Saturday's Class 4A title game followed a familiar script this time of year for Totino-Grace, which defeated Rogers 34-14 to take home its sixth championship in the past eight seasons.
Class 4A title game: Totino-Grace 34, Rogers 14, final.
Another title for the Eagles.
November 28, 2010 at 12:48AM
After forcing a three-and-out on Rogers' first possession, the Eagles – known more as a running team – went up 7-0 on their fourth play from scrimmage when Alex Kreuser's perfect deep ball was hauled in by Nick Frandsen for a 44-yard touchdown.
"That was the game plan," Kreuser said. "Make them remember last year as soon as possible, and keep the foot on the pedal."
That was a reference to Totino-Grace's 56-14 victory over Rogers in last year's state quarterfinals. This year, the teams seemed much more evenly matched. But Rogers trailed 14-0 after the first quarter and never really threatened after Tom Laventure's 59-yard TD run made it 28-7 early in the third.
The Royals, who controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage against Mahtomedi while scoring on seven of their first eight drives, found lanes constantly clogged Saturday. And even when Rogers moved the ball – the previously undefeated Royals finished with 394 yards of offense – the offense was just 2-for-6 scoring on trips inside the red zone. Totino-Grace was 3-for-3.
A video of Minnetonka High’s highly touted freshman Ari Peterson surfaced Thursday when she threw down a one-handed dunk during a workout at TVP Academy in Burnsville.
