high schools

Anybody else want to take on Eden Prairie?

Undefeated Edina was the latest challenger to the top-ranked defending state champions of Class 5A football. And the result was similar to all 11 games Eden Prairie has played this season. The Eagles' 38-7 victory over the Hornets in Friday night's Section 6 championship game had a familiar script:

Score early, keep the opponent bottled up and then choke the ever-lovin' life out of them.

Edina brought a high-flying spread offense to Eden Prairie, but the Eagles absolutely stuffed it by pressuring quarterback Anders Lee from the moment he stepped on the field. It wouldn't be a surprise if Lee woke up this morning to see a gang of Eagles chasing him away from the breakfast table.

"Anders just never had enough time to make decisions," Edina coach Kim Nelson said. "We couldn't mount any kind of attack."

Edina had only two first downs in the first half, and one of those was because of an Eden Prairie penalty. The halftime score was 17-0, and a 14-point third quarter sealed the decision.

Eden Prairie continued a season-long trend of first-quarter shutouts. In fact, the Eagles have outscored their opponents by a total score of 178-0 in the opening 12 minutes. It was 14-0 Friday, and the defense did the rest.

"I'm not sure anybody ever gives our defense much credit," Eagles coach Mike Grant said. "Our first string has only given up two touchdowns this season."

The Eagles enter next week's state tournament riding a 25-game winning streak. They will meet Andover in the state quarterfinals a week from today at St. Paul Central.

On Friday, Eden Prairie's Matt Swanson ran 15 carries for 150 yards and a touchdown, and Ryan Grant completed seven of nine passes for 179 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those scoring passes went to Zac Kallas. Edina's points came on a 4-yard run by Mike Rallis with less than three minutes to play.

Eden Prairie's starters began going to the bench early in the fourth quarter, and that's another thing to which the Eagles are accustomed. Their starters have played in only two full games this season, a 21-0 victory over Eastview and a 24-0 decision against Minnetonka.

When the Eagles reserves began seeing action, Eden Prairie had a first-down advantage of 21-4.

According to pregame prognostications, a key for Edina was scoring early, locking horns with Eden Prairie and keeping things close.

Easier said than done, of course, considering that the Eagles had not only given up zero first-quarter points this season but had allowed only 28 total points in the second quarter. Long kickoff returns gave Edina good field position on its first two possessions, but the Hornets went nowhere, losing the ball on downs and punting.

"We had two great kick returns and good field position, and we just couldn't get first downs," Nelson said. "They were better than us. They are a good team."

Since capturing their first state title in 1996, the Eagles have returned to state every year except 2004, when they lost to Minnetonka in the section tournament. Eden Prairie also won state championships in 1997, 2000 and 2002.

If the Eagles keep playing like they did Friday, look out. Because they are ramping things up for the season's home stretch.

"We just had a different feeling tonight than in other games," said Eagles star defensive tackle Willie Mobley. "It was just a gut feeling we all had."