Simley wraps up championship

The postgame team chant said it all.

"1-2-3, Champions!"

In front of a home crowd and on a soupy field, Simley clinched its first Classic Suburban Conference title Wednesday with a 17-0 victory over Mahtomedi.

"This is unbelievable," Spartans coach Ray Betton said. "I'm so proud of them, the coaching staff, the parents. This is what it's all about."

A 33-yard run by Dustin McIntyre on the first play of the fourth quarter moved the Spartans (7-1) to the Zephyrs 37-yard line. Seven plays later, and after Simley converted on a fourth-and-6 from the 16 to the 1-yard line, quarterback Muresuk Mena punched it in for the game's first touchdown with 8:19 to play in the fourth quarter to give Simley a 10-0 lead.

Simley added another score with 6:55 to play on a diving leap by fullback Johntae Walker.

"We had a lot of memories from last year," Mena said, referring to Mahtomedi defeating Simley in back-to-back games at the end of the season and in the playoffs. "People on this team wanted this really bad."

Up until Mena's score it was a tight, sloppy game.

Nick Tinucci's 35-yard field goal in the second quarter was the only score in a first half that took only 45 minutes.

Justin Gominsky caught a Mike McDonald pass for 30 yards on the Zephyrs' first play of the game. However, two fumbles and an interception plagued the team early.

Mike Hunter, who was all over the field on offense and defense for Mahtomedi (5-3), finished with 11 carries for 70 yards and a bunch of tackles. McIntyre also finished the game with 11 carries, good for 80 yards, 52 of those on the first drive of the fourth quarter.

Vaughn Schmid, Mahtomedi's regular quarterback, did not play much because of what an assistant coach said was a coach's decision. He eventually came into the game with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter. Schmid quickly completed two 11-yard passes and the Zephyrs were on the move. But on fourth-and-4 from the 29, running back Stephen Johnson could not get the first down, stalling the comeback and keeping Mahtomedi scoreless.

"It means a lot," Hunter said. "But we haven't reached all our goals. We're really starting to believe, after defeating some of these good teams, that we can play tough and get the 'W'"

Brian Stensaas • bstensaas@startribune.com