2010 Minnesota high school football year in review

The offseason workouts, two-a-days and crisp fall evenings under the bright lights are nothing but a memory. The 2010 Minnesota high school football season is over, but those memories are good ones for many, including the six state champions crowned over Thanksgiving weekend at the 2010 Prep Bowl.

MaxPreps' Minnesota football playoff brackets

Claiming state championships in 2010 were:

Wayzata (Plymouth) - AAAAA
Totino-Grace (Fridley) - AAAA
Lourdes (Rochester) - AAA
Caledonia - AA
New Ulm Cathedral - A
Cromwell (Cromwell) – 9-Man

Here is a look back at some key players, statistics and results from the 2010 Prep Bowl:

• Cromwell quarterback Jordan Suhonen rushed for a Prep Bowl record 374 yards and five touchdowns (also a Prep Bowl record) to lead Cromwell to a 49-42 win over Lanesboro in the 9-Man championship game. Suhonen also set records for longest rushing touchdown (86 yards) and most yards per carry (13.4).

• New Ulm Cathedral captured its first Prep Bowl title with a 19-13 win over Barnesville in the Class A title game. Eric Hauser rushed 14 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

• Caledonia won its third title in the last four years (2007, 2008) with a 28-7 win over Triton of Dodge Center. Connor McCormick rushed 17 times for 153 yards and two touchdowns in the victory.

• Adam Lentz rushed 24 times for 220 yards and three touchdowns to lead Rochester Lourdes to a 41-13 win over Holy Family Catholic in the AAA title game. Lourdes completed a perfect season (14-0) and won its first state title since 1979.

• Totino Grace won its second consecutive state title with a 34-14 win over Rogers in the AAAA championship game. Tom Laventure rushed 15 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns and Ashford Kromah rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown in the win.

• Mitchell Underhill was a one-man highlight reel in Wayzata's 31-14 win over Rosemount in the AAAA championship game. Underhill, only a sophomore, rushed 12 times for 247 yards and four touchdowns. Underhill rushed for touchdowns of 45, 66, 58 and 58 yards in the win. It was the third state title for Wayzata since 2005.

While there were some outstanding performances by the winning teams, there were some pretty stellar efforts by members of losing teams at the 2010 Prep Bowl, including:

• Lanesboro quarterback Lucas Johnson rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns.

• Holy family quarterback Jeff Soule rushed 26 times for 126 yards.

• Bjorn Bloom of Rogers completed 22 of 41 passes for 250 yards.

PREP BOWL ATTENDANCE
Attendance for the 2010 Prep Bowl was 26,903 for the two-day event held at Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Attendance was 17,164 for Friday and 9,739 for Saturday.

ERIC KLINE WINS GATORADE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Blaine quarterback Eric Kline was named Minnesota's Gatorade Football Player of the Year. Kline, also named the Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year, passed for 2,002 yards and rushed for 1,086 to help Blaine finish 13-1 and advance to the big school state quarterfinals.

ERDMANN IS COACH OF THE YEAR
Rosemount head coach Jeff Erdmann was named the Minnesota Football Coaches Association Coach of the Year. Erdmann led the Irish to the South Suburban Conference title and a trip to the Prep Bowl, where the Irish lost to Wayzata, 31-14 in the state championship game. Rosemount finished the 2010 season 13-1. Erdmann was named honorary captain at Sunday's Minnesota Vikings game against the Buffalo Bills and also participated in the opening coin toss.

COACHING NOTE
Simley High School has announced that head coach Claud Allaire will not be the head coach in the 2011-12 football season. Rex King has been named interim head coach for the 2011-12 football season. King has been on the Simley coaching staff for a number of years and is a Simley High graduate.