History was made in several ways when Totino-Grace came back to defeat Lakeville North on Thursday in the Class 6A football state semifinals.
Totino-Grace, a small-school private power located in Fridley with a Class 4A school enrollment (about 770 students), made the unprecedented decision to opt-up two classes to spar with the likes of Lakeville North (about 1,730 students). The Eagles’ 37-21 victory sends them to the Prep Bowl next Friday at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Thursday’s game at Osseo, one of the first semifinals played anywhere but the Metrodome since 1989, saw kickoff temperatures hovering around 20 degrees with a 10 mph wind making punts and passes less effective.
No matter. Two run-heavy, physical teams exchanged blows with the underdog coming out ahead. Totino-Grace (11-1), down 14-0 before the game was seven minutes old, stormed back against the state’s most fearsome defense. Lakeville North (10-2) had not surrendered more than 14 points in a game all season.
“We had to dig deep,” senior running back Kez Flomo said. “We knew they had a great defense, but we knew we were better than them. We fought hard as you can see.”
Flomo, a sledgehammer of a runner, conceded the spotlight to teammate Ben Mezzenga, whose slashing style proved too much for the Panthers’ to contain.
Mezzenga ran for four touchdowns, his first covering 78 yards, to spark his team.
“We knew they were the best defense coming into this game,” said Mezzenga, who also played cornerback. “That just really pushed us and I know it pushed our coaching staff. They can find ways to pick apart even the best defenses in the state.”
The normally stout Panthers were scrambling.
“We tried cutting them, we tried lining up more linemen or linebackers, but we just couldn’t stop them,” Lakeville North coach Brian Vossen said. “We didn’t play a team this year whose run we couldn’t stop. That’s a great team — the best we’ve seen.”
Totino-Grace advances to play the winner of Friday’s game between three-time defending state champion Eden Prairie and Maple Grove.
“We love challenging ourselves and we can’t wait until next week,” Flomo said.
The Crimson blanked Totino-Grace 28-0 on Sept. 26, a turning point, Mezzenga said.
“We were trying to figure out what we had,” he said. “After that Maple Grove game we made some changes.”
Such as?
“Kept the faith. Trusted their coaches. Practiced well,” Eagles coach Jeff Ferguson said.
