Maple Grove recovered two onside kicks and scored three touchdowns in the final 59 seconds to shock third-ranked St. Michael-Albertville 29-27 Thursday in the Class 6A state quarterfinals.

The Crimson trailed 27-10 with 4 minutes, 30 seconds left in the game after Knights quarterback Marcus Krupke found wide receiver Xavier Thurman for a 17-yard touchdown. After the ensuing kickoff, Maple Grove drove 70 yards and scored on a 30-yard pass completion from quarterback Curtis Haugen to Joe Raymon with 59 seconds left.

The Crimson then recovered an onside kick. On the next play Haugen found Raymon down the left sideline for a 49-yard touchdown.

Suddenly trailing just 27-22, and with 46 seconds still left on the clock, Crimson coach Matt Lombardi called for another onside kick. Kicker Andy Peterson squibbed it 10 yards in front of him, a slew of blockers cleared out Knight defenders, and a Maple Grove player once again emerged with the ball.

Five plays later, after reaching the Knights’ 1-yard line, running back Evan Hull strolled into the end zone untouched with four seconds on the clock for the lead.

And, incredibly, the victory.

“Just like we drew it up,” Lombardi laughed as he addressed his team after the game. “It just shows as bad as things might seem for you, you can never give up. You have to keep playing and hope things fall in your favor.”

The stunning turnaround came as St. Michael-Albertville (9-2), which held the lead for over 40 minutes, appeared headed for a U.S. Bank Stadium appearance in its first season competing in Class 6A.

On the Knights’ first possession of the game, running back Desean Phillips capped off a 70-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. The score stayed 7-0 until 4:48 left in the first half, when Krupke hit senior wide receiver Zach Sjelin in stride over the middle for a 30-yard touchdown.

Maple Grove didn’t score on its first four drives before Peterson kicked a 20-yard field goal on the final play of the first half. The Crimson had driven to the Knights’ 15-yard line earlier in the second quarter, but Knights lineman Austin Bucholz intercepted a screen pass to end the threat. Bucholz’s 42-yard return set up the second Knights touchdown.

Maple Grove looked like it might steal momentum back early in the second. Hull, who gained 52 yards rushing in the first half, added 55 more on the first drive of the third quarter. He later ran for a 3-yard score that made it 14-10. Hull, who ran for 177 yards on 36 carries, now has 2,077 rushing yards this season.

Krupke and Thurman responded by hooking up for two long touchdowns that put St. Michael-Albertville back up by 17 points.

“We made some big plays in the passing game and got some big stops at different points,” St. Michael-Albertville coach Jared Essler said. “It was just a crazy ending. The offense, defense or special teams just needed to make one more play and that’s what it comes down to…. I’ve never seen anything quite like that.”

Instead it will be Maple Grove (8-3) making its third state semifinal appearance in four years. It will face No. 1-ranked Eden Prairie (11-0) on Thursday. The Eagles defeated the Crimson 28-7 on Sept. 28.

“This game will be remembered in Maple Grove for a long time,” Lombardi said. “We’re not going to give it back, but St. Michael-Albertville really deserved it. Those kids played their hearts out.”