The streak was extended last November on the snow-covered turf at Chanhassen High School.
Eighteen games and counting.
Minnetonka’s 13-year run of futility against Eden Prairie has included all manner of games— regular season, playoffs, for state championships — at a plethora of venues and in most every type of weather conditions.
No matter the setup, the result hasn't varied. Eden Prairie wins.
Seemingly, there’s not much hope for change this year from a Skippers’ perspective, but that's not reason to dismiss it as our Top Game of the Week.
Minnetonka (0-2, 0-0) has lost both its games, 21-17 to Eastview in Week 1 and 21-14 to St. Michael-Albertville on Sept. 6, while Eden Prairie (2-0, 0-0) dispatched Roseville 41-0 on Aug. 29 and Woodbury 42-7 during Week 2 in typical dominating fashion.
Despite the early season stumbles, Minnetonka remains a program on the rise under coach Dave Nelson. The Skippers appeared in the Class 6A Prep Bowl in 2017 and maybe, just maybe, this is the year they surprise their Metro West Subdistrict foe Eden Prairie.
The Skippers' Ben Tolkinen rushed for 154 yards and a touchdown, and Sam Hamshari, subbing for injured starting quarterback Luke Tollefson, ran for a fourth-quarter TD against St. Michael-Albertville.
Eden Prairie, ranked No. 1 in Class 6A in the Associated Press statewide poll from Sept. 4, has appeared in all but one Class 6A state title game since 2011, winning five titles in that span. The Eagles, led by one of the state’s coaching legends in Mike Grant, set the standard by which all other programs in the state are measured.
They routed Woodbury last week behind a bit of trickery — quarterback David Warren-Mitchell caught a touchdown pass — and linebacker Dan Knudsen scored back-to-back touchdowns in less than a minute, both on fumble recoveries.