Top performers - Lakeville North vs. Eagan

It was a great, back-and-forth battle between two top-ten teams in Class 6A Friday night. In the end, number one-ranked Lakeville North made a few more plays than the Eagan Wildcats to pull out a 36-33 victory. There were some solid performances – especially on offense. Here are some guys who stood out to me.    Ripplinger was the driving force behind the Panthers' offense. His patience behind his blockers and his versatility stood out immediately. Early, he waited for his blocks to set up to pick up seven yards. Then, he caught a swing pass and got up the sidelines for twenty yards. After another seven-yard run, He caught a one-yard touchdown. He got in the end zone again with another short touchdown pass. Back on the ground, his patience resulted in another first down. Later, he picked up a first down using his speed around the left side. Quick feet and a jump cut picked up six yards. His speed got the corner again for a first down. He showed he could run between the tackles for fifteen yards. Late in the game, he finally got a touchdown on the ground - eight yards up the middle.     There were a lot of points scored, but one defender stood out above all. Most of the Panthers' success came running to the edges and not much between the tackles – often because of Larson. He shot a gap early and used his speed to make a tackle for loss, forcing a punt. Then, he recovered a first quarter fumble. He stuffed a run near the goal line. He showed his knowledge of the game when he read a quarterback draw for a short gain.     Grossman is a great dual-threat quarterback. Early, he got the ball out quickly for a completion to the outside. Then, he showed his athletic ability when he kept the ball on the read option for 15 yards on third and three. Grossman flipped a short pass into the flat for a short touchdown. Then, he kept the ball on the option for good yards. The senior showed good arm strength, throwing a pass on a line to get inside the ten yard line. He threw a catchable ball on a fade route for a ten-yard touchdown. He showed nice arm strength with a 32-yard pass inside the five. He put the ball where only his guy was going to get it. A few plays later, he finished the drive with another short touchdown pass.     Gilbertson was the Wildcats' bellcow running back. Early in the game, he ran the ball up the middle but bounced it outside for a 60-yard touchdown. Then, the junior found some space up the middle and showed his toughness with a hard-nosed run up the middle - bouncing off a tackler for five yards. He scored a second touchdown, a short run between the tackles. Late, he picked up seven yards for a critical first down.     Grossman's biggest target – in more ways than one – was Fries. He is a big target on the outside. He showed how physically he plays when he caught a ball in the flat, broke a tackle, and got inside the five-yard line. Later, he ran a hook route and picked up fifteen yards. The senior was too big and physical for the Wildcats' defensive backs. His size was evident when he caught a fade for a ten-yard touchdown and then on a 32-yard catch where Fries got superior position against the defender to make the catch.     Ison made a great block on the outside, springing the running back around the corner for twenty yards. Later in the game, he took an inside handoff for a touchdown.     Forsgren made an impact with both his legs and his hands. He used his speed on an end-a-round – that actually went as a reception picking up a first down. He showed more athletic ability with a catch and ran in the flat for eight yards. He finished the game with three total grabs.     Halvorson got the corner for a twenty-yard run. He showed speed to the corner again for twenty more yards. Carter Hills WR 6'2 SR made a great block springing Halvorson for a big run late in the game.     First, Hunt made a tackle on the inside for a short gain. Then, he made the game's biggest defensive play when he scooped a bad option pitch and returned it for a 50-yard touchdown. On offense, he made a catch that picked up a first down and put his offense in the red zone.    Owen Nasel OL 6'3 250 SR and [player_tooltip player_id='1612785' first='Carter' last='Crawford'] OL 6' 265 JR Lakeville North   The offensive line was opening holes all night for Panthers' ball carriers. These two stood out for me. Early, the offense ran behind these two almost exclusively as they opened holes in the running game. The running back was untouched into the second level on a seven-yard run. They opened a huge hole to convert on a third down for 15 yards. Nasel and Crawford set up the team's final touchdown run for North.   [player_tooltip player_id='348749' first='Alex' last='Loes'] OL 6' 205 OL SR and Cole Will 6' 230 SR Eagan   Both offensive lines played great most of the game, and all of them could easily be mentioned. For Eagan, Loes and Will opened some holes that stood out. Especially early in the game, these two seniors were driving the Wildcats' veer attack.

It was a great, back-and-forth battle between two top-ten teams in Class 6A Friday night. In the end, number one-ranked Lakeville North made a few more plays than the Eagan Wildcats to pull out a 36-33 victory. There were some solid performances – especially on offense. Here are some guys who stood out to me.