Eden Prairie defeated Totino-Grace 38-20 Saturday. Eden Prairie hasn’t lost a game since 2012.
Minnesota has nine in-state football commits with eight of them playing this year, and they finished 6-2 in their respective season openers. The group is part of an extremely strong local Class of 2016. Periodically, we will look at the newest recruits with previews, so fans can catch them before they hit TCF Stadium.
Carter Coughlin, a 6-foot-4, 212-pound linebacker, picked Minnesota over Oregon and Ohio State. He has helped lead the Eagles to their third state title and they are the prohibitive favorite to win another Class 6A championship.
Eden Prairie defeated Totino-Grace 38-20 Saturday. The two teams meet in the 2014 Class 6A title game with Eden Prairie winning 28-27 as Totino-Grace went for a two-point conversion in the closing seconds. Eden Prairie hasn’t lost a game since 2012 and has won 31 straight games.
The Eagles face Edina at home, who beat Andover 28-15 in their season opener. Edina was one of two teams to beat Eden Prairie in 2012.
Thomas Barber, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound linebacker from Robbinsdale Armstrong helped lead the Falcons defeated Chanhassen 38-10 in the opener. Barber had five tackles as they held Chanhassen to just 151 total offensive yards and one touchdown, which was scored late in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons were just 3-6 last season and could be headed to their best season in year. They have won two or fewer games eight times in the past ten years and are just 16-75 during that time with only one playoff win.
Armstrong faces St. Louis Park at home Friday, who fell to Richfield in their season opener 12-7.
Drew Hmielewski, a 6-foot-2ΒΈ190-pound wide receiver from Marshall, helped lead the Tigers to a 68-0 win over Jordan in the opener. Hmielewski had one rush for 13 yards and one reception for 15 yards as they cruised to a 54-0 halftime lead.
The Tigers finished 8-1 last season after being upset by Waseca 28-14 in the first round of the playoffs. They had beaten them 35-6 in the regular season. The Tigers will get a chance for revenge against Waseca this Friday.
Phillip Howard, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound athlete from Robbinsdale Cooper, helped lead the Hawks to a 40-0 win over Bloomington Jefferson in the opener.
The Hawks face Benilde St. Margaret’s, who lost to Orono 47-14, Friday on the road.
Matt Kegel, a 6-foot-6, 295-pound lineman from Chaska, saw the Hawks fall to Spring Lake Park 28-21 in the opener. They face 1-0 Richfield Friday.
Kamal Martin, a 6-foot-3, 211-pound quarterback from Burnsville, helped lead the Blaze to a 28-0 win over Roseville. He rushed six times for 43 yards with one touchdown and completed two of nine passes for 26 yards. Martin had four tackles on the defensive side.
The Blaze face Lakeville South, which lost to Cretin Derham Hall Saturday, on the road Friday night.
Conner Olson, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound lineman from Monticello, helped lead the Magic ground game to 333 rushing yards in a 44-38 win over Alexandria. They will face Buffalo on the road Friday. The Bison lost their opener 20-19 to Willmar.
Sam Schlueter, a 6-foot-6, 272-pound offensive lineman, saw his Mayer Lutheran team fall to New Richland-H-E-G 14-7 in the season opener. They will face Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop, which lost to Redwood Valley 34-14 last week.
The out-state commits will have a busy weekend as well.
Tralund Webber, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound defensive lineman from Blinn (TX) CC, had three tackles, one sack and a fumble recovery as the Bucaneers defeated ASA College (Miami) 29-19 in their season opener. They face Texas A&T this Saturday.
Sean Foster, a 6-foot-8, 285-pound tackle from Mundelein (IL) Carmel Catholic, will lead the Corsairs in their season opener at Waukesha (WI) East.
Tony Poljam, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound quarterback from Lansing (MI) Catholic, will face Lansing Waverly Friday in their season opener.
Dredrick Snelson, a 6-foot, 192-pound wide receiver from Pembroke Pines (FL) Flanagan, will lead the Falcons against Stoneman Douglas Friday in their season opener.