Prep Blog: Week 2, Previewing 'The Big 4'
It's Week 2 in high school football and pretty much every team around the state is back in action Friday night after last week's unusual Saturday start.
To make it even more odd, most teams played afternoon games to avoid a potential threat for severe weather that would delay games. But we're now back to Friday night action under the lights, what every high school football player dreams of when they put the pads on for fall practice.
Many teams are looking to go 2-0 and the rest are looking for their first win of the season. What all programs want to avoid is the 0-2 start. That's a hard hole to get out of and it can have an impact on the rest of the season. There are plenty of great match-ups as action kicks off Friday night across the state, but we can only choose four (Well, OK, I chose an extra game).
Here are four of Friday's top games:
St. Croix Lutheran (1-0) at Providence Academy (1-0)
One team will leave the field 2-0 Friday night as Providence Academy hosts St. Croix Lutheran in a battle of teams in the newly-formed Twin City District. Both got pretty convincing victories to start the season last week. It's our Featured Game for WCCO-TV's High School Sports Rally.
St. Croix Lutheran got its season started with a 21-6 win over New Life Academy. The Crusaders were a state tournament team last year before losing to eventual champion Rochester Lourdes 43-28 in the quarterfinal round. In last week's win, running back Daniel Rust ran for 88 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Isaac Tietz passed for 63 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown strike Harrison Hochmuth. It was his only catch of the night.
Providence Academy got its season started with a 27-6 win over a talented Breck squad last week. The Lions were 8-0 in the regular season last year and had their season end in a section semifinal loss to Glencoe-Silver Lake. The Lions are senior-laden squad at the skill positions, led by quarterback Henry Van Dellen, wide receivers Drew Lahr and Matthew McKevitt, tight end Matt Richelseon and running back Josh Dart.
In its season opening win over Breck, Providence Academy scored the game's first 27 points and had a 20-0 lead at the half. Van Dellen had four touchdown passes to four different receivers. The scores went to Dart, Drew Lahr, Richelsen and McKevitt.
Both teams can put up points, so the team that plays the better defensive game is likely to get its second straight win to start the fall season.
Cretin-Derham Hall (1-0) at Woodbury (1-0)
A pair of east metro teams that are both looking to go 2-0 meet Friday night as Woodbury hosts Cretin-Derham Hall. The Raiders got off to a good start with a 21-12 win over Lakeville South. In that game, Kenneth Udoibok ran for 159 yards but it was quarterback Daniel Ryan that accounted for Cretin's three scores, with two rushing touchdowns and one passing. The Royals rallied to beat East Ridge. Quarterback Brady Mundahl had a big game with 240 yards and three touchdowns to three different receivers. It should be a great game with athletes all over the field on both sides of the ball.
Glencoe-Silver Lake (1-0) at Hutchinson (0-1)
Hutchinson is looking for its fifth straight win over one of its biggest rivals Friday night as it hosts Glencoe-Silver Lake. In the process, the Tigers are looking to bounce back from a Week 1 loss to defending state champion Becker. The Panthers got their season off to a positive start with a 20-6 win over New London-Spicer. In that game, both Luke Frahm and Teddy Petersen threw passing touchdowns, and both were to Carson Streich. Nathan Schuch also ran for 152 yards.
Prior Lake (1-0) at Minnetonka (1-0)
There is a big game in the west Twin Cities metro Friday night between two teams looking to improve to 2-0 as Minnetonka hosts Prior Lake. The Skippers held off a tough Champlin Park squad last week with an 8-6 win in a defensive struggle. The Lakers started with a 34-13 win over Centennial and in that game, quarterback Jimmy Larson had a big night with 181 yards passing and two touchdowns. Running back Andrew Owodunni was also a horse with 19 carries for 80 yards and two scores. In Minnetonka's win, its only score came from Marshall Glodoski, who ran for 120 yards in the victory. Look for a closely contested, defensive battle between these two teams.
Extra: Stillwater (0-1) at Roseville (0-1)
Two teams each looking for their first win of the season meet in the northeast metro Friday night as Roseville hosts Stillwater. The Raiders had a tough start, getting shut out by a tough Burnsville squad in a 28-0 loss. In that game, running back Devin Dykes led Roseville with 15 carries for 97 yards. Stillwater is looking to bounce back from a 30-13 loss to Eagan in Week 1.
Tune into WCCO-TV's High School Sports Rally at about 10:20 p.m. Friday as Mike Max, Frank Vascellaro and Reg Chapman will have all the action covered.