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Minnetonka races past Edina

By MN Football Hub staff, 09/23/11, 8:44AM CDT

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No. 5-ranked Skippers bolt to big early lead, defense finally yields touchdown


Minnetonka's Rashad Cohen races into the end zone for one of his two touchdowns. Photo by Helen Nelson

It’s a given that every team wants to win its Homecoming game.

Players anticipate the rush of playing in front of their home crowd for weeks beforehand, and nothing is more satisfying than capping all that build-up with a win.

That win is even sweeter when it’s in the form of a payback.

Minnetonka lost last season’s Homecoming game against Edina. That loss was still fresh in the memory of Minnetonka senior quarterback Scott Benedict.

“It was devastating,” he said.

Not this time around.


Minnetonka quarterback Scott Benedict, left, passed for 128 yards and rushed for a touchdown in the Skippers' victory over Edina. Photo by Helen Nelson

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Benedict completed eight of 10 passes for 128 yards to help propel his his team to a 28-14 win over the Hornets on Friday, Sept. 23.

“It was good to come out here and get this,” Benedict said. “We know we’re the better football team.”

And so far, the stats back that up.

The Skippers now boast a perfect 4-0 record. But they aren't perfect, at least not on defense. Up until the second half of Friday night’s game the Skippers hadn't allowed a point.

It looked as though Minnetonka was going to continue its defensive stone wall by holding Edina scoreless through the first half of the game.

But, the streak ended in the third quarter when Edina senior running back Francisco Hardacker rushed for a touchdown. Edina would complete its scoring with another touchdown in the fourth quarter by junior wide receiver Marley Allison.

Benedict felt that his team may have gotten a little overconfident because of its early 28-point lead.

“I think our team stayed pretty focused until the last half,” he said. “But, we need to do better finishing it out, I think.”

Minnetonka coach Dave Nelson, in his 10th year leading the Skippers, said one of the side effects of homecoming week is the distraction it can be for the players.

“There’s so much going on,” he said. "It’s hard to concentrate. They [the players] are in so many activities during the week that sometimes their focus isn’t what it needs to be."

-- Jennifer Brook, MN Football Hub staff

Hornets lose Gophers recruit to injury


Edina's Nick Rallis (21), who has commited to play at the University of Minnesota, was knocked out of Friday's game against Minnetonka with a shoulder injury. Photo by Helen Nelson

Edina’s injury report has gone from bad to worse to … what is worse than worse?

C.J. Johnson, a running back/wide receiver who has received a Division I scholarship offer from Air Force, is out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Deon Dorvil, an all-Lake Conference caliber defensive tackle, has the same season-ending knee injury.

The hits just keep on coming for the Hornets and coach Reed Boltmann, who said after his team’s 28-14 loss to Minnetonka that University of Minnesota recruit Nick Rallis also could be lost for the season.

Rallis, a senior who has played running back, wide receiver, linebacker and safety this fall, has been slowed by a shoulder injury since the Hornets’ two-a-day preseason practices.

“We’ll see what the doctor says, if he can keep playing,” Boltmann said about Rallis, whose shoulder injuries knocked him out of the game against the Skippers. “He might be out for a few weeks. Hopefully we get him back by the end of the season.“

Missing three of their top players, the Hornets lacked the firepower to challenge the unbeaten and No. 5-ranked (Class 5A) Skippers.

“When I take that talent off the team, it is hard to plug those holes sometimes,” Boltmann said. “I feel bad for the kids. That they don’t get to play their senior season.”

-- Loren Nelson, MN Football Hub staff

Statistics, Summary

Game Recap

Senior running back Rashad Cohen rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, and senior quarterback Scott Benedict completed 8 of 10 passes for 128 yards and ran for a score as No. 5-ranked Minnetonka (Class 5A) remained unbeaten with a 28-14 Homecoming triumph over Edina on Friday, Sept. 23, at Minnetonka High School

The Skippers, who hadn’t allowed a touchdown in their previous three games, needed the explosive outing from their offense as Edina staged a mini-rally in the second half.

Minnetonka (4-0) extended its season-opening shutout streak to 14 quarters, as it led 21-0 at halftime on a 5-yard touchdown run by Cohen, a 1-yard plunge by Benedict and an 8-yard run by junior Andre Eubanks with 3:18 left in the opening half.

The Skippers opened the scoring in the second half with a 21-yard run by Cohen, putting them in front 28-0.

The Hornets (2-2) finally solved the Skippers’ defense with a 2-yard touchdown run by senior Francisco Hardacker with 3:41 left in the third quarter.

Late in the fourth quarter, Edina quarterback Mark Handberg connected on a 43-yard pass to Graham Woodward, setting up an 18-yard scoring toss from Handberg to Marley Allison on the next play.

Handberg completed 19 of 27 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown, and Hardacker led the Hornets with 45 rusing yards on 11 carries.

DeAndre Singleton had an interception for Minnetonka.

-- Loren Nelson, MN Football Hub staff

1. Rashad Cohen, Minnetonka
A 5-foot-9, 165-pound senior running back, Cohen was so effective he turned the Skippers’ early run-by-committee approach into a stop-him-if-you-can game plan. The speedy Cohen repeatedly slashed and gashed the Hornets’ defense on his way to 108 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.

2. Scott Benedict, Minnetonka
Benedict, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound quarterback, was a study in efficiency, completing 8 of 10 passes for 128 yards and no interceptions. His pinpoint passing helped open up the running game and keep the Hornets' defense off balance.

3. Marley Allison, Edina
A 5-11, 175-pound junior with exceptional speed and glue sticks for hands, Allison caught nine passes for 57 yards and a touchdown. His tap dancing along the sideline while catching an 18-yard toss from Hornets QB Mark Handberg with 3:22 left in the fourth quarter capped the scoring.

-- Loren Nelson, MN Football Hub staff

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