Champlin Park dropped its season opener and appeared headed to 0-2 Friday night.
Then the Rebels battled back from an early 17-point deficit to edge Class 6A defending state champion Maple Grove 25-24. Junior quarterback Preston Thielke threw a 6-yard swing pass to junior running back Arthur Russell with 7 minutes, 24 seconds remaining to cap the comeback.
Thielke threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to classmate Amir Drissi just before halftime to cut the Crimson lead to 17-8. He scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter, and junior Evan Swanstrom added a 29-yard field goal.
The Crimson (1-1) built a 17-0 lead on junior Bo Draheim's 1-yard run, a 16-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Kaden Harney to Braheim and junior Henry Sievers' 26-yard field goal.
Crimson junior Charles Langama scored on a 54-run in the third quarter to give his team a 24-15 lead.
In other games:
Chanhassen 35, Owatonna 14: Senior Maxwell Woods scored on runs of 43 and 91 yards and caught a 69-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Brayden Windschitl as the Storm (2-0) knocked off the Huskies (1-1). Windschitl also scored on an 8-yard run.
Hastings 9, Two Rivers 7: Senior Jack Sieben kicked a 42-yard field with one second remaining in the first half, capping the scoring in the Raiders' victory over the Warriors. Hastings (1-1) also scored with one second left in the first quarter, on junior quarterback Lukas Foss' 3-yard touchdown pass to junior running back Cole Zeien.