Class 6A semifinals: Eden Prairie revs up in second half to dispatch Maple Grove

Football coaches with years of shared big-game history, Eden Prairie's Mike Grant and Maple Grove's Matt Lombardi, read the other's mind before two key plays in Thursday's Class 6A semifinals.

Grant anticipated a Maple Grove fake punt call in the first quarter and his defense knocked down the pass attempt. Crimson coach Matt Lombardi sensed the Eagles would run a quarterback bootleg and pass to the flat in the third quarter yet they still executed the play for a first down.

Two plays with vastly different results were indicative of both team's fortunes. Eden Prairie left U.S. Bank Stadium with a 26-0 victory built on finishing drives.

Maple Grove (8-4) came in riding a remarkable quarterfinal comeback against St. Michael-Albertville. The Crimson erupted for three touchdowns in the final 59 seconds for a 29-27 victory.

Maple Grove found no football miracles Thursday and got no mercy from Eden Prairie (12-0). The Eagles advanced to their 13th Prep Bowl championship game, scheduled for 7 p.m. on Nov. 24. The Eagles are 10-time winners seeking their first title since 2014. They await the winner of Friday's Minnetonka vs. Cretin-Derham Hall game.

Ahead 6-0 at halftime, Eden Prairie took control with a touchdown drive to begin the third quarter.

Solo Falaniko and Antonio Montero tag-teamed the ball carrying duties as the Eagles went ahead 13-0 on a 10-play, 65-yard drive capped by Montero's 9-yard scoring run. They ran with purpose, with attitude. They broke tackles and carried defenders and finished the game with a combined 159 yards.

Montero's 14-yard catch — the one Lombardi saw coming — kept that drive alive. Montero, Eden Prairie's standout linebacker, running back and kicker, accounted for 20 of his team's points on two touchdowns, two field goals and two extra points.

Meanwhile, Maple Grove misfired on its fake punt. when running back Evan Hull got stopped on fourth-and-2 at the Eagles 9-yard line.