No. 1 Maple Grove rallies past No. 3 Minnetonka in high school football, completes a perfect regular season

In the grand scheme, Maple Grove’s 31-21 victory at Minnetonka on Thursday afternoon didn’t hold much true meaning. Both teams will receive high playoff seeds, and in Minnesota every team gets a postseason berth.

As Rodney Francois, Minnetonka’s running backs coach, said, “Everybody’s 0-0.”

But to the participants, there was nothing insignificant about the Crimson’s come-from-behind victory.

“This was a playoff-type team we were playing against,” Maple Grove receiver/safety Dylan Vokal said. “This is super good for the morale of our team.”

A day of celebration and recognition for Minnetonka began exactly the way the Skippers hoped.

Before the game, former head coach Dave Nelson was honored with a banner at Einar Anderson Stadium as the fourth member of the school’s Ring of Honor. The others are former standout players Beau Allen, Keith Nord and Bennie Joppru.

Minnetonka, leaning on its physical offensive front, took the opening kickoff and went 80 yards in 16 plays, all on the ground, and took a 7-0 lead when quarterback Caleb Francois stepped into the end zone from 2 yards out.

After stopping Maple Grove inside the red zone, Minnetonka took to the air to increase its lead.

Caleb Francois, better known for his elusiveness as a runner, hit receiver Noah Baerenwald for 11 yards on third-and-9, then found Vinny May for a 69-yard catch-and-run score and a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

That, it turned out, was as good as it would get for Minnetonka.

Maple Grove (8-0) stopped Minnetonka (6-2) on the Skippers’ next drive, then went 55 yards in 10 plays, making it 14-7 on a 7-yard pass from Kaden Harney to Vokal.

“We took an early punch from them,” Crimson coach Adam Spurrell said. “Our kids needed to respond, and they did.”

What followed was perhaps the biggest momentum changer of the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, the ball landed at the Minnetonka 25. No Skippers players were nearby, so Maple Grove jumped on the loose ball. Four plays later, Harney and Vokal hooked up for another touchdown, from 6 yards, and the game was tied 14-14, with 40 seconds before halftime.

“We had to just take a moment, realize what we were doing wrong and make adjustments. Then we played our game,” Vokal said.

After a halftime celebration of the 20-year anniversary of Minnetonka’s 2004 state championship team, Maple Grove made sure Minnetonka didn’t regain momentum. The Crimson stopped Minnetonka on downs inside their own 20, then drove 90 yards in four plays,

Harney hit tight end Bo Draheim for 37 yards to reach the 50. Two plays later, Harney and Vokal clicked again, for a 42-yard score and a lead it didn’t give up.

Each team added a touchdown after that, but two interceptions stymied any hope Minnetonka had for a rally. Maple Grove’s Henry Sievers sealed the deal with a 45-yard field goal with less four minutes remaining.

Spurrell, in his first year as Maple Grove’s head coach after 19 years as an assistant, admitted he thought this group might be able to run the table.

“Honestly, I thought we could do this, just because of the players we had coming back,” he said.