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Lakeville North piling up the points

By BRIAN STENSAAS, Star Tribune, 09/13/11, 12:09PM CDT

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Brian Vossen is a math teacher by day and Lakeville North's football coach in the afternoon and evenings.

Brian Vossen is a math teacher by day and Lakeville North's football coach in the afternoon and evenings. He sees the numbers after two weeks of games, and admits the Panthers outscoring opponents nearly 2-to-1 so far is a surprise.

"You know, I watched our offense a lot this summer [in 7-on-7 passing leagues] and they came up with some pretty good things," Vossen said. "But it's hard to say I was expecting this, even though we knew our offense would light things up a bit."

Indeed it has.

Lakeville North stunned Eastview in the season opener 42-17, allowing the Lightning just three points in the second half. The Panthers then rolled Apple Valley 45-19 Friday.

Quarterback Trey Heid has completed 77.8 percent of his passes through two games for 472 yards. He has hit seven different receivers and also is second on the team in rushing yards.

"Heid is completely on the same page with his receiving corps," Vossen said. "So much better than last year. And he's also an enormous threat with his legs. It makes it difficult for defenses to cover him like they want to."

Heid, who is a three-sport athlete along with top targets Charlie Hayes and Joel Oxton, is one of 12 starters back from last year's team, which finished second to eventual Class 5A state runner-up Rosemount in the South Suburban Conference.

The Irish lurk just two weeks away, but first Lakeville North has to deal with Edina in a pre-arranged crossover matchup with the Lake Conference.

"More than anything, our guys feel like they have a lot to prove," Vossen said. "And we've made it very clear to the guys we're going against some top teams."

Second-chance victory

For a moment last Friday, it appeared Shakopee's football team would fall to 1-1 on the young season when junior kicker Alexi Johnson's 23-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Chanhassen. But just as the ball was snapped, the head referee's whistle blew to indicate the ball had not been properly set.

Johnson's second attempt wasn't exactly well-struck, but it cleared the uprights with 10 seconds remaining. It gave the Sabers a 17-15 victory and an undefeated record.

"It made it all the more exciting," Shakopee coach Jody Stone said. "I think our long snapper was just ready to go and didn't wait for the hand to drop and the whistle to go for the 25-second clock. High school football is the best reality show going."

 

 

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