Maple Grove Earns Big Win Over St. Michael in Section Football Action

An unanswered victory Tuesday night by the Maple Grove Senior High varsity football team against St. Michael High School launched the Crimson into the Section 5AAAAA semifinals.

will match up against the Osseo Senior High Orioles 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 at .

Highlights

At the Crimson 25-yard on a third down play line during the first quarter, Knights junior Ryan Lyzhoft was hit and fumbled the ball on a defensive play by a Crimson linebacker, and senior linebacker Dylan Steman of Maple Grove scooped up the ball and ran 75 yards, untouched, for the game's first score. 

Looking to recover, the Knights fizzled on their next offensive possession and punted after four plays. Two offensive plays later, Crimson senior Roman Collins (24), his first game at tailback all season, turned a broken play into a 57-yard touchdown run. Collins rolled right with his blockers, ran into a host of Knight defenders, and cut back left. He found only daylight between him and the left sideline, and took off. 

The Crimson had built a 13-0 lead, and never looked back, rolling to a 36-0 rout of the Knights on their home field. 

Maple Grove's defense used a bend-but-don't-break philosophy to keep the Crimson in control, and the Knights kept committing big mistakes. 

Looking to answer the call down 13-0, St. Michael-Albertville marched down the field, thanks to a shovel pass from Cole Krutzig to Lyzhoft that went for 20 yards, and another key run by Krutzig that converted a third down. But on third down inside the Crismon 10, Krutzig tried to get a pass into wide receiver Michael Weise. Collins, who had a night of big plays, made another one by stepping in front of the pass, taking a risk, and getting the interception at the Crimson 1-yard line. 

The two teams would play a bit of field possession, then the Crimson moved ahead with a 33-yard field goal. They would use a methodical drive late in the second quarter to make it 22-0 at the half.

In the second half, Maple Grove made it 29-0 on a 24-yard run by Collins, his second touchdown of the night. He would get a fourth on the game's final score, picking up a blocked punt in the fourth quarter and running 25 yards to make it 36-0. 

Maple Grove went 3-5 on the regular season but had three losses to teams ranked in the top 10 in 5A, including Eden Prairie. They'll take on Osseo, a rival, in the semifinal.