Maple Grove rolls against Eden Prairie in second round of Class 6A high school football playoffs

Maybe now, the Maple Grove skeptics will have complete faith in their football team.

The Crimson ran through the regular season without a blemish, often salting a game away before the fourth quarter, winning in a manner that left no doubt.

But even though they were the only undefeated team in Class 6A heading into Friday night’s playoff games, there were whispers of doubt.

Their opponent was big, bad Eden Prairie, winner of 11 state championships. If any team could ruin the Crimson’s magical season, the Eagles could be it.

After crushing Eden Prairie 34-0, it would be difficult to locate a nonbeliever anywhere among the 70,000 or so inhabitants of the northwest suburb of Maple Grove.

“Yeah, there were parents and a few other people that were worried,” said senior linebacker/fullback/battering ram Bo Draheim. “But not us. We knew this was not the Eden Prairie of 10 years ago.”

Asked what his response would have been had he been told Maple Grove would pitch a shutout, Draheim smiled broadly. “I would have said, ‘Yes, we can do that.’ That wouldn’t surprise us.”

The Crimson (10-0) — who will play Edina on Thursday at Park Center High School in the Class 6A quarterfinals — stated their case early and often, scoring touchdowns the first three times they got the ball against Eden Prairie (6-4).

Quarterback Kaden Harney led them 71 yards on their opening possession, getting to the 1-yard line on a leaping 21-yard strike to Draheim running down the seam. Harney capped it with a 1-yard plunge for 7-0 lead.

Crimson running back Chuck Langama returned to action Friday after missing five games because of a high ankle sprain and immediately showed the dynamic ability Maple Grove had missed in his absence. He ran 28 yards for his team’s second score, weaving back and forth across the field before winning a footrace to the end zone for a 14-0 lead.

“I’ve been out for five weeks and I just knew the play was going to hit,” Langama said. “I was very anxious to get back on the field. Now I’m back and we’ve got to keep going forward.”

Langama scored again in the second quarter, racing 21 yards through the Eden Prairie defense for a 21-0 lead.

If there were any remaining doubters, they were silenced when linebacker Beaux Thyen jumped a route in the third quarter and scored on a 55-yard pick-six. It was his second of the season, emphasizing the Crimson’s depth of talent.

The result may have raised a few uninformed eyebrows, but certainly not those of Crimson coach Adam Spurrell.

“I think the final score was a reflection of our kids as a whole,” he said. “We’ve got a talented group of kids.”