Rochester Mayo nearly waited until the last second.
Senior running back Isaiah Beale scored on a 1-yard run with 14 seconds remaining, giving the Spartans a 17-14 victory over Rosemount on Friday afternoon in Rochester.
The Spartans (2-2) and the Irish (1-3) got together a day later than planned. The game was scheduled for Thursday but was postponed because of lightning in the area.
The Irish offense didn’t get untracked until the fourth quarter, scoring twice to take a 14-10 lead. Junior Callan Ronay hooked up with senior Kelan Johnson on a 72-yard touchdown pass for the second score, after junior Jeru Bean got the Irish started with a 5-yard touchdown run.
The Spartans took a 10-0 halftime lead, scoring on junior quarterback Isaac Peterson’s 1-yard run and senior Ethan Post’s 27-yard field goal.
Rosemount, in the Class 6A Prep Bowl as recently as 2022, lost its third game in a row.
Maple Grove 55, Anoka 14: The matchup of the No. 2 and No. 8 teams in Class 6A turned out to be a mismatch as the Crimson (4-0) whipped the Tornadoes (2-2). Maple Grove scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and four more in the second, building a 48-0 halftime lead. Senior Charles Langama rushed for the three scores on runs of 19, 29 and 73 yards, and junior quarterback Kaden Harney ran for one and threw for another. Maple Grove’s defense also joined in when junior linebacker Beaux Thyen returned an interception 32 yards for a score.
Chanhassen 27, Waconia 0: Junior quarterback Nathan Ramler threw two touchdown passes and ran for another in the first half as the Storm (2-2) shut out the Wildcats (2-2). Ramler threw touchdown passes of 10 and 27 yards to classmate James Kopfmann and scored on a 1-yard run as the Storm built a 27-0 lead by halftime.