Minnehaha Academy 41, Breck 14

Minnehaha Academy admittedly did not play well when it suffered its first loss of the season to Concordia Academy of Roseville last week.

That turned out to be the worst thing that could have happened to Breck.

Playing with a renewed sense of purpose, the Redhawks (7-1) dominated the Mustangs, rolling up a 34-0 lead en route to a 41-14 victory and clinching the Tri-Metro West Conference title Wednesday.

"We always like to make the best of every loss," Minnehaha coach Tim Whalen said. "That was a learning opportunity. It gave us a chance to step back and get focused."

That task was made easier by running back Harry Awe. With an astounding ability to make cuts at top speed behind his blockers, the 5-10, 200-pound senior rushed for 205 yards and scored the Redhawks' first five TDs.

"Harry has tremendous vision," Whalen said. "He makes some cuts you can't teach. He's a special running back."

Awe said his shiftiness -- at least some of it -- actually had been taught.

"It's about 50-50. Some of it comes naturally, but I worked in the offseason on fast footwork," said Awe, who has 21 touchdowns this season. "But the real story was our whole offense. We were ready to play and didn't make the mistakes that hurt us last week."

The Minnehaha Academy defense, which had been victimized by Concordia's short passing game, came on strong against Breck's big-play offense. The Mustangs advanced as far as the Redhawks' 11-yard-line on their opening drive but came away with no points after a failed fourth-and-16 pass attempt. The Mustangs did not cross midfield again until the fourth quarter, when Minnehaha Academy was substituting freely on defense.

"We were missing a couple of starters, so stopping Breck was a great confidence boost," Whalen said.

Jim Paulsen • j p aulsen @ s t artribune . com