To powerful, to athletic

To athletic in the backfield, to powerful upfront. Those were the first thoughts that came to my mind as the fourth quarter clock ticked away at Minnetonka High School. The Skippers – especially in the second quarter when they scored twenty-one points against the rival Wayzata Trojans – stayed undefeated with a 28-14 victory that wasn't as close as the final score would indicate.   Full disclosure – I wasn't able to get to The Battle for the Bay Bell until late in the first quarter. Sometimes, real life gets in the way, and if you are not on the Minnetonka campus, at least a half hour early for the Wayzata game – good luck finding a parking spot. When I didn't get to the game, the game was still scoreless, but the Skippers were in the red zone. However, Wayzata forced a fourth down, and on fourth down, the Trojans' defensive lineman 91 got pressure on the quarterback – causing a bad throw and a turnover on downs.   Wayzata was backed up near their own goal line, but quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='924224' first='Matthew' last='Berkland'] found John Evans deep down the sidelines for 47 yards. The Skippers' defense would tighten up on the next set of downs.   Early in the second quarter, the Skippers' running game started to gain traction. They found success behind left guard Griffin Moore. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='591990' first='Caleb' last='Francois'] picked up a first down behind his big guard and [player_tooltip player_id='1204083' first='Aidan' last='Becker'], his left tackle. Francois then improvised and scrambled for a first down. Running back [player_tooltip player_id='1162022' first='Chase' last='Conrad'] – who greatly complimented Francois - cut off Griffen and Becker for eight yards. Then, Francois showed he was the most athletic guy on the field. His cutback run picked up a first down. After a penalty on the Trojans, Francois kept the ball on a read option, found the corner, and scored the game's first touchdown from 13 yards out.   A few plays later, the Skippers would add to their lead. Defensive back Malachi Broadi-Aboagye came screaming around the edge and hit Wayzata's quarterback, forcing a fumble. Minnetonka defensive lineman Milan Bobda scooped up the fumble and covered the remaining 15 yards for the touchdown.   Down two scores, the Trojans' offense hit a big play. [player_tooltip player_id='924341' first='Sam' last='Booh'] ran a deep crossing pattern, caught the pass, and sprinted into the end zone from 78 yards out. The score cut the lead to seven, but that was as close as the Trojans could get.    Minnetonka finished the quarter as they started it – with a score. Francois completed a pass across the middle to get the drive moving. Then, after the Trojans dropped the Skippers behind the line of scrimmage, the junior quarterback found space off the right side of the line and used his speed to blow by the rest of the defense to grab the Skippers' second two-score lead of the game from 38 yards out.   <figure class="wp-block-image"><img alt="" /></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/Francois-crop-1288x846-1725689914.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1424491" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='591990' first='Caleb' last='Francois']</figcaption></figure>   After their 21-point 2nd quarter explosion and with their defense playing solid – outside of a couple of big plays – the Skippers kept their rivals at arms-length during the second half. They took the second-half kickoff and ground out first down after first down – all on the ground. Francios found the end zone again – putting the Skippers up by three touchdowns.   "It was the o-line, really," Francios said. "They are the dogs."   That was more than enough for the Skippers' defense.   "When the defense plays like that, it is a huge confidence booster," Francios said.   The defense played a great game and kept the Trojans' offense from getting into any rhythm or mounting any scoring threat. The defense only gave up a late touchdown with about two minutes to go. The Skippers recovered an onside kick and took knees to seal the 28-14 win.   Minnetonka's victory moved them to 2-0 and set up a huge early-season game against 2-0 Edina next week.

To athletic in the backfield, to powerful upfront. Those were the first thoughts that came to my mind as the fourth quarter clock ticked away at Minnetonka High School. The Skippers – especially in the second quarter when they scored twenty-one points against the rival Wayzata Trojans – stayed undefeated with a 28-14 victory that wasn't as close as the final score would indicate.