Metro Top 10: Traditional football still wins

With only 32 teams in Class 6A, and the cannibalistic nature of the scheduling with matchups of top teams each week, it's somewhat surprising that at the halfway point of the season, there are still five teams without a loss in the state's largest class.

Two more fell from the ranks of the undefeated Friday. Both games were won by teams playing a style that would make legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes grin.

Centennial upended Maple Grove 21-7 by simply lining up with a quarterback under center and relying on brute force to advance, backed by a gritty, firm and physical defense.

Eden Prairie handed Rosemount its first loss, 13-3. Knowing that defense wins championships — which they've proven with 11 state titles — the Eagles operate knowing the opponent can't win if it doesn't score.

Both teams rely on patient offenses that control the ball and the clock, allowing the other team fewer possessions and chances to score.

In this era of multiple wideouts, spread sets and the air filled with footballs, there's clearly there's still a place for old-school football.

1. Lakeville South (4-0): Def. Farmington 36-14. Thus ends Farmington's three-game stretch of scheduling purgatory: losses to highly ranked Eden Prairie, Shakopee and Lakeville South.

2. Wayzata (4-0): Def. Totino-Grace 34-17. Offensive balance was the key. RB Julian Alfaro Diedrich rushed for 115 yards, QB Ryan Harvey passed for 223.

3. Shakopee (4-0): Def. Edina 42-14. The highest-scoring offense in the metro continues to produce at an impressive rate, averaging 49.8 ppg.

4. Eden Prairie (3-1): Def. Rosemount 13-3: A throwback victory, with both defenses in shutdown mode.

5. Stillwater (4-0): Def. Osseo 42-20. Consecutive three-TD rushing games for Stillwater RB Edward O'Keefe. The Ponies' confidence is peaking

6. Woodbury (4-0): Def. Burnsville 28-0: The defense held Burnsville to only 119 total yards and got a pick-six by Quentin Cobb-Butler.

7. St. Michael-Albertville (3-1): Def. Blaine 28-0. Minnesota football at its most basic: The Knights stuffed the run on defense, ran for 265 yards on offense.

8. Rosemount (3-1): Lost to Eden Prairie 13-3. A fumble at the goal line, followed by an 80-yard Eden Prairie scoring drive, led to a 14-point swing that did in the Irish.

9. Prior Lake (3-1): Def. Lakeville North 17-14. How good are the Lakers? We'll know in three weeks after their consecutive games against Eden Prairie, Lakeville South and Rosemount.

10. (tie) St. Thomas Academy and Andover (5A, both 4-0): Two teams are on a roll, with average margins of victory of nearly 30 points per game.

Also worthy of consideration: Minnetonka, Maple Grove, Centennial, White Bear Lake.