By Matt Krumrie
MaxPreps.com
Fab Five
- Floyd Honored: The 2007 Minnesota high school football postseason awards tour season concluded Saturday when Cretin-Derham Hall wide receiver was named Mr. Football Minnesota for the 2007 season. Floyd, who was also named the state's Gatorade Player of the Year, was given the award at a banquet at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park. Floyd, who has committed to Notre Dame, was the most lethal offensive weapon in the state this season, and led the Raiders to 13-1 record and trip to the Prep Bowl.
- Other Finalists: The other finalists for the Mr. Football award were: Cody Hendrickson, QB/LB, Cromwell; Willie Mobley, DL, Eden Prairie; Logan Becker, QB/DB, Blue Earth Area; Sam Maresh, LB, Champlin Park; Matt Muenchow, QB/DB, Glencoe-Silver Lake; Hakeem Bourne-McFarlane, WR, Bloomington Kennedy; Mario Butler, RB, Rochester Mayo; Jeff Schuette, LB, Wayzata, and Nate Schaefbauer, QB, Brainerd.
- Herdina in the Class Room: Elliot Herdina of Blooming Prairie, the state's all-time leading receiver, was recently named to the Minnesota High School Football Coaches Association All-State academic football team. Herdina, a first-team Associated Press All-State player, had over 3,300 yards receiving in his career, most by any receiver in state history. Earlier this season Herdina broke the former record of 3,068 yards set by Dominique Byrd of Breck. Byrd currently plays in the NFL for the St. Louis Rams. Herdina played varsity since he was a freshman. He had 353 yards receiving as a ninth-grader, 794 as a sophomore and 1.057 as a junior. He totaled over 1,000 yards as a senior as well.
- Two-Day Format a Success: The reviews are in, and overwhelmingly, Minnesota prep coaches, fans and players favor the new two-day Prep Bowl tournament format. This year was the first year that the state finals were played over two days. It also resulted in better attendance - a total of 32,211 fans attended the two-day event, which was the most since 1986 and the fifth most in the 26-year history of the Prep Bowl.
- Coach Retires: Dave Dose of Glencoe-Silver Lake has announced his retirement. Dose led the Panthers to its second consecutive Class 3A state title when the Panthers defeated DeLaSalle in the Prep Bowl, 56-20. Dose won four state titles as head coach of the Panthers - 2000, 20003, 2006 and 2007. He had a career coaching record of 155-77.
Three to Watch
- Willie Mobley will definitely be one to watch - at the collegiate level that is. Mobley, the 6-foot-2, 262 pound all-state defensive lineman from state champion Eden Prairie, recently committed to Ohio State next season. The highly-sought recruit narrowed his choices to Minnesota and Ohio State before choosing the Buckeyes.
- Evan McMillan, St. Paul Academy: McMillan will be among the top returning quarterbacks in the state next season. The sophomore from St. Paul Academy passed for 2,251 yards and 19 touchdowns this season.
- Nate Mattson, Hawley: The sophomore running back ran for 1,806 yards this season, third in the state, and also scored 152 points, which ranked fourth in the state.
Two Hot Too Handle
- The Associated Press All-State first team offense: QB--Ryan Grant, SR, Eden Prairie; RB--Mario Butler, SR, Rochester Mayo; RB--Jeremy Randle, SR, DeLaSalle; RB--Matt Swanson, SR, Eden Prairie; OL--Devin Benjamin, SR, DeLaSalle; OL--Tom Ries, SR, Eden Prairie; OL--Roszelle Gayden, SR, Robbinsdale Cooper; OL--Joe Schafer, SR, Cretin-Derham Hall; OL--Joe Lund, SR, Bloomington Kennedy; TE--Ra'Shede Hageman, JR, Minneapolis Washburn; WR--Michael Floyd, SR, Cretin-Derham Hall; WR--Elliott Herdina, SR, Blooming Prairie
- The Asssociated Press All-State first team defense: DL--Willie Mobley, SR, Eden Prairie; DL--Brendan Kelley, SR, Holy Angels; DL--Kolby Gruhot, SR, Stephen-Argyle; DL--Jason Engstrom, SR, Coon Rapids; LB--Sam Maresh, SR, Champlin Park; LB--Jake King, SR, Totino-Grace; LB--Brian Renkes, SR, Hutchinson; LB--Jeff Schuette, SR, Wayzata; DB--Joe Loftus, SR, Holy Angels; DB--Kyle Melcher, JR, Owatonna; DB--Andy Joyce, SR, Wayzata; DB-Cody Hendrickson, SR, Cromwell
Inside the Numbers
182 - The number of tackles by Nathan Maher of Rockford, which led the state, according to MaxPreps.com statistics.
39.58 - The average yards per punt by Monte Wilkerson of Hopkins, which led the state in MaxPreps.com rankings.
16 - The number of sacks by Cole Jirik of Northfield, which led the state, according to MaxPreps.com rankings.
9 - The number of interceptions by Josh Brozek of Rockford, which led the state according to MaxPreps.com statistics.
8 - Field goals made by Chad Dorian of Prior Lake, which led the state in the MaxPreps.com statistics.