Shakopee turns back Mounds View in Class 6A football quarterfinal

T.J. Clark had tunnel vision.

Shakopee had let nearly the entire 17-point lead it built in the first half slip away. But the Sabers defense had just come up with a game-rescuing, fourth-down sack of Mounds View quarterback Jacob Sampson, giving Shakopee the ball at midfield with the chance to regain control of the game.

It was an opportunity Clark, a determined 5-9 running back, wasn’t about to let slip away.

He carried the ball on seven of eight plays on a drive that started at the 50-yard-line and scored a 6-yard touchdown that helped Shakopee rebuild its double-digit cushion and basically salt away a 24-17 victory over Mounds View. The Sabers earned a chance to play in the climate-controlled coziness of U.S. Bank Stadium next week in the Class 6A semifinals.

“I was just thinking about my team. I wanted to drive the field,” Clark said. “I just wanted to score, to get my team to the Bank.”

Shakopee coach Ray Betton said he knew Clark had the extra push needed to help the Sabers close out the victory.

“You know what? T.J. ran angry. A few plays before that last drive, he had hung on to the ball when we wanted to pitch it. He knew he had held on too long and he wanted to make up for it,” Betton said. “So the next drive, he’s like, ‘I’ll make up for it.’ So he ran like a bull. Man, he ain’t but a buck-60 [160 pounds], but he runs hard.”

Shakopee (10-1) started the game looking like it was going to turn it into a rout. The Sabers scored the first two times they had the ball, on a 75-yard run by quarterback Judah Forsberg in the first quarter and a 71-yard jaunt by Zac Docteur to begin the second.

Shakopee led 17-0 at halftime. The game was all but over.

But Mounds View (8-3) rallied behind quarterback Jacob Sampson, who accounted for two third-quarter touchdowns, one rushing, one throwing.

When the Mustangs blocked a Shakopee punt deep in Sabers territory, it looked like it was just a matter of time before Mounds View scored to take the lead.

Max Coles and the Shakopee defense had other ideas and pushed Mounds View back, leading to Clark’s game-clinching drive.

Mounds View coach Aaron Moberg said his disappointment stemmed from his desire to see his players succeed.

“These guys just didn’t give up,” he said. “I so badly wanted this for them.”