City Conference Kings

Eleven months after winning yet another Minneapolis City Conference with a perfect 6-0 slate, the Washburn football team is again in the hunt for the top spot in the circuit as they look to win an eighth-consecutive city championship. The process to that goal began in good stead as the Millers, who finished 9-3 overall in 2007, kicked off the 2008 campaign with a 2-0 record after outscoring city rivals Edison and Henry by a combined score of 90-6. After making it to the Class AAAA quarterfinals for the first time in 10 years last season, Washburn brought back a number of talented performers on offense, including all-state tight end Ra'Shede Hageman, who caught 10 touchdowns last season. The senior, who also plays defensive end, caught a score in each of the Millers' first two games. Coach Peter Haugen's outfit also returns quarterback Brandon King to lineup behind center after hurling 22 touchdowns last year. The senior passed for nearly 200 yards and three scores in the victories against the Tommies and Patriots. Sophomore Montrell Wade, one of the finest running backs in the metro, logged over 320 yards rushing and five touchdowns in the first two games of 2008 with one of those scores coming at the end of a 96-yard scamper. Washburn's defense is led by a pair of linebackers in Garrett Bender and Johnny Watkins, who recorded 15 and 12 tackles apiece combined in the Millers' first two games with Bender also recording two sacks. The Millers appear to be a good bet to return to the Class AAAA playoffs again this year. Washburn hopes to overcome the hurdle set last year by Waconia in order to play at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in November with a shot of winning the school's first title since earning the Class AA championships in 1972 and 1977.