Can an unemphatic victory in Week 7 really turn the tables on what was threatening to be disappointing season?

Minnetonka is counting on it.

The Skippers came through with a impassioned road win over rival Hopkins Friday night, defeating the Royals 34-28 in a fluctuating battle that saw the game tied or the lead change hands on all nine of the game’s scores.

As the Skippers enter the final week of the regular season, a 3-4 record sounds infinitely better than 2-5.

“There has been some negative self-talk that the kids hear, at school or from their neighbors or whatever…'Your team is 2-4,'” Minnetonka coach Dave Nelson says. “But this helps a ton because it shows what we are capable of, and it gives them a taste of victory. And hopefully they want another one.”

Minnetonka is counting on this to be a victory that reverberates into the upcoming week.

“We are 2-4, now we are 3-4 with the potential to finish 4-4 and earn a (favorable) seed for the playoffs,” Minnetonka sophomore running back Ty Barron said afterwards. “We just need to finish strong and get to the playoffs. Then, we will take it from there.”

Barron became a workhorse in the second half as the Minnetonka offense would eventually win out on the realm of ball control. After scoring a 22-yard touchdown on his first carry, Barron finished the first half with four carries and 42 yards. In the second, he played a bigger role, carrying the ball 16 more times for a total of 99 yards on the night.

Barron coupled with Skippers’ quarterback Garrett Olson, who also ran the ball effectively out of the option offense. Olson carried the ball 12 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns. As a passer, Olson completed 7 of 11 pass attempts for 50 yards.

Olson’s progression has been a work in progress as the junior has emerged from a junior varsity quarterback during Weeks 1 and 2, to the kind of quarterback that can help guide an offense to victory.

“(Olson is) a smart player who is gaining more confidence every week,” Nelson says. “Tonight, he really got things going with his legs. We are really excited about what he’s capable of.”

The teams swapped touchdowns the entire night, and no lead was safe. Hopkins had its chance to tie - and potentially take the lead - in the final minutes with the state’s leading passer, Oscar Johnson-Dorothy, at quarterback. Johnson-Dorothy entered the game with 1,596 passing yards.

At home on senior night, Johnson-Dorothy went 18-of-31 for 252 yards and two touchdowns. But one interception, snagged by Minnetonka senior Max Cooper with 2:36 remaining, ended the Royals’ shot at reclaiming the lead.

On the night, Johnson-Dorothy connected with six different receivers, while running back JaMichael Ellis got the ground game going effectively to the tune of 16 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown as Hopkins spread the ball around.

In the end, Cooper stepped in the line of a Johnson-Dorothy pass to the east side of the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 17-yard line, and Hopkins’ hopes of defeating Minnetonka in back-to-back years were put to bed.

The Skippers have a Week 8 matchup at home against Edina (2-5), which is reeling after losing Friday night to Wayzata despite leading 14-0 in the second quarter.

“This gives us a lot of confidence, and hopefully it carries into practice,” Barron says.  “Hopefully, we are able to bring our high energy to practice every day of the week, then we will see what happens against Edina.”

A win against the Hornets would likely mean a more favorable seed in the playoffs. Despite the 3-4 record, the Skippers have endured a murderer’s row of completion. The four losses all came at the hands of teams (Prior Lake, Eden Prairie, Wayzata and Maple Grove) ranked in the top 10 of the Class 3A football poll provided by The Associated Press.

“We are a young team that needed to taste this win,” Nelson says. “We’ve been preaching all along that we’ve got a talented team. We took our licks against four ranked teams, but now we’re getting healthy. I’m excited about moving forward.”

Minnetonka senior Max Cooper made the game-winning interception with 2:36 remaining in the game as Hopkins attempted to convert a fourth-and-goal from the 17-yard line, killing the Royals' final push and turning the tide in a seesaw game won by the Skippers 34-28 on Friday night at Hopkins High School.

Minnetonka quarterback Garrett Olson finished with 12 carries for 100 yards and two touchdowns, and the Skippers got their offense rolling behind their running game as Ty Barron added 20 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown.

The victory improves Minnetonka's record to 3-4 on the season, while Hopkins falls to 2-5.

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