5A: Minnetonka 31, Hopkins 21

Pressure? No problem, says Beau Allen, Minnetonka's 6-3, 301-pound senior nose tackle who puts constant pressure on footwear, floorboards and college recruiters.

"Our defense likes being under pressure," Allen said Saturday, after the Skippers held off Hopkins 31-21 in the Class 5A, Section 6 football semifinals at Hopkins. "I think our defense thrives on pressure."

Allen made one of the biggest plays of the win-or-go-home contest, blocking a fourth-quarter quick kick by Hopkins quarterback Bill Gregg. That gave Minnetonka the ball at the Hopkins 24; a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Tom Ahrens five plays later put Minnetonka in front 24-14 and snuffed out most of Hopkins' hopes.

Minnetonka's victory avenged a 31-30 regular-season loss to Hopkins and moved the Skippers (8-2) to Friday's section title game. They awaited the winner of Saturday night's game between top-ranked Eden Prairie and Edina.

Hopkins (7-3) had executed a quick kick earlier Saturday, and Allen smelled the second one coming. It was fourth-and-10 for Hopkins at its own 30 with 11 minutes to play, and not lining up for a traditional punt appeared to be a gamble.

Allen -- whose college list includes Minnesota, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Stanford and Michigan -- made Hopkins pay.

"Look at the swing in field position. That was a 60-yard play," Minnetonka coach Dave Nelson said. "That was a huge play."

The game was filled with those. Minnetonka picked off four passes by Gregg, including on the Royals' first two possessions. After Larry Rice grabbed the first of his two interceptions, Zach Siemens kicked a 22-yard field goal. The next pickoff was returned 40 yards for a touchdown by Charles Webb to put Minnetonka on top 10-0 six minutes into the game.

But Minnetonka also gave away two excellent scoring chances. A pass by Ahrens was picked off by Hopkins' Gideon Kendrick in the end zone late in the first quarter, and Minnetonka's Dre' Thompson fumbled into the end zone in the third quarter, with Hopkins recovering for a touchback.

Thompson ran 30 times for 155 yards, including touchdowns of 13 and 5 yards.

"Hopkins has a lot of talent, a lot of weapons, so it's hard to keep them bottled up the whole game," Nelson said. "I thought we played good football today and came up with some big plays."

Gregg, who completed 15 of 23 passes for 220 yards, scored on two 1-yard runs and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jonny Mydra.

Hopkins' offensive hopes took a hit when Dami Mafe, who had 30 yards on four carries and is the team's leading rusher, left the game because of an injury late in the first quarter.

Hopkins' best drive came late in the game. The Royals moved 89 yards in 14 plays, and Gregg's second touchdown run made it Minnetonka 24, Hopkins 21 with five minutes left.

Minnetonka responded with a 65-yard scoring drive, including a 51-yard pass from Ahrens to Dan Carney that set up Thompson's second touchdown. That was the clincher.

"We obviously didn't play as well as we think we can," Hopkins coach John DenHartog said. "But in some aspects we played real well. Football's funny that way, where you're going to have good plays and bad plays, especially in high school football.

"Minnetonka's a good team, and if we played them 10 times it'd probably be 5 and 5. It was a fun game, and we wish them the best of luck."

John Millea•jmillea@startribune.com