Mounds View kicked off its season in exciting fashion.

Junior quarterback Cole Stenstrom threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to senior Trevor Redmond on the game's final play, and Redmond kicked the extra point as Mounds View edged St. Michael-Albertville 21-20 in both teams' season opener Thursday night. It was the lone touchdown of the second half.

Stenstrom also hooked up with Redmond on a 46-yard scoring strike in the first half. The final play was a screen pass.

St. Michael-Albertville senior running back Desean Phillips ran for 23- and 53-yard touchdowns in the first half. The Knights raced to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

In other games Thursday:

Eden Prairie 14, Eastview 9: The Class 6A defending state champions struggled in their opener. The Eagles scored two quick touchdowns in the first quarter, and then had to hold on to beat the Lightning. Senior defensive back Caden Fey preserved the victory with an interception in the end zone in the final 30 seconds. Senior quarterback Cole Kramer and senior running back Nic Krueger ran for touchdowns for Eden Prairie. Krueger scored on a 31-yard run on a fourth-and-5 call.

Minnetonka 42, Eagan 0: The Skippers don't need to rely on offense to score. In the first half, linebacker Jack Rapini returned a fumble for a touchdown and linebacker Hunter Wehling returned an interception for a touchdown. Senior quarterback Aaron Syverson threw two TD passes to classmate Jackson Owens and ran for another score.

Prior Lake 41, Shakopee 8: Colin O'Connor and Spencer Shaver each ran for two scores as the Lakers turned to their ground game early in beating the Sabers. O'Connor also threw two TD passes in the second half.

Holy Family 32, New London-Spicer 23: The Fire scored the final 25 points, rallying to defeat the Wildcats. Junior Nick Hendler ran for three second-half touchdowns on runs of 16, 18 and 20 yards, and wound up with over 200 yards on the ground.

Hutchinson 22, Monticello 21: In a back-and-forth affair, junior running back Tyler Schiller scored on an 18-yard run with 3 minutes, 58 seconds remaining to pull the Tigers within 21-20. Schiller threw a halfback pass to junior tight end Russell Corrigan for the conversion and victory.

St. Paul Central 21, St. Paul Johnson 19: Senior quarterback Trenton Funches threw two touchdown passes, both 19 yards to classmate Daveonte Davis, and ran for a 5-yard score as the Minutemen edged the Governors. Davis was also a stalwart on defense, finishing with nine tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble. St. Paul Johnson pulled within 21-19 late in the third quarter on sophomore quarterback Joey Moberg's 2-yard run, but his two-point conversion run failed.

STAFF REPORTS