Maybe now, the Maple Grove skeptics will have complete faith in their football team.
The Crimson ran through the regular season without a blemish, often salting a game away before the fourth quarter, winning in a manner that left no doubt.
But even though they were the only undefeated team in Class 6A heading into Friday night’s playoff games, there were whispers of doubt.
Their opponent was big, bad Eden Prairie, winner of 11 state championships. If any team could ruin the Crimson’s magical season, the Eagles could be it.
After crushing Eden Prairie 34-0, it would be difficult to locate a nonbeliever anywhere among the 70,000 or so inhabitants of the northwest suburb of Maple Grove.
“Yeah, there were parents and a few other people that were worried,” said senior linebacker/fullback/battering ram Bo Draheim. “But not us. We knew this was not the Eden Prairie of 10 years ago.”
Asked what his response would have been had he been told Maple Grove would pitch a shutout, Draheim smiled broadly. “I would have said, ‘Yes, we can do that.’ That wouldn’t surprise us.”
The Crimson (10-0) — who will play Edina on Thursday at Park Center High School in the Class 6A quarterfinals — stated their case early and often, scoring touchdowns the first three times they got the ball against Eden Prairie (6-4).
