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Prep football hits the halfway point

By JIM PAULSEN, Star Tribune, 09/21/14, 7:36PM CDT

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A look at the most notable teams, players and games around the metro as we hit the midway point of the prep football season.


Rosemount's Gavin Rudoll makes a touchdown reception early in the first quarter of against Prior Lake on Sept. 5. (Matthew Hintz, Special to the Star Tribune)

We’ve reached the midpoint of the high school football season (Zero Week doesn’t count), a great time to step back and assess what has taken place.

Here are my choices for the metro’s most notable of 2014 — so far.

Best team, large school: Can you argue with Eden Prairie? I know it’s not trendy, but as contenders rise and fall, the Eagles just keep soaring above the fray. Disagree? Try arguing against a 22-game winning streak.

Best team, small school: For these purposes, I’m classifying any team in Class 4A or below as “small.” And two-time defending Class 4A champ Hutchinson has looked unbeatable, outscoring opponents 189-15 through four games.

Most likely to end a dynasty: Obviously this is targeted at the two teams listed above. While I can’t legitimately pinpoint a threat to Hutchinson in 4A, Rosemount looks like it’s on a path to a repeat showdown with Eden Prairie in the Class 6A final. The Irish are 4-0 and have lived up to preseason billing.

Best game: Minnetonka’s stunning 25-24 victory over Becker in Week 1. Having fallen behind 24-22 with 21 seconds left, the Skippers went 52 yards in 19 seconds to set up a game-winning field goal as time ran out.

There were five lead changes in the second half, four in the final four minutes.

Honorable mention goes to Totino-Grace’s 34-33 overtime victory at Spring Lake Park.

Biggest surprise: Bloomington Jefferson. In his third year as head coach, Tim Carlson has playmakers in running back Colton Myles and QB Zach Ubben and has the 4-0 Jaguars playing with confidence.

They’ll need it as their second-half schedule is much tougher than the first half (games against Chaska, Cooper, Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Chanhassen).

Team of hard knocks: Edina’s first four games were not a schedule, they were a sentence. The Hornets’ may be the best 0-4 team in the state, having lost to Maple Grove, DeLaSalle, Rosemount and Eden Prairie.

The combined records of those four teams? 17-0.

MVP, large school: A pair of quarterbacks — East Ridge’s Seth Green and Rosemount’s Jackson Erdmann — are the two front-runners.

While Erdmann’s arm and experience has made Rosemount more multi-dimensional than in years past, the nod goes to Green, a junior whose combination of poise and athleticism has helped East Ridge (4-0) live up to lofty expectations.

MVP, small school: If he ever played more than half a game, Hutchinson running back Robbie Grimsley might be a sure thing. But the Tigers rarely have needed Grimsley to carry the ball after halftime, so the choice is DeLaSalle quarterback Billy Hart.

He’s just 5- 11 and possesses average arm strength, but he’s perfect for the Islanders’ spread offense. Gritty to the core, Hart can will the Islanders to victory, as he did in their 33-29 win over Edina.

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