Chanhassen was set to make history, but Mankato West running back Charles Terry had other ideas.
An undefeated season earned the Storm the top seed in Class 5A, Section 2, and a packed home crowd on Friday was ready to see the team earn a trip to the state tournament for the first time in program history.
But Terry scored a 70-yard rushing touchdown for Mankato West (10-0) on his second carry, setting the tone for the game, and the Scarlets ran over Chanhassen in a 35-14 victory.
Terry finished with 233 yards rushing and four touchdowns. The 5-9 runner averaged more than 8 yards a carry, and Mankato West ran for over 350 yards.
"As a running back you want to keep your pads low," Terry said. "The past few games I have not been doing that. So I told myself I was going to run low, and I tried to do it all night."
Trailing 21-0, Chanhassen (9-1) scored before halftime on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Alex Spillum to Keagan Williams. On the Storm's first drive of the third quarter, Spillum fumbled on his own 35, setting up Terry's third score — killing any hope of a Chanhassen comeback.
"Going as far back as I can remember we have established the running game," Scarlets coach Mark Esch said. "They take pride in it."
Ellis L. Williams
