Prep athletes of the week: Finally on the field, Lakeville North senior runs for four TDs

After starting more than a month late, the Panthers' season opener Friday against Rosemount was canceled because their opponent's team had positive COVID tests.

"We were starting to wonder 'is this going to happen to us every week?' " said Freeburg, a senior running back. "A lot of people seem like they're getting sick."

He was watching a livestream of intradistrict rival Lakeville South on Friday when his coach, Brian Vossen, called. "He said 'Do you want to play Cretin-Derham Hall at 4:30 [Saturday]?' We took it. We were just excited to have a chance to finally play," Freeburg said.

The Panthers didn't waste the opportunity, racing out to a 28-0 halftime lead en route to a 55-14 victory. Freeburg ran for 170 yards and four touchdowns, including a 72-yarder that allowed him to show off his 4.56 speed.

"I expected a defensive battle. I didn't expect to put up 28 points in the first quarter," Freeburg said. "But Vossen came in at about 1:30 and installed a week's worth of game-planning in about an hour.''

Freeburg, who committed to Minnesota State Moorhead in September, said his long run was an example of what his team is capable of.

"The whole offensive line went in motion one way. I came down the line. They weren't even thinking I was going to get the ball. Then I just used my speed," he said. "I give a lot of credit to the offensive line. A lot of times, I was 7 yards downfield before I got touched. Or, in some cases, 72 yards."

Facing a tough schedule, the Stars slumped midseason, losing four consecutive games. Since then, they've won three straight, including two 2-1 victories last week. Brain, the team's leading scorer, paced the offense with two goals and an assist.

The goal-scorers get the glory, but those who set them up deserve recognition, too. While Maddie Dahlien scored four goals in an 8-0 drubbing of Hopkins, freshman forward Engle was the star, setting a team single-game record with five assists.

In just his second season with the program, the senior forward has proven to be a skilled goal-scorer. He accounted for all of his team's goals in the Hawks' 4-0 victory over Benilde-St. Margaret's, giving him 18 goals on the season.

It's been two seasons since the sophomore diver has lost in a high school meet. Last week, in a virtual meet against Rosemount, she broke her own school record (for the second time this season) and set a pool record with a score of 271.80.

The junior outside hitter/setter paced the Islanders to a season-opening four-set victory over Visitation with a stellar all-around performance. Travis had 17 kills, added 26 set assists and had five ace serves.

The 5-10, 185-pound quarterback played like a veteran starter should in the Eagles' 34-7 victory over Minnetonka. He ran for a 2-yard touchdown on their opening drive and completed nine of 12 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns.

JIM PAULSEN