5A quarterfinals: Mounds View 21, Lakeville North 17

Mounds View did it again.

For the second consecutive week, the Mustangs came from behind late in the fourth quarter to pull out a playoff victory -- this time with eight seconds left on a 42-yard touchdown pass to beat Lakeville North 21-17 in the Class 5A state tournament quarterfinals Friday night.

"I thought it was a dream," said junior Jimmy Duffy, who caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Gerrit Schoener. "I was just waiting to wake up from it."

A 27-yard field goal gave Lakeville North a 17-14 lead with 25 seconds left. All it took was two plays -- the Mustangs' first and only passing completions of the night -- for Mounds View to advance to the state semifinals.

Down by three points with 25 seconds left, head coach Jim Galvin didn't think it could be done. "No, not a lot of confidence," Galvin said. "I would never have thought we'd be able to do that. ... With Lake- ville in a prevent defense, I just thought we let the game slip away like we had done previous years."

It's the first time Mounds View has reached the semifinal.

"The kids proved me wrong," Galvin said.

It was a mirror matchup: Both teams held 9-2 records, touting strong running games and sturdy defenses. That story continued Friday night at Griffin Stadium in St. Paul.

Each team flashed its running game early, marching down the field for two rushing touchdowns before the defense tightened.

Lakeville North senior Dajon Newel finished with one rushing touchdown and one passing touchdown after scrambling in the backfield on a broken play, dodging defenders and finding Tim Kuznair with one foot in the end zone. But it was the Mustangs' emotional comeback victory that stole the show.

"You might want to get that game ball," Galvin yelled at his staff. "We might want to keep that one."