A look back at who’s hot, who’s on top, who is emerging and who to look for heading into another week of Minnesota high school football.
The Fab Five
1. Mounds View making move: The Suburban East is traditionally one of the tougher Twin Cities conferences, and things don’t appear to be different this year. Cretin-Derham Hall is ranked No. 3 in the state, led by quarterback Mark Alt and the nation’s top recruit, OL Seantrel Henderson. Stillwater, meanwhile, is 3-0 and ranked No. 6 in the state. Woodbury was a preseason top-10 team, but has since fallen out of the polls.
Rob Roman, Mounds View
Photo by Greg Smith
One team that is poised to crack the top 10 this week is Mounds View. The Mustangs, who host Hastings on Friday, opened with a win over Roseville, then lost to Stillwater 19-7 before rolling over Woodbury 35-7. The Mustangs, led by coach Jim Galvin, have been paced on offense by quarterback Jacke Carroll, who has thrown for 328 yards, and running back Kyle Mauricio, who has run for 188 yards on the season. The real story for Mounds View, however, may be its defense, which is allowing only 8.3 points per game. If Mounds View can survive a manageable midseason schedule, an Oct. 14 game against Cretin-Derham Hall could loom large.
2. Marquardt, Champlin Park produce: Brandon Marquardt entered the season as one of the top returning backs in the Twin Cities, and was one of many players who helped the Rebels enter the season ranked in the top 10 in the state. Marquardt delivered in a key Northwest Suburban Conference game against Anoka on Friday, scoring four touchdowns in a 35-28 win. Marquardt scored on runs of 1, 25 and 1 yards, and returned a kickoff 99 yards for a score. He scored three of the game’s last four touchdowns, including the 1-yard run in the fourth quarter that gave Champlin Park the win. The Rebels face Blaine on Friday in another tough early-season test.
3. Holy Family Fire on fire: Holy Family Catholic is ranked No. 5 in the state in the latest 3A poll, and at 3-0 is off to a fantastic start. Holy Family, nicknamed the Fire, cruised in a 60-0 win over Montgomery-Lonsdale Friday, as quarterback Jesse Soule passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
4. Jackson County Central cruising: At 3-0, Jackson County Central has moved to No. 4 in the 2A state rankings. The Huskies have won three games by a combined score of 92-15 and have one shutout. Friday, they defeated Luverne, then-ranked No. 2 in the state in 2A, 20-7.
5. In the rankings: The top-ranked teams in the state according to the Associated Press poll: 5A – Wayzata; 4A – Mankato West; 3A – Glencoe-Silver Lake; 2A – Caledonia; 1A – New Ulm Cathedral; 9-Man – Kittson County Central.
Three to watch
1. Ryan Farley, Farmington: Scored fairly often Friday in a 41-14 win over Red Wing. Farley scored on runs of 6, 48 and 62 yards in the win. Farmington is 2-1.
2. Montrell Wade, Minneapolis Washburn: The defending Minneapolis City Conference champions lost some key players from last year’s title team, but one key component is back, and that’s Wade. Through three games, Wade has rushed for 645 yards and seven touchdowns. In three games (2-1) he has ran for 300, 109 and 236 yards. What’s more impressive, he has only carried the ball 37 times, and is averaging 17.4 yards per carry.
3. Shane Winkler, Ottertail Central: Winkler put on a show on both sides of the ball last week in a 35-23 win over Royalton. The senior ran 27 times for 134 yards and three touchdowns, and added a fumble recovery while playing linebacker for the 2-1 Bulldogs.
Two hot to handle
1. Nic Jensen, Rochester Lourdes: Jensen did things in threes Friday night in a 35-13 win over Cannon Falls. As in, he scored three touchdowns - one on an 88-yard punt return, and the other two on 57- and 31-yard receptions. He also had three interceptions. The week before, Jensen added a 70-yard interception return for a TD, and caught a 54-yard touchdown pass.
2. Sam Connor, Osseo: Connor missed the first two games of the season but exploded for 313 yards and five touchdowns in a 50-18 win over Elk River on Friday.
Inside the numbers:
414 – The number of yards St. Louis Park quarterback Greg Hynes threw for in a 37-32 win over Big Lake. Hynes completed 26-of-47 passes for 414 yards and three touchdowns, and also ran for two touchdowns in the win.
84 – The number of yards Apple Valley’s Antonio Seals returned a fumble for a touchdown in a 17-14 loss to Chaska. Seals also scored on a two-yard run.
6 – The number of starts missing from Lakeville North in a 27-14 loss to Lakeville South in a key game between Lake Conference and city rivals. Those six starters were all out with injury. Blair Reigel led South with 103 yards rushing and three touchdowns in the win.
2 – The number of times Tartan quarterback Max Ryan and Andrew Madden connected for touchdowns in a 49-20 win over Simley on Friday in the Classic Suburban Conference. The duo connected for touchdowns of 15 and 46 yards, while Ryan also ran for two touchdowns, and Madden intercepted a pass that he returned 55 yards for a score in the win.
Matt Krumrie is a Twin Cities-based freelance writer who has covered high school, college and professional sports in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. If you have a story idea, comment or other information, contact Krumrie at mattkrum@yahoo.com.
