.”

Only once did the Crimson allow more than two scores in a game when they lost 27-26 to Osseo on Oct. 10. It became a turning point in the season.

“The Osseo loss really refocused us as a team,” Brant said. “We came out to practice, went a lot harder in practice, realized we have to play a lot tougher and can’t just walk up to and be able to beat teams.”

The Crimson pitched three-straight shutouts after the Osseo loss. Prior Lake ended the 12 quarters of scoreless football when the Lakers scored in the first quarter of the state quarterfinals. Maple Grove responded by holding the Lakers scoreless the rest of the game.

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight coming in here, and we just had to man up,” Franta said. “They have some big, tough kids. They work out in the morning just like we do.”

The front seven of the Crimson found a way to stuff a Lakers running attack that had its way at first.

“Our front seven did a great job just getting under blocks, making it bounce outside for the safeties and the corners to make tackles,” Collins said.

In the second half, the Crimson defense came out swinging against the Lakers on its first drive of the second half by forcing a turnover on downs. The Lakers had the ball at the 50-yard line and threatened to score on a pass to the end zone on fourth down, but the Crimson secondary thwarted the scoring attempt with a pass break up.

The Crimson had the Lakers in a third-and-long in Laker territory after going ahead 10-7. A couple of pass interference calls on the Crimson gave the Lakers momentum inside Crimson territory, but it did not thwart the Crimson defense with a t third-down stop and then an interception by Collins.

“Sooner or later, you’ve got to make the play, and they did,” Lombardi said. “They did a nice job.”

The defense’s biggest test came with 1:41 left in the game and the Crimson ahead 10-7 with Prior Lake possessing the ball on the Laker 5-yard line. Collins broke up the first pass by the Lakers to the 30-yard line. A crowd of Crimson halted another Lakers pass play that would have been called offensive pass interference.

The Crimson then wrapped up the Lakers quarterback on third down, and the secondary turned over the Lakers on fourth down to seal the victory.

“It was just exciting,” Brandt said. “All that hard work we put in all year long is just starting to finally pay off, but we’re not done, we have a couple more games left.”

Two more if the hard work culminates in ousting the three-time champs, who haven’t lost since 2012. Eden Prairie again pummeled its last opponent, East Ridge, 35-14 after being down 14-7 at the half.

“It’s going to be another physical game,” Brant said. “We’re going to have to prepare for that. We’ve just got to come ready, prepared, watch our film, play our hard and be ready for a physical game.”

Lombardi knows that it show where the defense, moreover, the team measures up with the best in Minnesota.

“It’s the level we want to achieve sooner or later, and so who else would you want to play than the best,” Lombardi said.