Their next drive resulted in a touchdown. A 58-yard run by Johnny Hartle set up a two-yard touchdown run by Felipe Izumi, giving the Eagles a 7-0 lead.

It was Izumi, strictly a defensive player for the first half of the season, who lugged the load for Eden Prairie. He routinely broke tackles, turning minimal gains into significant yardage.

“I just keep my feet moving,” Izumi said. “It’s just really fun to run into people. Really fun.”

Minnetonka cut the Eden Prairie lead to a single point in the second quarter on a 1-yard run by quarterback Aaron Syverson. The extra point was missed and Eden Prairie, which had dominated time of possession, took a 7-6 advantage into halftime.

Eden Prairie got the break that always seems to go its way on the first play from scrimmage in the second half. Syverson was sacked and fumbled, with Eden Prairie recovering the ball at the Minnetonka 35.

The Eagles turned it into a touchdown when Kramer hit Matt Sherman down the seam for a 15-yard score. A successful two-point conversion made it 15-6.

“That was just a great play call from coach [Mike] Grant,” Kramer said.

Minnetonka refused to go away. Syverson led the Skippers on a 67-yard drive, converting two fourth downs in the process, and cut the lead to 15-13 on a 10-yard run.

A chance to complete the comeback in the final minutes ended with a pass that went through a receiver’s hands and was intercepted by Will Becker with 1:30 left in the game, ending Minnetonka’s hopes.

The only person who scoffed at the idea that Eden Prairie welcomed the snowy weather was Grant.

“I don’t know,” he said. “We think with Cole we’ve got a special quarterback and we’ve got good receivers. But Izumi’s played much better. He ran hard, man. He really ran hard.”