Quantcast
skip navigation

St. Louis Park delivers one of the biggest upsets of the season; Metro Top 10

By JIM PAULSEN, Star Tribune, 11/08/20, 9:15PM CST

Share

After Saturday's game Orono fell to 4-1. St. Louis Park improved to 1-4. (Plus, a look at the top 10)

Sometimes, you just can’t tell.

Take, for instance, St. Louis Park’s 35-27 victory over No. 2, 4A Orono on Saturday. Orono came into the game with a swagger, having rolled to a 4-0 record against a rugged lineup of quality opponents.

On the other hand, St. Louis Park was winless and had given up 40 points to each of its first four opponents. This one would be easy to call, right? Well …

It started off as expected, with Orono having its way, building a 21-0 first-quarter lead.

But then everything flipped. St. Louis Park, which had scored just 47 points all season, ripped off 28 in the second quarter and led 28-21 at halftime.

Orono cut the lead to one, 28-27, on a 99-yard fumble return in the third quarter, halting another Orioles foray into the red zone, but St. Louis Park bumped the lead back to eight with quarterback Will Dvorak’s fourth scoring pass of the day in the fourth quarter.

Orono fell to 4-1. St. Louis Park improved to 1-4. Throw out the records and the casual observer would never have been able to pick out which team was considered the favorite.

Sometimes, you just can’t tell.

Worth noting: Eagan finally entered the win column Friday, beating Eastview 37-15. It was the Wildcats’ first victory since Sept. 22, 2017, a string of 27 games. That good feeling might be short-lived, however. They play at No. 1, 6A Lakeville South in the regular-season finale Thursday; Fridley not only beat No. 2, 2A Minneapolis North 21-0, but they also shut out a quick-strike offense that had been averaging 41.3 points per game. It was North’s first regular-season loss in 55 games, since 2013. (It was originally reported as 57 games, but two of those victories were by forfeit in 2014).

Metro Top 10

1. Lakeville South (5-0): Sophomore RB Carson Hansen has 43 touches in five games. Eleven have gone for touchdowns.

2. Eden Prairie (5-0): David Warren-Mitchell might be the metro’s most underrated QB. A 68.8 completion percentage, 646 yards, seven TDs and zero interceptions.

3. St. Michael-Albertville (5-0): Huge measuring-stick game Wednesday, when the Knights travel to Eden Prairie in a battle of unbeatens.

4. East Ridge (4-0): The Raptors can breathe a little easier after fighting off Mounds View’s upset bid, 18-16.

5. Rosemount (4-0): The defensive-minded Irish showed their offensive side with 44 points in a victory over Burnsville.

6. Maple Grove (4-1): Hard to find fault in Friday’s 60-0 romp over Anoka. Both sides of the ball got in on the scoring action.

7. Shakopee (3-2): The Sabers defense is the story, giving up a total of seven points in their past four games, three of them shutouts.

8. Farmington (4-1): The Tigers’ first loss came Friday against Lakeville South. No shame in that.

9. St. Thomas Academy (5A, 5-0): Love Adebayo and Grady O’Neill combined for exactly 300 yards and three TDs in beating Hastings 49-21.

10. Blaine (4-1): Bengals’ offense is cookin’, with nearly 1,000 yards of offense in their past two games.

Others to watch: Woodbury (3-2), Totino-Grace (3-2), Lakeville North (3-2), Andover (5A, 5-0), Fridley (4A, 5-0)

Football Hub Headlines

Sometimes, you just can’t tell.

Take, for instance, St. Louis Park’s 35-27 victory over No. 2, 4A Orono on Saturday. Orono came into the game with a swagger, having rolled to a 4-0 record against a rugged lineup of quality opponents.

On the other hand, St. Louis Park was winless and had given up 40 points to each of its first four opponents. This one would be easy to call, right? Well …

It started off as expected, with Orono having its way, building a 21-0 first-quarter lead.

But then everything flipped. St. Louis Park, which had scored just 47 points all season, ripped off 28 in the second quarter and led 28-21 at halftime.

Orono cut the lead to one, 28-27, on a 99-yard fumble return in the third quarter, halting another Orioles foray into the red zone, but St. Louis Park bumped the lead back to eight with quarterback Will Dvorak’s fourth scoring pass of the day in the fourth quarter.

Orono fell to 4-1. St. Louis Park improved to 1-4. Throw out the records and the casual observer would never have been able to pick out which team was considered the favorite.

Sometimes, you just can’t tell.

Worth noting: Eagan finally entered the win column Friday, beating Eastview 37-15. It was the Wildcats’ first victory since Sept. 22, 2017, a string of 27 games. That good feeling might be short-lived, however. They play at No. 1, 6A Lakeville South in the regular-season finale Thursday; Fridley not only beat No. 2, 2A Minneapolis North 21-0, but they also shut out a quick-strike offense that had been averaging 41.3 points per game. It was North’s first regular-season loss in 55 games, since 2013. (It was originally reported as 57 games, but two of those victories were by forfeit in 2014).

Metro Top 10

1. Lakeville South (5-0): Sophomore RB Carson Hansen has 43 touches in five games. Eleven have gone for touchdowns.

2. Eden Prairie (5-0): David Warren-Mitchell might be the metro’s most underrated QB. A 68.8 completion percentage, 646 yards, seven TDs and zero interceptions.

3. St. Michael-Albertville (5-0): Huge measuring-stick game Wednesday, when the Knights travel to Eden Prairie in a battle of unbeatens.

4. East Ridge (4-0): The Raptors can breathe a little easier after fighting off Mounds View’s upset bid, 18-16.

5. Rosemount (4-0): The defensive-minded Irish showed their offensive side with 42 points in a victory over Burnsville.

6. Maple Grove (4-1): Hard to find fault in Friday’s 60-0 romp over Anoka. Both sides of the ball got in on the scoring action.

7. Shakopee (3-2): The Sabers defense is the story, giving up a total of seven points in their past four games, three of them shutouts.

8. Farmington (4-1): The Tigers’ first loss came Friday against Lakeville South. No shame in that.

9. St. Thomas Academy (5A, 5-0): Love Adebayo and Grady O’Neill combined for exactly 300 yards and three TDs in beating Hastings 49-21.

10. Blaine (4-1): Bengals’ offense is cookin’, with nearly 1,000 yards of offense in their past two games.

Others to watch: Woodbury (3-2), Totino-Grace (3-2), Lakeville North (3-2), Andover (5A, 5-0), Fridley (4A, 5-0)

Football Hub Headlines

Sometimes, you just can’t tell.

Take, for instance, St. Louis Park’s 35-27 victory over No. 2, 4A Orono on Saturday. Orono came into the game with a swagger, having rolled to a 4-0 record against a rugged lineup of quality opponents.

On the other hand, St. Louis Park was winless and had given up 40 points to each of its first four opponents. This one would be easy to call, right? Well …

It started off as expected, with Orono having its way, building a 21-0 first-quarter lead.

But then everything flipped. St. Louis Park, which had scored just 47 points all season, ripped off 28 in the second quarter and led 28-21 at halftime.

Orono cut the lead to one, 28-27, on a 99-yard fumble return in the third quarter, halting another Orioles foray into the red zone, but St. Louis Park bumped the lead back to eight with quarterback Will Dvorak’s fourth scoring pass of the day in the fourth quarter.

Orono fell to 4-1. St. Louis Park improved to 1-4. Throw out the records and the casual observer would never have been able to pick out which team was considered the favorite.

Sometimes, you just can’t tell.

Worth noting: Eagan finally entered the win column Friday, beating Eastview 37-15. It was the Wildcats’ first victory since Sept. 22, 2017, a string of 27 games. That good feeling might be short-lived, however. They play at No. 1, 6A Lakeville South in the regular-season finale Thursday; Fridley not only beat No. 2, 2A Minneapolis North 21-0, but they also shut out a quick-strike offense that had been averaging 41.3 points per game. It was North’s first regular-season loss in 55 games, since 2013. (It was originally reported as 57 games, but two of those victories were by forfeit in 2014).

Metro Top 10

1. Lakeville South (5-0): Sophomore RB Carson Hansen has 43 touches in five games. Eleven have gone for touchdowns.

2. Eden Prairie (5-0): David Warren-Mitchell might be the metro’s most underrated QB. A 68.8 completion percentage, 646 yards, seven TDs and zero interceptions.

3. St. Michael-Albertville (5-0): Huge measuring-stick game Wednesday, when the Knights travel to Eden Prairie in a battle of unbeatens.

4. East Ridge (4-0): The Raptors can breathe a little easier after fighting off Mounds View’s upset bid, 18-16.

5. Rosemount (4-0): The defensive-minded Irish showed their offensive side with 42 points in a victory over Burnsville.

6. Maple Grove (4-1): Hard to find fault in Friday’s 60-0 romp over Anoka. Both sides of the ball got in on the scoring action.

7. Shakopee (3-2): The Sabers defense is the story, giving up a total of seven points in their past four games, three of them shutouts.

8. Farmington (4-1): The Tigers’ first loss came Friday against Lakeville South. No shame in that.

9. St. Thomas Academy (5A, 5-0): Love Adebayo and Grady O’Neill combined for exactly 300 yards and three TDs in beating Hastings 49-21.

10. Blaine (4-1): Bengals’ offense is cookin’, with nearly 1,000 yards of offense in their past two games.

Others to watch: Woodbury (3-2), Totino-Grace (3-2), Lakeville North (3-2), Andover (5A, 5-0), Fridley (4A, 5-0)

Football Hub Headlines