Lakeville North's Brian Vossen: Successful football coach. Veteran math teacher. Arborist?
"We talked about a certain bamboo tree [a Chinese bamboo] that takes five years before it shows any growth," Vossen said. "But then in 30 days, it grows 30 feet."
Panthers players eager to end three consecutive losing seasons got the message.
"At the start of summer practices, we said, 'We need to be 30 feet tall by the time we have our scrimmages,' " Vossen said. "We weren't preparing for any specific team — we were trying to become Lakeville North. And we are."
A 14-11 victory Friday at Rosemount backed Vossen's claim. The upset marked the first time in two years that Lakeville North (2-0) recorded its second victory before October.
Junior outside linebacker Reece Hunt used his hands to swat away a blocker and come free on the pass rush late in the fourth quarter. Hunt lowered the boom on Rosemount quarterback Tyler Japel, getting the sack and forcing a fumble that teammate AJ Pacyga recovered to preserve the victory.
The big play redeemed Hunt for a whiff in the first quarter.
"I missed a sack earlier," Hunt said. "I was ticked all game long because of that."
