Prep weekend: The cardiac kids from St. Francis

St. Francis fans have certainly witnessed more drama this season than expected. And it's also certain that complaints have been few, if any.

The Saints improved to 3-0 with their third consecutive come-from-behind fourth-quarter victory when they beat Benilde-St. Margaret's 25-24 Friday.

The Saints trailed 24-17 with less than four minutes to go in the game but drove 80 yards in eight plays, pulling to within a point on Brandon Springer's 20-yard touchdown run with 1:21 left. Springer followed with a two-point conversion to give the Saints a 25-24 victory.

The Saints have outscored opponents 62-24 in the fourth quarter.

"Our kids understand they are good enough and tough enough to come back," Saints coach Chris Lindquist told Star Tribune staff writer David LaVaque last week. ¶ One big reason for the late-game success has been the Saints' ground game. With running back Jake Engnell leading the attack, St. Francis is wearing out opposing defenses, averaging 291 rushing yards per game.

No team faced a more daunting early-season schedule than Eagan.

The Wildcats are perhaps the best 0-3 team in the metro after falling to Eastview 36-35 in overtime Friday. Their previous two losses have come at the hands of No. 4, Class 5A Lakeville South and No. 2, 5A Wayzata.

Wildcats coach Rick Sutton knew heading into the season that his team would face tough going early.

"We talked about it, and we thought that arguably we might have the toughest schedule in the state for the first three weeks," Sutton said.

The best thing about the football season, Sutton said, is that high school football always gives a chance at redemption in the form of the postseason.

"We've told our kids that our record doesn't define who we are," he said. "It's all about the process, and where you are at the end."

Eagan has a chance at its first victory this week, playing at 0-3 Apple Valley.

Through three games, neither Minnetonka nor South St. Paul has given up a point. The Skippers have outscored opponents 95-0, the Packers by an even bigger margin of 149-0.

• Sartell played with the type of desperation expected of a team on the verge of falling to 0-3 for the first time in more than a decade, beating No. 9, Class 5A Brainerd 8-3.

• Fairmont, a preseason favorite in Class 2A, bounced back from a tough loss to Marshall with an impressive 34-14 road victory at St. Paul Central, avenging a 21-20 loss to the Minutemen in 2010. The Cardinals jumped to a 34-0 lead before Central scored two late touchdowns.

• Any doubts about Lake City's improvement were silenced when the Tigers beat Triton 42-21 to improve to 2-1. Lake City had lost 21 games in a row before a 48-6 victory over Hayfield in week 2.

Lakeville North at Rosemount: Both are undefeated. Lakeville North's potent offense vs. Rosemount's staunch defense.