Football: Eden Prairie is at home, looking to win

Following a 28-7 loss at Shakopee Friday, Sept. 20, Eden Prairie High football coach Mike Grant was asked about his team’s 2-2 start to the 2024 season.

“I can’t even remember,” Grant said.

The two losses came against good teams - Shakopee and Edina. “They might be two of the top three teams in the state right now along with Maple Grove,” Grant observed.

In the first half at Shakopee Friday night, it was a battle between ground games with each team scoring a touchdown.

Jeremy Fredericks, the senior fullback, scored for the Eagles on a 4-yard run. Shakopee got its seven points on a 22-yard run.

“We had a good opportunity at the start of the second half,” coach Grant said. “If we had scored on that drive I feel we would have won the game.”

As it was, the drive stalled, and Shakopee’s ability to control the football on the ground led to victory.

Two injuries affected Eden Prairie’s chances in the second half. Fredericks was the victim of a helmet-to-helmet hit after a pass sailed over his head. Eagle fans gasped at the lateness of the tackle, and a penalty was called, but the loss of Fredericks was devastating.

The Eagle backfield took another hit when star senior halfback Elijah Rumph was injured.

Coach Grant said, “Shakopee is a team with tremendous speed and they scored on two long runs in the second half.”

TJ Clark had a 41-yard scoring run and added another touchdown on a 1-yard dive. Emmanuel Taye put the finishing touches on Shakopee’s win with a 79-yard touchdown.

“We are playing a lot of young guys this year,” Grant said.

Shakopee, a senior-dominated team, played - in Grant’s words - “A perfect game.”

Wayzata (1-3) comes to Eden Prairie for the Eagles’ homecoming game at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, at Aerie Stadium. The Trojans have used two quarterbacks - junior Matthew Berkland and senior Oscar Shoap - almost equally this year. Shoap had the hot hand last week, throwing three touchdown passes during the Trojans’ 48-21 homecoming loss to Edina.

The Wayzata game finds the Eagles at the crossroads. And a win could put them on the right track to contend in the playoffs.

“We aren’t taking anyone for granted,” coach Grant said. “Our goal is to make a run the second half of the season and win our next four games. Three of those four games are at home.”