Ground game does the damage

After a first half of trial pocked by a few errors Friday, Eden Prairie got down to its usual methodical approach to winning football, dominating the second half en route to a 28-7 victory at Minnetonka.

As is their style, the Eagles controlled the ball and the clock after halftime, scoring 21 unanswered points and turning a close game into a rout.

"That was classic Eden Prairie football," Eagles quarterback Ryan Connelly said. "We made a few mistakes in the first half, but we knew we could come out and ram the ball down their throats and we did."

Behind a rugged offensive line that Connelly called "the best in the state," Eden Prairie rushed for more than 300 yards on a Minnetonka defense that had been strong against the run to that point.

Eden Prairie's running back tandem of Anthony Anderson, a 235-pound force with startlingly quick feet, and Dan Fisher, a powerful 205-pound battering ram, continually ran through and over Minnetonka tacklers. Anderson ran for 188 yards and a touchdown. Fisher, running mostly in heavy traffic, piled up 90 yards and a pair of scores.

Even Connelly got in on the ground action, gaining 50 yards and a touchdown on four carries.

"Ryan Connelly made some big plays for us with his feet," Eden Prairie coach Mike Grant said. "That opens up another dimension for us that we haven't had."

"They've got some great players over there," Grant said. "We knew we had to get faster on our pass rush. We've got some guys who can run."

The score was tied 7-7 at halftime, the result of mistakes by both teams.

Eden Prairie scored first, taking advantage of a Minnetonka fumble on its opening possession. The Eagles drove 46 yards on seven plays, taking a 7-0 lead on a 5-yard bootleg by Connelly.

The Eagles returned the miscue on their next possession. On fourth-and-2 from its own 9-yard-line, Eden Prairie gambled and failed on a fake punt.

Minnetonka didn't let the great field position go to waste, tying the score on a 5-yard throwback pass from Rooney to Mitch Felknor. It was the 10th time this season Rooney and Felknor connected for a touchdown.

On second down from the Minnetonka 7, Anderson was driving toward the goal line but fumbled into the end zone, where Minnetonka recovered.

"We had two, three mental mistakes in the first half," Grant said. "It was a weird game. We couldn't let them get a run going. And the best way to stop a passing game like that is to keep them on the sidelines."