CLASS 6A TOTINO-GRACE 42, LAKEVILLE NORTH 14 | No. 1 Totino-Grace is 'locked in'

Lakeville North rolled into its Class 6A quarterfinal football game Thursday boasting a pretty darn good running back in Wade Sullivan.

The Panthers' opponent, undefeated and No. 1-ranked Totino-Grace, has a pretty good one of its own in Ivan Burlak. And another in Gayflor Flomo. And Brady Bertram. And a good quarterback in Kyle Halverson. And receiver in Joe Russell. And … well, you get the idea.

The Eagles ran roughshod over Lakeville North, rolling out to a 28-0 halftime lead and cruising to a 42-14 victory that wasn't as close at the final score indicated.

"We're playing our best, by far," Totino-Grace coach Jeff Ferguson said. "Over the last couple of weeks, we've really been locked in."

Lakeville North (9-2) returned the opening kickoff into Totino-Grace territory and moved the ball to the 2-yard line before turning it over on downs.

That was as good as it would get for the Panthers. Totino-Grace shut down Sullivan, who entered the game with 1,787 yards rushing and 32 touchdowns, better than anyone has all season. The 5-8, 170-pound ball of muscle and speed managed just 27 yards on 13 carries before halftime.

"We knew he was a really good running back and that we had to stop him," said Russell, who also plays defensive back and had an interception to go with a diving 17-yard touchdown reception.

Halverson passed for two touchdowns in the first half — one to Russell and another to Burlak, who went 54 yards down the left sideline. The quarterback ran for two short touchdowns in the second half.

"He's a really good quarterback," Ferguson said. "He's really playing well."

Lakeville North coach Brian Vossen wore a bewildered grin after the game, unable to understand how his team could be thrashed so thoroughly.

"That was just a terrible night," he said. "I don't want to take anything away from Totino-Grace because that's a great football team, but sometimes with kids, when it starts to rain on you it pours, and the frustration plays a role in how you perform."