Just when the east side of the metro seemed to be falling into place, with Mounds View and Cretin-Derham Hall as the “obvious” power brokers — BOOM! — both teams lost thrillers that will surely shake up the Class 6A state rankings like a toddler handling a snow globe.
Both the Mustangs, ranked No. 6 in the Class 6A Associated Press statewide poll from Sept. 25, and the No. 4-6A Raiders were unblemished when they lost by a combined four points last Friday. Mounds View (4-1, 2-1) lost 22-21 to Stillwater when the Ponies scored on a two-point conversion in overtime to clinch the upset. Cretin-Derham Hall (4-1, 3-1), which also resides in the Metro East Subdistrict, gave up a late touchdown in the closing minute, then had a potential game-tying field goal blocked in the final seconds of a 31-28 loss to Woodbury.
Now what? If anything, Friday's matchup takes on added importance after those defeats, as one team will be lugging a two-game losing streak into the regular season’s stretch run while the other will have regained its status as one of the top teams in both the metro and state. That's why it's our Top Game of the Week.
Mounds View senior quarterback Cole Stenstrom threw three touchdown passes — two of them to junior receiver Mason Dean — in the loss to Stillwater.
Senior quarterback Preston Thelemann threw three touchdown passes for Cretin-Derham Hall in last week’s loss, giving him nine this season. He’s also amassed 1,003 passing yards, with senior Tony Underwood (18 receptions, 310 yards) as his top target.
Unpredictability is the theme of this series in recent history as the Raiders won last year’s meeting 38-14 to end a seven-year streak of the teams alternating regular-season victories.