Champlin Park junior cornerback DeAnte Bronson doesn’t consider the Rebels’ 31-13 victory at Osseo Friday night to be much of an upset.

He feels it serves more as a reflection of who, or what, the Rebels are in 2015.

Champlin Park took advantage of five Osseo turnovers to stun the Orioles and level the playing field in the West Metro North subdistrict standings, where there’s a four-school logjam of 3-2 teams behind Totino-Grace (4-1).

It’s a marked step for the Rebels as they re-enter relevancy after a 5-4 finish last year.

“The doubters are what is motivating us,” Bronson said. “We hear what people say, and we look in the paper and see that (Osseo) is supposed to beat us by two touchdowns…we came out here and did our thing.”

Bronson came through for the Champlin Park defense with a fourth-quarter interception he returned 35 yards to the Orioles' 1-yard line. A play later, junior tailback Romello Adkins scored to push the Rebels’ lead to 24-13. 

It was a blow from which Osseo would never recover as things went from bad to worse for the Orioles, ranked No. 7 in Class 6A in the latest Associated Press state high school football poll. They dropped their second straight game to fell to 3-2 on the season.

With its youth and inexperience, Champlin Park looks to be on an upswing as the Rebels hope to see on-the-job development for several new starters and contributors. 

Champlin Park coach Mike Korton says Friday night was a big step forward.

“We are a young team that is growing up as the season goes,” he said. “Tonight, I think we all saw this group grow up a little tonight. The energy on the sideline was outstanding.”

Osseo took its opening possession of both halves in for a touchdown after lengthy drives (12 and 10 plays, respectively). 

However, the Orioles offered little more while the Rebels defense didn’t flinch. Trailing 7-0 early, Champlin Park broke through on a 20-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Chad Costello to Brandon Oxley with 3 minutes, 50 seconds left in the opening half.

On the next play from scrimmage, Osseo fumbled the ball away to the Rebels, who set up on the Orioles’ 24-yard line with a change of momentum behind them.

One play later, Champlin Park scored again through the air. This time it was Costello to Adkins on a 14-yard strike, and the Rebels were on their way toward brewing the upset.

In the second half as the rain began to pick up, Osseo suffered two untimely turnovers in succession, and Champlin Park capitalized on both.

A fumble return for touchdown from Lumumba White at 8:03 of the fourth quarter was followed by Bronson’s interception that helped put the nail in the coffin for Osseo.

“Turnovers are always huge and those were very timely turnovers,” Bronson said. “We felt that they would turn the ball over if we forced them to throw the ball deep, and a few times they did.”

For all the troubles the Orioles had in keeping the ball, the Rebels continued to use a balanced attack as Costello continued to throw and Adkins got things moving on the ground. The offensive line comprised of two sophomores and three juniors jelled a little bit as well, and Champlin Park moved forward while Osseo fell apart.

“When that gets going, it helps the passing game, it helps open up everything,” Costello said. “And it controls the clock, that was important here.”

Costello finished 16-of-29 passing for 151 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Adkins became more of a factor in the second half when he rushed for all but 18 of his 71 yards on 21 carries.

The victory sets up Champlin Park for a showdown with No. 4-6A Totino-Grace next week. 

It also might make some consider the Rebels contenders again.

“A win like this shows that we can play with anybody,” Costello said. “We are going to build off this and move forward.”

“This is big morale boost,” Bronson said. “With the work we put in during practice, it does a lot for us when we see it pay off during a game.”

Champlin Park took advantage of five Osseo turnovers to stun the Orioles on their home field Friday night with a 31-13 victory.

Osseo, ranked No. 7 in Class 6A in the latest Associated Press state high school football poll, took its opening drive of both halves in for a touchdown, but offered little more as the Rebels' defense applied steady pressure throughout. 

Trailing 7-0 early, Champlin Park broke through on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Chad Costello to Brandon Oxley with 3 minutes, 50 seconds left in the opening half.

On the next play from scrimmage, the Orioles fumbled the ball away to the Rebels, who set up on the Osseo 24-yard line with a change of momentum behind them.

One play later, Champlin Park scored again through the air, this time to Romello Adkins on a 14-yard strike, and the Rebels were on their way towards brewing the upset.

In the second half as the rain began to pick up, the Orioles suffered two untimely turnovers in succession, both of which Champlin Park capitalized on.

A fumble return for touchdown from Lumumba White at 8:03 of the fourth quarter was followed by another huge play from the Rebels defense when DeAnte' Bronson returned an interception to the 1-yard line, setting up another score that put the nail in the coffin for Osseo.

The loss is the second straight for the Orioles, who fall to 3-2. Champlin Park improves to 3-2 on the season and faces No. 4-6A Totino-Grace next week.

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