Edina Ready to Tackle 'Run-Heavy' Totino-Grace Football Team

Coming off of a hard-fought , Football Coach Reed Boltmann said he has really started to appreciate the determination of his team.

After falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter to the visiting Huskies, the Hornets managed to retain their composure and fight back to ultimately win the game. The team is now 2-0 on the 2012-13 season.

"There's times in years past where something like this would've happened and the game would just slip away from us," Boltmann said. "I attribute that to the leadership we have on our team, the fact that we pick ourselves right back up and kept plugging away to win that game."

The Hornets are expecting another solid performance from junior running back Kevin Placide, who already has 198 rushing yards this season. Boltmann said Placide has benefitted from an offensive line that "just throws open holes for him," but also praised the newcomer's athletic abilities.

"He's a hard worker and is developing into a nice young running back for us," he said. "When he's averaging around 100 yards a game, that takes a lot of pressure off of our quarterbacks and other players."

Edina is on the road tonight to play Totino-Grace, currently ranked atop the Minnesota State High School League's AAAAA Class. The Eagles were 11-2 last season and got off to a 1-0 start with a 48-6 win over Coon Rapids last week.

Boltmann described Totino-Grace as a hard-hitting football team, which utilizes a "run-heavy offense" similar to Lake Conference rival Eden Prairie. Compared to Edina's last two opponents—pass-focused Andover and —Boltmann said Totino-Grace prefers to control the clock and concentrate on running the ball.

"It's a totally different mindset this week," he said. "If we can play an error-free game and get them out of their element of pounding the ball—make them throw it—we stand a decent chance of winning. Otherwise, it could be a long night for us." 

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