After Benilde-St. Margaret’s 28-14 victory over Waconia on Friday, Red Knights coach Jon Hanks professed a newfound admiration for Eden Prairie coach Mike Grant and Totino-Grace coach Jeff Ferguson.

“Those guys have done it for years and they’ve won so much,” said Hanks, who coached (along with then co-head coach Patrick Krieger) Benilde-St. Margaret’s to the Class 4A championship last November, the program’s first title. “I’m amazed. It’s so much harder to stay up on top than to get up. We’re just getting started in this thing.”

The Red Knights found out two important things about themselves in the victory over the Wildcats. They have the talent to be a force in Class 4A once again. And no one is going to roll over and hand them a victory.

The best of Benilde-St. Margaret’s showed up early in the game. The Red Knights defense looked dominating, getting a 40-yard fumble return for touchdown by defensive lineman Patrick Kalb less than three minutes into the game.

The lead grew to 21-0 midway the second quarter as the Red Knights repeatedly stymied the Waconia offense and leaned on their offensive depth.

It took one Waconia drive to get Benilde-St. Margaret’s attention. The Wildcats drove 65 yards in the closing minutes of the first half and scored on a 32-pass from quarterback Nolan Vanderhoff to his brother Jaden Vanderhoff, cutting the lead to 21-7.

Suddenly, Waconia was confident. And the Red Knights struggled to find the touch they’d had at the start of the game.

“When we got into the locker room at halftime, we were up 21-7 and usually, a team would be happy,” linebacker/captain Braeden Fitzgerald said. “But, man, we left a lot on the field. Even though we were leading, we were playing a pretty bad game.”

Waconia cut the lead to 21-14 with a touchdown on the first drive of the second half. But then the Red Knights’ championship pedigree showed through, as the offense mounted a scoring drive. They regained a two-touchdown lead and, more importantly, control of the game on a 29-yard pass from quarterback Nick Peterson — the Red Knights’ third quarterback of the game — to Clyde Sellke.

“I think we took our foot off the gas a little bit,” Hanks said. “That’s something we’ll talk about. Everyone that’s going to come in here against us is going to want to walk out going ‘Yeah, we beat the state champs.’ ”

First report

Benilde-St. Margaret’s accomplished two things in its 28-14 victory over Waconia on Friday.

The Red Knights showed they have plenty left over after their 2016 Class 4A championship run, exhibiting a rough-and-rugged defense, particularly against the run, and a balanced offense with multiple weapons.

And they got a lesson on what it means to be a defending champion: Nothing is going to come easy.

The Red Knights looked dominant for a quarter-and-a-half, then watched as Waconia battled back to turn what had the makings of a rout into a battle. They then iced the victory with a drive worthy of a championship team.

Benilde jumped on Waconia early. John Landry sacked Wildcats quarterback Nolan Vanderhoff and Patrick Kalb picked up the ensuing fumble and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

Later in the quarter Red Knights senior running back Liam Ford ran 40 yards for a touchdown, bumping the score to 14-0. They made it 21-0 on a perfect 40-yard strike from quarterback Tino Fialo to Gabe Alada midway through the second quarter.

Fialo was one of three quarterbacks the Red Knights used in the first half as they search for a replacement for graduated Will Whitmore.

Waconia was its own worst enemy for much of the first half, committing three turnovers, which could have been more had Ford not dropped two would-be interceptions.

The Wildcats finally got things going late in the half, going 65 yard in seven plays. A 32-yard pass from Vanderhoff to his receiver brother Jaden cut the deficit to 21-7 at halftime.

Waconia, in its first year under coach Corey Shea, came out after halftime and drove right downfield on the Benilde-St. Margaret's defense. The Wildcats went 73 yards in 13 plays, mostly through the air. The Wildcats cut what was once a comfortable Red Knights lead to a single touchdown on another Vanderhoff to Vanderhoff connection.

The defending champs responded immediately, however, scoring on their next drive on a 29-yard pass from Nick Peterson – quarterback No. 3 – to Clyde Selke to regain a two-touchdown lead and, most importantly, control of the game, 28-14. The Red Knights overcame back-to-back holding penalties on the drive.

The Red Knights’ depth showed through late as they leaned on their three superb running backs – Ford, Gabe Jackson and Quinn Ehlen – to run time off the clock.