Maple Grove keeps climbing toward top of the list

Maple Grove enjoyed quite the week.

Money Magazine named the suburb No. 2 on its national "Best Places to Live" list. Then the third-ranked Crimson football team enthralled a packed homecoming crowd with a 28-0 victory against No. 6 Totino-Grace.

Dominating one of the state's enduring football powers and running its regular-season winning streak to 22 games puts Maple Grove squarely on any list of best programs in Minnesota.

"I didn't plan on this in any way," Maple Grove coach Matt Lombardi said of the lopsided margin. "But our offense controlled the ball early, our defense did a good job getting off the field and we just got Totino-Grace on their heels."

Touchdowns from Kyle Anderson and Isaac Collins on its first two possessions gave Maple Grove (5-0) a 14-0 lead. Meanwhile, the Crimson defense allowed only two first downs to Totino-Grace (4-1) in the first half.

"We wanted to come out and stick it to a good team," Crimson senior lineman Ben Shoults said. "We tried to pound them and go from there."

Collins almost gave his team a three-touchdown advantage, but Totino-Grace recovered his fumble in the end zone. No matter, the Crimson defense stymied the Eagles again.

Collins avenged his miscue by bailing out the offense in the waning seconds before halftime.

A 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct moved Maple Grove back from the goal line to the 17-yard line with 18.6 seconds remaining in the first half.

But the ensuing play saw Collins get loose for a 15-yard gain, setting the table for an Anderson touchdown run and a 21-0 lead.

"He should have gotten tackled 10 yards before that, but he made it happen." Shoults said. "He's probably the most dynamic player I've ever played with."

Collins rushed for 120 yards and also made his presence known as a part-time defensive player.

Flomo, a bruising runner, shook off a few defenders and powered for extra yards. But he could not approach his average of 199.5 rushing yards per game against the Crimson.

Lombardi, the architect of three state championship defenses at Wayzata from 2005-10, said the Maple Grove unit took an important step Friday.