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Spotlight game preview: Maple Grove at Wayzata

By Star Tribune, 09/11/14, 10:20PM CDT

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7 p.m. Friday

Faith from the top

Wayzata head coach Brad Anderson and Matt Lombardi, the former Trojans defensive coordinator who left to become Maple Grove’s head coach in 2011, turned faith and fearlessness into a winning combination.

On the field before the 2005 state tournament quarterfinals, Lombardi noticed a defender key to his game plan hobbled by a foot injury. As a result, Lombardi said, he “literally switched the whole defense in pregame.” Wayzata beat Cambridge-Isanti 38-0. “Brad always had enough faith in me to allow me to be me and do things,” Lombardi said. “From a leadership standpoint that’s staggering.”

Ex-Trojans come back

Lombardi isn’t the only former Trojan returning to Wayzata on Friday. Former standout players Tommy Becker and Joey Miller are members of Maple Grove’s coaching staff.

 

Seen that before

Both Anderson and Lombardi felt a sense of familiarity while breaking down the other’s schemes on film this week. Lombardi’s defense remains built on blitzing from various angles while Anderson’s “hybrid Wing-T” offense reminded Lombardi of what Wayzata ran back in the early 2000s.

David La Vaque

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