Late in the second quarter of last season’s Class 5A state championship game, Wayzata receiver Jeff Borchardt and Eden Prairie safety Matt Knoff, two highly trained athletes representing the state’s enduring big-school powers, went up for a football near the goal line.

 

They came down with seemingly equal possession.

 

College-sized coaching staffs, almost 100 teenagers on each sideline, Metrodome fans and those watching the game on TV waited as referees talked about which team should get the ball at a key moment in a close game.

 

A season of preparation — weeks of practice, hours of film study — for that play and countless others in every game of every football season can be altered by injuries, referees’ calls and the funny bounces of an oblong ball.

 

Here’s a look at the play, the players involved and how coaches who stress flawless execution live with things they are powerless to control.

 

 

Coach Brad Anderson studied his team’s regular-season finale against Eden Prairie and added wrinkles to the Trojans’ bootleg calls in hopes of producing an explosive Prep Bowl play. Bottom line: Anderson wanted Borchardt, a slot receiver and his top deep threat, isolated with a safety.

 

Eden Prairie defensive coordinator Mark Ritter said Wayzata’s proficiency with throwing from bootleg plays occupied much of his thought before the game. Every three years, Eagles coaches analyze every play in which the opposing offense got at least 5 yards. Head coach Mike Grant tells defensive backs, “Just back up and play the game in front of you.”

 

 

Borchardt, a junior this season, is a “quiet and intense competitor” who hurts opposing teams with his speed, Anderson said. Ten of his 26 receptions last fall went for touchdowns, and he averaged 23.4 yards per catch. 

 

Knoff, whose father, Kurt, was a Vikings defensive back, didn’t always impress in strength and speed tests but earned playing time with his guile. Ritter called Knoff, playing free safety, “our field general.” 

 

Neither player settled into a specific starting role until early in the season. They learned through simulated adversity. Borchardt said Trojans defensive backs were permitted at times to mug receivers without penalty in practice. Knoff said the first-team defense, which allowed just one touchdown during the regular season, was at times set up to fail in practice to keep the players humble.

 

 

Wayzata trailed 3-0 but moved the ball into midfield when Anderson called a “boot post.’’ Borchardt took off on a deep route, knowing he was quarterback Nick Martin’s first read and that this play produced a touchdown a week earlier. 

 

Knoff said he “saw the quarterback throw at the last second, and the next thing I remember was being on the ground wrestling.”

 

 

Referees ultimately awarded Eden Prairie the interception. The Eagles went on to a 13-3 victory and their seventh Prep Bowl crown. 

 

Anderson and Grant saw the play’s impact differently. At halftime, Anderson told players, “It was a huge call, but it was not the game.” 

 

Grant countered: “It might have been the game, because they had an unbelievable defense. But we wouldn’t have gone in at halftime and told the kids, 'That’s it.’” 

 

Two of the state’s most successful coaches agree that part of being an overall winner is learning to accept little losses. 

 

“Football is a full year of preparation,” Grant said. “But in the end, it’s a game. And the lessons our kids learn are more important than wins and losses.” 

 

Said Anderson: “Sport does teach you that there are things you can work very hard towards and hopefully have success doing. But there are things that happen in your life that you don’t have control over. The sooner you realize to accept those things and move forward, the better off you’re going to be.”