High school football weekend recap: St. Michael-Albertville wins wet one over Maple Grove

Teams make their own breaks. Sometimes Mother Nature lends a helping hand.

St. Michael-Albertville used both to upset Class 6A, No. 2 Maple Grove 14-13 on a wet and windy Thursday night. It was the Knights' third consecutive victory.

"The rain forced a few errant snaps that got Maple Grove off schedule," Knights coach Jared Essler said. "We did rally and tackle a bit better in the fourth quarter, but the weather definitely played a role."

The Knights (4-3) took a 14-13 lead when running back Madden Grabau scored on a 3-yard run and quarterback Will Barthel found tight end Drew Luster wide open for the two-point conversion pass with 11 minutes, 56 seconds remaining.

Maple Grove had opportunities. The Crimson turned the ball over on downs at the Knights 27-yard line with 49 seconds remaining. They had trouble with the snap on a go-ahead, 32-yard field-goal attempt on their previous possession.

Luster, a senior who also plays defensive end, blocked two kicks (a punt and a field goal), and defensive tackle Evan Becker blocked the point-after attempt — the margin of victory — following Maple Grove's first touchdown. The Crimson also had a 28-yard field goal go awry and fumbled at the Knights 3-yard line just before halftime.

"We've won three in a row, and it's really a credit to our senior class," Essler said. "They've kept working and believing; sometimes the narrative is that players and teams are a finished product early in the season, but we have consistently been playing better each week and the improvement is tangible and connected to our senior class and their practice habits."

Barthel scored the Knights' first touchdown on a 1-yard run. He has thrown for 781 yards and run for 355 this season.

"We are playing much better than our first few games of the season in all three phases," Essler said. "I think we're peaking and will be a tough out in the Class 6A playoffs."

On a weekend when pick-sixes and fumble returns for touchdowns were rampant, Class 3A, No. 2 Esko went to an extreme in a 41-7 victory over Hermantown.

Esko (7-0) scored 35 first-half points against the Hawks (5-2), its first three touchdowns coming on interception returns. Cole Sauter got it started with a 24 yarder, followed by two by Gophers recruit Koi Perich (32 and 65 yards). Perich helped out on Sauter's interception, hitting the quarterback as he was throwing.

The 6-2, 215-pound Perich carried the ball seven times for 93 yards, including touchdowns of 2 and 38 yards. Gophers coach P.J. Fleck was there to see it.

"The thing that we have defensively is a good line, our linebackers are pretty athletic and we've got guys in all three phases," Esko coach Scott Arntson told the Duluth News Tribune. "We have all three phases, which helps, and we have a couple guys that are out that would be starting for us — so, it could be even better."

Rochester Century forfeited its game against Northfield scheduled for Friday night because of the death of a team member, junior wide receiver/defensive back Davin Tukua.

Tukua was killed Oct. 7 in a three-vehicle accident on a road north of Rochester. He was 16. His visitation was held Friday night and the funeral Saturday.

"I'm sure there's a disappointment out there of not playing a game, but in reality that's all it is, a game," Century activities director Mark Kuisle told the Rochester Post Bulletin. "In the big scheme of things of what these kids are dealing with, and what the family is dealing with, life's a bigger picture than a football game on Friday night."

After seven weeks of the season, the number of unbeaten metro teams has fallen to eight: Eden Prairie in Class 6A, Chanhassen and Rogers in 5A, Becker and Orono in 4A, Annandale in 3A and Norwood Young America and St. Agnes in 2A.