Maple Grove football coach returns to where he once thrived

Wayzata football players knew not to disturb defensive coordinator Matt Lombardi come 3 o'clock before home games. That's when he calmed his nerves with a nap under his desk in his classroom.

Closer to kickoff, he absorbed the sights and sounds and encouraged players to do likewise. The Trojans won three state championships during Lombardi's tenure, and he challenged the players' teenage bravado each time.

"When we'd get to the Metrodome, I'd tell the guys before warmups, 'Take it in. Don't try to fake it and say that this is just another game,' " Lombardi said.

The same goes for this Friday.

Football coaches at all levels loath perceived distractions. But there's no denying the significance of Lombardi making his first return to Wayzata since leaving the Trojans' program in 2011 to become Maple Grove's coach. Both Lombardi and his mentor, Wayzata coach Brad Anderson, consider this game a measure of where each program stands.

Anderson puts the challenge of playing Maple Grove on par with upcoming games against traditional powers Totino-Grace, Eden Prairie and Minnetonka.

Grateful for the compliment, Lombardi said, "It's more important to me that my kids think we're at that level. I still think we've got to earn more."

Meanwhile, Wayzata, a loser at Eagan last week, has struggled to maintain the form that brought three state championships in six seasons from 2005-10. The Trojans' chance to overtake Eden Prairie as the state's pre-eminent program ended with a Prep Bowl loss to the Eagles in 2011.

Lombardi has shown his three Wayzata state championship rings to Maple Grove players as motivation. No props were necessary for conveying his thoughts this week.

"He's especially excited," said Ben Shoults, a two-way senior lineman who has committed to Harvard. "You can just see it in his step. He wants to prove something to Wayzata — that he came over here for a reason and that we're a good team."

Lombardi got the chance to revitalize the Crimson program because of his work with Anderson at Wayzata. Hired as an assistant in 2000, Lombardi became defensive coordinator in 2003. The Trojans reached the Prep Bowl in 2004 and won their first state title in 2005, thanks in large part to Lombardi's creative schemes that blitzed, befuddled and battered opposing offenses.

"He could make 11 seem like 13 out there," Anderson said.

"I'm the dreamer, push-the-envelope guy," Lombardi said. "Brad's the stability. He knows the nuts and bolts you need to take care of. I give him a ton of credit. I got to get a lot of feel for things I valued about the program. And you learn things you want to tweak."

Both men felt Lombardi's best work came in 2010, his final season at Wayzata. Said Anderson, "We looked at our players before the season and we said, 'We're small, we're slow and we're weak.' But Matt brought a lot of enthusiasm and good schemes and got that group playing 100 miles an hour."

Lombardi is still souping up engines. He told Maple Grove players after Tuesday's practice, "If you play fast you never get blocked. That's defense. If you play that way you become dominant."

Leaving the comfort and success at Wayzata wasn't easy for Lombardi. But the desire to build a program proved too great. Coming back offers him an opportunity to see how far he has come.

"That's why this game is big to me," Lombardi said. "In the process of what we're trying to build, this is another step. That's the fun of it."