Osseo defensive dynamo Adam Hammer maintained his physical presence Friday night right through the postgame handshake line.

Hammer slapped the helmets and shoulder pads of passing Maple Grove players, often reaching up to compensate for his 5-foot-4 build. But Hammer loomed large throughout the Orioles’ 13-2 victory, making several tackles to keep the Crimson offense from scoring.

“I feel like as a defense we do get a little underestimated,” Hammer said. “I think this game we showed that we can play, and we want to keep it up.”

Osseo (6-1) came into the game averaging 46.8 points per game. But a fierce wind and stout play from district rival Maple Grove’s defense resulted in a 7-0 halftime lead for the host Orioles.

Maple Grove, riding two consecutive victories, started two first-quarter drives inside Osseo’s 40-yard line but came away with no points. The first drive ended with a missed 40-yard field goal attempt.

Osseo’s Allen McNary stopped the second drive with a sack on fourth-and-11 at Osseo’s 40-yard line.

A 60-yard scoring drive ensued, fueled by Bridgeport Tusler. He gained 7 yards on fourth-and-4 at Maple Grove’s 35-yard line to maintain possession. Tim Searcy finished the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run.

The Crimson (2-4) cut into the lead with a safety in the third quarter. Unable to handle a snap above his head, Osseo punter Ali Kanan gathered the ball near his goal line and wisely lobbed it out of the end zone.

Maple Grove’s punting unit also committed two bad snaps after halftime, and the second one proved costly. Osseo took over on its 35-yard line and scored the clinching touchdown.

Bottled up most of the night by the wind and the Crimson defense, quarterback DJ Hebert converted on a critical fourth-and-1. Searcy broke loose for a 42-yard run to Maple Grove’s 5-yard line. On third down, Hebert kept for a 1-yard touchdown.

“I think our guys left the field realizing why we harp on all the little things,” Maple Grove coach Matt Lombardi said. “We’re progressing, but this one should eat at them because it’s a game they felt they should have won.” 

Upheaval at the youth football level served as the backdrop to Friday’s showdown between Maple Grove and Osseo.

In March, the Osseo-Maple Grove Football Association saw more than half its membership leave to form the Maple Grove Youth Football Association. The split impacted far more than participant numbers and strength of programs, it struck at the neighboring communities’ identities of themselves and each other.

Sprawling, glitzy Maple Grove vs. smaller, blue-collar Osseo. The future and the past. The haves and have-nots.

But while the future of Maple Grove looks promising given its greater number of kids playing youth football, the varsity level currently belongs to Osseo.

Since 2007, when the Orioles won the Northwest Suburban Conference title, they are 29-16 overall and 4-1 against Maple Grove. Those totals include Friday’s 13-2 victory.

Maple Grove is 18-25 during the same stretch. The Crimson are 2-4 so far under new head coach Matt Lombardi, the former Wayzata defensive coordinator with three Class 5A championships to his credit.

With all that in mind, plus the fact it was youth football night at Osseo, let’s hear from Friday’s victors and losers.

“I’ve been waiting for this game for so incredibly long,” said Osseo’s Adam Hammer, the most active Orioles’ defender on Friday. “These are the guys you play against. You play with your buddies against these guys. So there’s always a little chip on your shoulder. They always get some of the better stuff and we’re kind of left behind in some respects. It’s always a big game for us but once you get it and you pass it, you keep moving on with your season because you can’t let this game be your banquet game as [coach Derrin] Lamker likes to say.”

Banquet game? Explain, coach.

“We said this is kind of their banquet game; this is the season for them right now,” Lamker said. “They wanted this one. Hey, they’ve got resources, they’ve got the facilities – you should have a great team. And they do.”

Later Lamker added, “This is just a great win for our community.”

Lombardi, unaccustomed to losing a whole lot at Wayzata, felt Friday’s game was part of the Crimson’s growing pains.

“We’re coming,” Lombardi said. “We’ve just got to get situationaly better. Defensively we played great but 3rd-and-long we didn’t make smart plays. Offensively, we made a lot of false starts and things like that.

“The good part is – the kids are sad,” Lombardi said. “That wasn’t always the case here.”