The essence of high school football, the reasons it’s so compelling and worthwhile, was evident on the football field at Osseo High School Friday night after Totino-Grace’s 27-13 victory over four-time defending state champion Eden Prairie.
On one end, spilling across the middle of the field, was the jubilant mob of Totino-Grace players, coaches, fans and well-wishers. Hands were shaken, hugs were plentiful, broad smiles spread across every face in a well-deserved celebration. The Eagles had shocked the Minnesota prep football world and salved some old wounds, defeating the state’s most heralded program.
Eden Prairie had defeated Totino-Grace five consecutive times dating back to 2011, three times in the state tournament. Consider this a large helping of payback.
“This is like a dream that I don’t want to end,” said Totino-Grace running back Ivan Burlak. “From day one, we believed we could do this. We never had any doubt.”
At the other, the Eden Prairie Eagles stood in a loose group, tears streaming down the faces of every player. One of the hard truths of high school sports is that for every winner, there is also a loser. Losing is something this group of Eden Prairie players had never experienced before, having won 40 games in a row prior to Friday. Still, losing is never easy, especially when it means the season is over.
“I’ve been here before,” Eden Prairie coach Mike Grant said. “It’s really not about the losing. The hard part is not being with each other every day. We’ll meet on Monday and then scatter to the wind. The kids aren’t crying because they lost. They’re crying because the season is over.”
Lesson learned. Eden Prairie, despite how it looks from the outside, is just as human as everyone else.
JIM PAULSEN
Maple Grove players and coaches gathered at midfield after Friday night’s game with Burnsville discussing their quarterfinal victory while bits of news on Eden Prairie’s fate filtered into their midst.
The game was tied. An Eden Prairie player injury summoned an ambulance. Play was on hold.
Time passed. Any updates, assistant coaches clutching their phones wondered? The game and Twitter updates resumed and interest grew as the upset probability grew. Totino-Grace touchdown. Totino-Grace interception.
Maple Grove coach Matt Lombardi, headed off the field, was not surprised. Eden Prairie knew two teams were not afraid to take on the four-time defending state champs, he said, his Crimson and Totino-Grace.
In the Hopkins High School parking lot, the Crimson team buses rolled out. The parent of one Maple Grove player scanned the AM dial in his truck in hopes of catching a live broadcast. No luck. The glow from his mobile phone screen gave light to the look of anticipation on his face.
Another Totino-Grace touchdown. Game over. Eden Prairie’s 40-game winning streak, not the longest but certainly the greatest run in high school football, had ended.
Away from the field
Twitter users offered a heavy dose of typical schadenfreude. Others cheered the upset.
Football observers more carefully measured the outcome. Totino-Grace, though a Class 4A program playing 6A Eden Prairie, had seen the behemoth for the third time in a calendar year. There were no more surprises. And given a one-point loss in the 2014 Prep Bowl, returning Totino-Grace players knew they could hang.
Saturday morning
Totino-Grace coach Jeff Ferguson did two radio interviews. Eden Prairie coach Mike Grant, meanwhile, could see through his office window a group of Eagles’ players headed to the school’s weight room.
DAVID LA VAQUE