Dominating Eagles race by Anoka in season opener

It happened gradually, and then suddenly.

After months of preparation during a long offseason, the Eden Prairie Eagles were endlessly waiting: waiting to get back on the football field – and waiting to get back to winning. That wait came to an abrupt end on Thursday night.

An intercepted pass on the first play from scrimmage, and a fast touchdown off the turnover, set the tone in the 2025 season opener at Aerie Stadium. It was an evening that featured the Eagles’ complete domination of Anoka in a 49-21 victory.

“It’s hard without us watching film, but the big thing is, Gavin Walden makes a huge play on the first play,” Eden Prairie head coach Mike Grant said after the game. “That really turned the tide and got us that 14-point lead.”

Anoka started at its own 25-yard line after Harrison Serk’s opening kickoff went into the end zone for a touchback.

The Tornadoes tried a screen into the flat, which found the waiting arms of Walden. The Eagles’ senior defensive end said he wasn’t surprised Anoka went to his side with the throw.

“Coach was talking to me all week,” Walden recalled. “He told me, ‘They’re running that play on the first play.’ So I saw the receivers motion over. And I just knew it’s coming right to me. And it happened.”

The interception gave the Eagles a first down on the Anoka 12-yard line. Eden Prairie wasted no time to open the scoring with running back Windlan Hall racing in on the first play from scrimmage.

The extra point was blocked but Eden Prairie led 6-0 just 11 seconds into the game.

“We got a good defensive stop right away when Wal got the pick. We were already fired up,” Hall said.

The Eden Prairie defense forced Anoka to go three-and-out on the next series. After a 50-yard punt, the Eagles began from their own 19-yard line.

Hall ran for seven yards on the first play from scrimmage. He was followed by sophomore running back Owen Konrad, who raced 74 yards for a touchdown on the next play.

The drive spanned 81 yards in two plays and was capped by Walden, who carried in the two-point conversion.

Eden Prairie led 14-0 with 8:22 remaining in the first quarter.

“I don’t think we punted tonight,” Grant said. “Our O-line played well. All our backs ran hard. The quarterback did a great job managing the game, so it was a great performance.”

Konrad led the Eagles with an impressive 217 yards rushing on 10 carries and the touchdown.

Hall rushed eight times for 98 yards and a touchdown.

The fast start was the result of a slow burn during the offseason. Eden Prairie’s uncharacteristically early exit in the playoffs left many players determined to come back stronger.

“I say the key starts all the way back in December, when we’re working in the weight room, we all had the same goal,” Eagles senior running back Justice Bates said. “I feel like our motivation is everyone saying, ‘EP isn’t this and EP isn’t that,’ but we know who we are.”

Bates rushed for 63 yards on six carries and two touchdowns. He broke loose for his second score, romping 43 yards to the end zone with 6:40 remaining in the second quarter to give Eden Prairie a 28-0 lead.

“The first half was probably the best first half we’ve had,” Bates said. “And the speech in the locker room Coach Grant gave us, it riled all of us up. So I think we were ready for the first half.”

Senior running back Andrew Johnson also rushed for a pair of touchdowns. He punched one in from 7 yards out in the closing minute of the first half to give the Eagles a 35-0 halftime lead.

“Johnson is a starting outside linebacker, but he could be a starting running back for us,” Grant said.

The Eagles churned up an overwhelming 568 yards of total offense with 514 of those yards generated from the running game.

Eden Prairie senior quarterback Jackson Bakkum was 3 of 5 passing for 43 yards and a touchdown to Myken Anderson, a 14-yard connection in the third quarter.

Defensively, the Eagles did not allow a single third-down conversion, as Anoka went 0 for 6 on third downs.

Those stops were key in the victory as the Tornadoes put up 319 yards passing with 390 yards of total offense.

Isaiah Kelly led Eden Prairie with five solo tackles. Johnson, Zane Frost and Mak Anderson each had four stops.

“We got a lot of young guys in the D-line who are coming up making plays,” Walden said of the defensive unit. “And then we’ve got experienced linebackers, and we got some new DBs, but they’ve been coming together in practice, and everybody’s been doing their part. So we see it’s fun to grow this year and come together as a team.”

The resounding win gave Eden Prairie the spark it needed to start the season. The Eagles will have their hands full facing three top-five opponents over the next four weeks.

“A great first game, but it just gets tougher now,” Grant said.

The Eagles now turn their attention to defending state champion and No. 1-ranked Maple Grove, the team that eliminated them from the postseason in November.

The Eagles will travel to Maple Grove to face the Crimson at 7 p.m. Friday for what will be the first big test in a challenging schedule that holds a very narrow margin for error.

“Every game we play is going to be big because we’ve got Edina, we’ve got Minnetonka, we’ve got Wayzata, we’ve got big games all year,” Grant said.

Editor’s note: EPLN photographer Rick Olson contributed to this story.