Class 5A Recap

While they held an early and fleeting lead, the Cretin-Derham Hall football team was stopped short of its second state title by a mighty Eden Prairie squad that rolled to its sixth big-school championship by means of a 50-21 victory in the Class AAAAA final on Nov. 23. The battle of undefeateds began in a decidedly pro-Raiders way as Marcus Binns returned the game's opening kickoff 98 yards for the score that gave Cretin a 7-0 lead on Michael Pelikan's extra-point kick just 12 seconds into the game. Eden Prairie would take five minutes longer to score its first touchdown, knotting the score at 7-7 after a nine-play, 79-yard drive that would provide the blueprint for every Eagles score to come — a heavy dose of sledgehammer running behind the largest offensive line ever seen in Minnesota high school history, laced with the occasional pass. Cretin would come right back, using its jackrabbit style of play to cover 61 yards in just five plays and two minutes as quarterback John Nance called his own number on an 8-yard scoring scamper to put his team up 14-7 on another Pelikan kick. However, while the Raiders' quick-strike offense would strut its stuff early, the Eagles' methodical approach would wear down the Raiders defense. Eden Prairie took the lead for good with 27 seconds remaining in the opening quarter as the Eagles drove 80 yards to paydirt and pull within 14-13 before coach Mike Grant called for the two-point conversion that put the defending state champions ahead 15-14. Grant's goliaths would post two more scores to stake themselves to a 29-14 advantage before Cretin would post what would be its final touchdown of the game on a Shady Salamon 4-yard run. Undaunted, Eden Prairie would match that score with one more of its own to carry a 36-21 lead into halftime. The Eagles would engulf nearly 13 of the final 24 minutes of play while scoring the only two touchdowns of the second half en route to the 29-point victory, handing Cretin (13-1) its only loss of the season. Eden Prairie (14-0) would break three all-time Prep Bowl records in the contest: most offensive yards (520), most first downs (30) and most rushing first downs (22). The Eagles did not punt once in the entirety of the game. While Norte Dame signee Michael Floyd was held out of the endzone in his final Cretin contest, the future golden-domer did lead the Raiders with 85 yards receiving on three catches. Fellow senior Nance passed for 118 yards, while also leading his team in rushing with 73 yards on 10 carries.