Eagles keeping busy in preparation for upcoming season

As the summer winds down to its inevitable conclusion, there’s a flurry of activity in and around Aerie Stadium, where Eden Prairie football coaches and players have been busy preparing for the coming season.

“We got our two-a-days done, we got the scrimmage done and now, everything is a routine that we go through to prepare each week,” Eagles head coach Mike Grant said after his team’s three-team scrimmage against Chanhassen and Champlin Park on Saturday.

The event marks the unofficial end to the preseason practices as the Eagles look ahead to their season opener on their home field against Anoka.

But there’s much to be done before kickoff on Thursday night. Once the season begins, it’s an uninterrupted march to November, with a daunting schedule lined with the state’s top teams. 

“We’ll be getting ready for Anoka at the same time getting ready for (Week 2 opponent) Maple Grove the next week. So, the coaches’ work is never done,” Grant pointed out matter-of-factly.

“The players, they come to practice, but the coaches’ work is never done, right?”

After the morning scrimmage, the Eagles held a two-hour practice Saturday evening to make up for a shortened week upcoming with a Thursday night game.

“So yeah, we practice tonight,” Grant quipped. “But what do (the players) have to do? It keeps them away from the State Fair.”

The Eagles have their work cut out for them in the first three weeks of the season. Anoka reached the state semifinals last season, while Maple Grove won the 6A state championship. Edina, Eden Prairie’s opponent in Week 3, lost to Maple Grove in the state quarterfinals.

Maple Grove is the consensus No. 1 team in the preseason polls, while Edina is ranked third. The Eagles will also face No. 2 Minnetonka on Sept. 26.

Formidable opponents are a perennial certainty for Eden Prairie and for Grant, whose 11 state championships ensure a circled date on the calendar of every opponent the Eagles face.

“They have us ranked, I think, at the bottom of the top 10, or something like that,” Eagles senior captain Ethan Sather said. “I don’t really look at it too much. We just pay attention to ourselves. I’m just excited to see what we can do and keep working hard.”

Sather was selling his team a few spots short; the Eagles are ranked sixth in the preseason polls, but his perspective is shared by fellow captain Zane Frost, who is more concerned with turning the program around after a disappointing 6-4 record in 2024.

“I think for us, it’s just shut it out,” he said of the preseason noise. “Especially after last year, we didn’t have the season we were hoping for, and everyone’s sleeping on us.”

Zane anchors a stout defense, which will feature freshman sensation, and University of Minnesota recruit, Jayden Bates at defensive end.

“We’ve got a really, really strong four lineman up front,” Zane said. “We’re working on some younger talent. We’ve got Taylor Hussong, a sophomore, Drew Erlandson, another sophomore, and then obviously Jayden Bates, but there’s some really young skill in here.”

Zane said the key to Eden Prairie’s success on defense will be playing as a unit; working together with both younger starters and experienced upperclassmen.

“We’ve got our older leaders on the team, And I think we’re just going to be strong and we’re going to be a smart defense,” he said.

The offense returns senior quarterback Jackson Bakkum, who will be throwing to senior wide receiver Cooper Fahning and handing the ball off to senior running back Justice Bates, older brother of Jayden.

“We got great quarterback play today by Jackson,” Sather said after the scrimmage. “We couldn’t ask for better. He was throwing dots all over the field.”

Sather, a returning starter and anchor along the offensive line, said all facets of the offense need to come together for the Eagles to be successful this season.

“It’s everyone. We need the backs. We need offense,” he said, adding it all has to start with the big men up front.

“Jake Gau, all of our O-lineman, William Palmer, Jack Badon, Joe Broich, Myken Anderson and Braden Minta; our O-line as a unit is great,” he said. “I’m really excited.”

Grant liked the performance of his offense on Saturday, although he cautioned the coaches simplified the play-calling at this early stage of the season.

“We’ve got an experienced offensive line, and that always helps; we’ve got a big offensive line,” he said. “I thought our backs ran hard, our quarterbacks put the ball where they wanted to, but we didn’t show much today. We’re showing maybe a 10th of our offense.”

While encouraged by what he saw on both sides of the ball, Grant said there’s still work to be done. 

“Defensively, there’s some really good things done, but there’s always room for improvement. So we’ve got to get better.”

The endless pursuit of improvement moved into the film room Saturday afternoon, where Grant and his staff combed over the highs and lows of the scrimmage before the evening practice.

“We saw a lot of good things, but there’s gonna be a lot of things we didn’t do well,” he said. “So our coaches meet for a few hours here, get about an hour break, and then come back at 5 o’clock for film, and then practice at 6 to 8 o’clock tonight.”

A long day ahead of a long season.

“Football is one sport where there’s a lot of preparation and time for everything,” Grant said with a knowing laugh. “I’ve coached other sports. There’s nothing like football.”