Saying goodbye to conferences in prep football

The last regular-season football games across Minnesota on Wednesday evening also mark the last hurrah for conferences in the sport.

Venerable city conferences in Minneapolis and St. Paul along with suburban alliances — the Lake, South Suburban, Northwest Suburban and Suburban East, among others — will disappear from the football landscape next season. Banners and trophies won will be the last ones as football braces for the biggest change to regular-season scheduling in years.

Next season schools will be placed in districts. Teams will play eight games against foes of similar strength and location. The plan does not affect section playoff groupings, nor does it affect conference play in other sports.

Conferences have been buffeted with change for years, with schools moving in and out to achieve more competitive balance. More recently some have dissolved — the Missota, for example — only to see some former members regroup to play each other in similar-looking conferences.

As a result, some coaches see the conference demise with little emotion. Three metro-area conferences will go out of football business after only one season. One of them, the eight-team Metro West Conference, could end in a five-way tie for first. Others see little change with districts, which are larger than conferences but designed to preserve matchups between rival schools.

But old conferences still garner affection. This season Minneapolis North gained coveted rights to The Bell, a Minneapolis City Conference icon held for years by Minneapolis Washburn.

The Lake Conference has had several iterations, with color names and "classic" versions, and now has only five schools. On the conference's last night of football, mainstays Hopkins and Eden Prairie will play for the final title.

After a recent victory over Minnetonka, Grant addressed his team, taking care to emphasize the conference title.

"We have to keep playing hard, keep executing," Grant said. "We've got a chance to win the last Lake Conference championship ever. That's one of the goals we talked about before the season. That's something special."

Despite all of Eden Prairie's state tournament success, the Eagles haven't been quite as dominant in the Lake. Since the league began its current five-team incarnation in 2010, Eden Prairie has won only one title, in 2013. Wayzata has won two and Edina one, in 2012.

Hopkins never has won a Lake Conference title but has ripped off four consecutive victories since starting 1-2. The run coincides with senior Tyler Lee taking over at quarterback. He's completed more than 63 percent of his passes (59 of 93) for 713 yards.

Jim says: Hopkins is riding back-to-back close victories over Wayzata and Edina. Eden Prairie will bring the Royals down to earth. Eden Prairie 40, Hopkins 14.

Last season Rogers took a wild 38-37 victory in the regular-season finale and
St. Michael-Albertville then won 21-7 in the Class 5A, Section 6 championship game.

A Rogers victory would clinch the conference title outright, but the rivalry takes precedence this time.

"We really haven't talked much about [the conference championship] to our kids," St. Michael-Albertville coach Jared Essler said. "We know Rogers so well, and they know us. They're in our district and also in our section, so we'll be playing them year after year. Next year, we'd just talk about a district championship instead of conference."

Jim says: This is a tough one. Last year the Knights ended Rogers' nine-game winning streak and state championship dreams. I'll lean toward Rogers gaining some revenge. Rogers 30, St. Michael-
Albertville 27.

David says: While I am not predicting a shutout, the St. Michael-Albertville defense has three goose eggs to its credit. A stingy Knights defense makes the difference. St. Michael-Albertville 20, Rogers 14.
NORTHWEST SUBURBAN
Totino-Grace (6-1, 2-1) at Osseo (5-2, 4-0), 7 p.m.
Who can forget the last time these teams met? Totino-Grace won 34-33 in the Class 6A
tournament quarterfinals after intercepting an Osseo two-point conversion try with 1:05 remaining in the game.

"We want to be selfish," Osseo coach Derrin Lamker said. "It's important for us to win the last conference title."

For Totino-Grace coach Jeff Ferguson, whose program left the former North Suburban Conference several years ago and forfeited the right for all-conference citations, the West Division title "is not unimportant but I don't know how significant it is. Conferences have changed. I'm not that
heavy-hearted to see the change to districts coming."

Ferguson's chief concern is whether his team is readying for another deep state tournament run.
"We'll find out against Osseo if we've taken any big steps," Ferguson said.

Jim says: Will Osseo have much left after a stirring victory over Maple Grove on Friday? I think Totino-Grace takes advantage of the Orioles' emotional hangover. Totino-Grace 21, Osseo 14.

David says: Both programs are sound and feature talented players at various positions. The advantage belongs to the Orioles' team speed. Osseo 24, Totino-Grace 17.
SUBURBAN EAST
Mounds View (6-1, 6-0) at Stillwater (6-1, 5-1), 7 p.m.
Playing for an outright Suburban East Conference title isn't doing much for Mounds View coach Jim Galvin. Securing the No. 1 seed for the Class 6A, Section 4 playoffs? Yes, please.

Mounds View lacks size on defense but East Ridge never attacked via inside runs. Stillwater might not have the option. Leading rusher Zach Knox missed the past two games because of a concussion and his status is uncertain. Without Knox, the Ponies will rely on playmakers such as quarterback DJ Skie and receiver Brooks Carroll.

Against East Ridge, Mounds View quarterback Joe Fredrickson and tight end Ryan Kaczynski connected on two scoring passes. Fredrickson and Joe Janey co-authored a 76-yard touchdown strike.

"We didn't have any long drives but we kept plugging away and hit a few big ones," Galvin said.

Jim says: Mounds View made a huge statement in beating East Ridge. Stillwater would love to make the same statement on its home field. If Knox can play for the Ponies, he makes the difference. Stillwater 20, Mounds View 14.

David says: The opportunity to clinch an outright conference title and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs will have Mounds View sky-high. To paraphrase Galvin, Mounds View has made a believer out of me. Mounds View 21, Stillwater 17.