With 11 state championships and more than 360 victories, not to mention his pedigreed bloodlines, it’s safe to assume Eden Prairie coach Mike Grant has figured out a few things about winning football games.

Chief among them: Don’t do anything you that doesn’t need to be done. And pay no attention to what others are saying.

Eden Prairie took advantage of the wind at Chanhassen High School and scored touchdowns in its first two drives. That proved to be enough to withstand determined Farmington and walk away with a 17-7 victory in the Class 6A state quarterfinals.

“Everybody has told us, from the first day: Too small, too slow, too young, too injured. Do you know what we say? Yup,” Grant said. “But these kids, they play hard, man. We’re not very big and we’re not very fast, but these kids, they make plays.”

The Eagles (10-1) went up 7-0, capping a 37-yard drive — the result of a short punt — with Tyler Walden’s 2-yard run.

Danny Frischmon picked off a pass by Farmington quarterback Connor Weed on the Tigers’ next possession, setting up Eden Prairie’s second straight drive to start in Farmington territory. This time the Eagles went 35 yards in five plays, the last 15 coming on a perfectly placed fade pass from Nick Fazi to tight end Jermell Taylor, who plucked the ball out of the air above a Farmington defensive back.

Eden Prairie led 14-0, a lead they made stand up by making key plays at the right time.

In addition to Taylor’s touchdown grab, he caught a critical 22-yard pass down the left sideline to clinch the victory.

“We think we’ve got the best tight end in the state,” Grant said. “He makes big plays and big catches.”

Farmington moved the ball smartly each time they had it, mixing runs by running back Rod Finley with Weed’s efficient passing. But they only managed one touchdown on Finley’s spinning 8-yard run in the second quarter.

The rest of the game, Farmington was beset by inopportune mistakes. They fumbled twice and had a run that put them close to the Eden Prairie goal line right before halftime called back by a holding penalty.

“They’ve got a great running back, a great quarterback and three or four great receivers. They make it difficult,” Grant said. “But, what, they had two turnovers? Three turnovers? It’s a high-risk offense.”

The Eagles defense may have showed a little flexibility, but it never backed down.

“We only gave up seven points,” Grant said. “That’s a heckuva a lot better than the 30 we gave up the last time we played them.”

Farmington ended its season on a strong note, winning five of its final seven games to finish 6-5.

Eden Prairie took an early two touchdown lead, then let Farmington move the ball well between the 20s but only let the Tigers into the end zone once and came away with a 17-7 Class 6A quarterfinal victory Friday at Chanhassen.

The Eagles (10-1) scored on their first two drives, both the result of short drives caused by Farmington mistakes. The Tigers turned the ball over three times and had a holding penalty negate a run late in the first half that would have given them the ball near the Eden Prairie goal line.