In the lulls between the hurricane-like deluges, Eden Prairie and Totino-Grace managed to get in a little football. Some of it was sloppy, as expected of a season-opener. Some was superb.

Mostly, it was just long.

When it was finally over shortly before 11 p.m., 3½ hours after it started, Eden Prairie rode the momentum of a 24-point second-half blitz for a 38-20 victory, its 31st in a row going back to the 2012 post-season.

As long as the game was — it started 15 minutes late and was delayed by lightning in the area just before halftime for one hour, 45 minutes — it’s safe to say Eden Prairie lineman Connor Novak-Goar would have preferred the night never end.

Novak-Goar became the idol of linemen everywhere with had not one but two chances for glory with the ball in his hands. He intercepted a screen pass in the first half and returned it 40 yards, setting up Eden Prairie’s first touchdown.

In the second half, he covered a fumble by teammate T. J. Conrad in the end zone for a score of his own.

“I’ve never actually scored a touchdown before,” Novak-Goar said. “I’m kind of in shock, really. I didn’t do anything special. I just played football, did my job, and it turned out to be a great night.”

The first half of the game lived up to the billing of the rematch of the 2014 Class 6A championship. Totino-Grace sliced up Eden Prairie’s vaunted defense on its opening drive. Totino-Grace went 80 yards in 11 plays, capped by a four-yard run by junior quarterback Kyle Halverson, to take a quick 7-0 lead.

That lead stood for the rest of the first quarter and most of the second as both teams worked out kinks. What followed was a game-changing flurry of points that seemed very Eden Prairie-ish.

After Novak-Goar’s interception and the ensuing touchdown, Eden Prairie’s J.D. Spielman snatched a tipped pass out of the air and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown. Despite just 56 yards of total offense and two fumbles, Eden Prairie had scored 14 points in 17 seconds and led 14-7.

Totino-Grace showed resiliency on its next drive, going 58 yards on 10 plays, overcoming four penalties. It pulled within one when Gayflor Flomo powered around left end, blowing three Eden Prairie players out of the way, for a seven-yard touchdown.

Then came rain and lightning, even before the extra point was attempted, and the weather delay.

When play resumed, Eden Prairie picked up where it left off. Totino-Grace, which finished with six turnovers and just one first down after halftime, did not.

Eden Prairie set the tone for the second half on its very first play from scrimmage. Quarterback Jackson Zaugg, making his first career start, lofted a perfect pass down the right sideline to receiver Kyle Connelly, who broke a tackle and raced into the end zone for a 79-yard touchdown.

"I was kind of surprised I was able make that throw because the ball was a little wet," Zaugg said.

That play, said Novak-Goar, was the boost the Eagles needed.

"That just provided us with all the momentum we needed," he said. "We broke out after that and just kept going and going."

In typical Mike Grant fashion, the Eden Prairie coach concentrated on what went well during his post-game talk to his team.

"We played like champs in the second half," Grant said, addressing the players as they knelt around him. "The first half wasn't our best, but we just got better and better."