Champlin Park dropped its season opener and appeared headed to 0-2 Friday night.
Friday's football roundup: Champlin Park rallies past Class 6A champ Maple Grove
The Rebels trailed by 17 points but pushed back and won it in the fourth quarter.
September 9, 2023 at 4:32AM
Then the Rebels battled back from an early 17-point deficit to edge Class 6A defending state champion Maple Grove 25-24. Junior quarterback Preston Thielke threw a 6-yard swing pass to junior running back Arthur Russell with 7 minutes, 24 seconds remaining to cap the comeback.
Thielke threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to classmate Amir Drissi just before halftime to cut the Crimson lead to 17-8. He scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter, and junior Evan Swanstrom added a 29-yard field goal.
The Crimson (1-1) built a 17-0 lead on junior Bo Draheim's 1-yard run, a 16-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Kaden Harney to Braheim and junior Henry Sievers' 26-yard field goal.
Crimson junior Charles Langama scored on a 54-run in the third quarter to give his team a 24-15 lead.
In other games:
Chanhassen 35, Owatonna 14: Senior Maxwell Woods scored on runs of 43 and 91 yards and caught a 69-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Brayden Windschitl as the Storm (2-0) knocked off the Huskies (1-1). Windschitl also scored on an 8-yard run.
Hastings 9, Two Rivers 7: Senior Jack Sieben kicked a 42-yard field with one second remaining in the first half, capping the scoring in the Raiders' victory over the Warriors. Hastings (1-1) also scored with one second left in the first quarter, on junior quarterback Lukas Foss' 3-yard touchdown pass to junior running back Cole Zeien.
Lester Prairie 42, Medford 0: Junior LaDamien Gatlin-Coellner took the opening kickoff back 75 yards for a touchdown, the first of his three touchdowns. He also scored on runs of 3 and 61 yards.
Mahtomedi 48, St. Paul Central 10: Seniors Alec Mahoney and Charles Brandt accounted for six touchdowns as the Zephyrs (1-1) rolled past the Minutemen (1-1). Mahoney scored on runs of 2 and 20 yards and returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown while Brandt scored on runs of 1 and 5 yards and threw a 52-yard touchdown pass. Mahoney also had an interception.
Minnetonka 22, Wayzata 21: Seniors quarterback Milos Spasojevic and Hudson Poole teamed up for their second touchdown on a 5-yard play and running back Roman Johnson ran for the two-point conversion in the fourth quarter as the Skippers (2-0) rallied to beat the Trojans (1-1). Spasojevic and Poole hooked up on a 20-yard scoring strike late in the third quarter to pull Minnetonka within 21-14. Johnson scored the Skippers' first touchdown on a 2-yard run. Wayzata senior quarterback Cole Heilbrun ran for two short touchdowns and threw for a third.
Park of Cottage Grove 41, Burnsville 39: Senior Brett Salmonson scored his third touchdown on a 5-yard run with 3:46 remaining and the Wolfpack (1-1) scored 27 second-half points to beat the Blaze. He also scored on 9- and 12-yard runs. Junior quarterback Andrew Dickhausen threw three touchdown passes for the Blaze (0-2).
Shakopee 28, Prior Lake 7: The Sabers likes the ball in TJ Clark's hands. The junior running back scored three touchdowns and threw for a fourth as the Sabers (2-0) scored 21 fourth-quarter points to pull away from the Lakers (1-1). Clark threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to classmate Brayden Kleine 10 seconds into the fourth quarter, breaking a 7-7 deadlock. He added 28- and 37-yard scoring runs in the final four minutes. Clark opened the scoring with a 1-yard run late in the first quarter. The Lakers tied it when Dylan Hawley returned a fumble 36 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
