Bring on East Ridge.

That was the message from Woodbury after the No. 10-6A Royals completed a 24-14 victory over Mounds View Friday in Woodbury. The win over the Mustangs put the Royals in a showdown with their district rival, the Raptors, in a contest for the inaugural East Metro Blue subdistrict title next Friday at East Ridge High School in Woodbury.

“Let’s play right now,” Royals coach Andy Hill said. “We’ll get on a bus right now. We’ve been waiting for this game. Our kids are going to have to have a great week and we’re going to have to come out hard and play hard. You’re not going to see us take the field and be intimidated.”

Woodbury (6-1, 5-1) is off to its best start since 1998, when it started 7-0.

Senior quarterback Brady Mundahl has a lot to do with the Royals new-found success.

Mundahl, a three-year starter, can beat a team with his arm or his feet. He did both against Mounds View. Mundahl completed 18 of 35 passes for 166 yards with a touchdown and rushed 17 times for 91 yards and a TD.

With Woodbury clinging to a 17-14 lead with 8 minutes, 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Mundahl led the Royals on a 10-play, 87-yard scoring drive that drained 4:25 off the clock and was capped by Nico Bolden's 2-yard touchdown run.

“I just kind of said what I was always say, I looked at them and said, ‘Let’s do this. Let’s do this, boys,’” Mundahl said. “That’s what I love about this team is we don’t need motivation from anything else. We have self-motivation and that’s what drives us. We want to succeed and do the best we can out there.”

Woodbury’s defense gave Mundahl the ball in the fourth quarter after it picked off Mounds View for the third time in the game. Bolden had two interceptions while Ricardo Twinawe came up with the third to begin the Royals' final scoring drive.

Woodbury limited the Mustangs (4-3, 3-3) to 196 yards of total offense, including just 78 rushing yards.

Mounds View scored on a 56-yard pass in the second quarter to make the game 7-6 after the extra-point kick hit the left upright.

The Royals fumbled on their opening possession of the second half but drove 78 yards in 13 plays on their next possession to take a 14-6 lead on Mundahl's 4-yard touchdown run with 6:45 left in the third quarter.

Bolden's first interception came on the ensuing possession, but Woodbury gave the ball back to Mounds View when the Mustangs intercepted a pass at the Royals' 14-yard line. Jeff LeMay capitalized for the Mustangs with a 3-yard TD run, and Ryan Nickel found Holden Schmidt in the end zone for a 2-point conversion to tie the game with 5:55 left in the third quarter. 

Woodbury grabbed a 7-0 lead with 8:58 to play in the first half when Mundahl found Jeremiah Coddon for a 5-yard touchdown pass. Coddon, who announced the day before practice began this season that he was playing football for the first time since elementary school, finished with a team-high seven receptions for 65 yards. He leads the team with seven touchdown receptions this season.

“He’s one of the biggest parts of our team, just his athleticism,” Mundahl said. “He plays like it’s his last play every play.”

Coddon, who led the Royals basketball team in scoring last season, also leads the team in receiving with 33 catches and 491 yards.

Woodbury hasn’t beaten East Ridge since 2011.

“We have to have a good week of practice to start out and come out hard,” Bolden said.

Woodbury senior quarterback Brady Mundahl can beat a team with his arm or his feet. He did both Friday for the Royals in a 24-14 home victory over Mounds View.

Mundahl completed 18 of 35 passes for 166 yards with a touchdown and rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown.

He led Woodbury on a 10-play, 87-yard drive that Nico Bolden capped with a 2-yard touchdown run.

The Royals intercepted three passes in the game and moved to 6-1 on the season, the team’s best start in nearly 20 years. 

Check back later for a full report.

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