Despite the snow falling across the metro on Tuesday afternoon, weather was not a factor for the Eden Prairie Eagles. The team was gathered inside the practice dome to prepare for their next opponent in their bid for a state football championship. Freezing temps and wintery mixes won’t be an issue on Friday night either when the Eagles (9-2) face undefeated Rosemount (11-0) in the state semifinals at U.S. Bank Stadium. The scenery will certainly be different, but the opponent will be unmistakably familiar. The Irish handed the Eagles their first loss of the season – a 14-7 decision back…
Author: Steve Mulholland
If revenge is a dish best served cold, Thursday night’s state quarterfinal game had all the right ingredients. With temperatures dipping below freezing and wind gusts over 20 mph, the Eden Prairie Eagles traveled to a neutral site at Park Center High School to face Shakopee, a team that beat the Eagles on Oct. 8 and handed them their second loss of the season. Eden Prairie has run off five straight wins since that defeat, including the 28-12 victory over the Sabers to advance to the state semifinals at U.S. Bank Stadium next Friday. Eagles head coach Mike Grant stopped short…
The Eden Prairie Eagles avenged their earlier season loss to Shakopee with a 28-12 victory over the Sabers in the state football quarterfinals Thursday night. The game was played on a cold and blustery night on a neutral site at Park Center High School in Brooklyn Park. Wind was a major factor in the game as both teams battled with 20 mph gusts and temperatures below freezing. Shakopee stuck first with a first-quarter touchdown but failed on the extra point. The Eagles tied the game with Nick Fazi’s 9-yard pass to Adam Mertens with 1:04 remaining in the second quarter.…
The Eden Prairie Eagles girls hockey team is starting the new season with a new direction – from their new head coach. Steve Persian comes to Eden Prairie High School from Breck, where he guided the Mustangs to back-to-back Girls Class 1A state high school championships in 2019 and 2020. Prior to his tenure at Breck, Persian was the head coach at Orono from 2012-18. Excited by the opportunity to make the move to Eden Prairie over the summer, Persian is now focused on getting to know his players while he prepares the team for the upcoming season. “I’m thrilled…
There was no celebration after the Eden Prairie Eagles routed Woodbury 55-14 in the Class 6A section final game Friday night. As parents and fans were still streaming out of Aerie Stadium around 9:30 p.m., Mike Grant’s squad entered the dome covering the practice field and did what any team aspiring to win a state championship does. They practiced. “Yeah, we’re getting a quick practice in,” junior center Will Sather said with a slight grin, almost as if it’s just another Friday night. “We’re getting ready for Shakopee.” Anyone watching the clinic the Eagles presented on both sides of the…
The Eden Prairie Eagles may have played their best half of football in the first half of the Class 6A section finals game against Woodbury Friday night at Aerie Stadium. After spotting the Royals a touchdown in the game’s opening series, the Eagles rolled with 35 unanswered points en route to a 35-6 lead at the half. The Eagles scored three more touchdowns in the second half to capture the section title in a 55-14 rout. Senior running back Tyler Walden scored a pair of first-half touchdowns. Devin Jordan, Dominic Heim and Nick Fazi added three more scores before the…
In the football postseason, the Eden Prairie Eagles begin thinking – and playing – in multiples of four. “Now we’re down to the end. You’ve got to play 16 quarters,” Eagles head coach Mike Grant said. “I thought we played four great quarters. That’s what we’re hoping to do.” Friday night at Aerie Stadium in Eden Prairie, the top-seeded Eagles spent their four quarters putting up multiples of seven on the scoreboard – in a 35-3 win over No. 8 seed Eastview. That’s four quarters down, with four more coming next Friday night when they square off with Woodbury on…
The No. 1 seeded Eden Prairie Eagles scored three first-half touchdowns and never looked back in their 35-3 win on Friday night over No. 8 seed Eastview to open the Class 6A Section playoffs. Playing without starting senior quarterback Nick Fazi, who is out with a knee injury, the Eagles looked to juniors on the roster to put points on the board. Junior running backs Terae Dunn and Liam Berndt both ran for touchdowns of 35 and 20 yards, respectively. Junior quarterback David Ivey, who started for the injured Fazi, also found the end zone with his run from 15…
The Eden Prairie Eagles have earned the top seed in Class 6A, Section 6 for the upcoming football playoffs. The Eagles (6-2) will play Eastview (1-7), the No. 8 seed from Section 3, in the first round on Friday, Oct. 28, at Aerie Stadium in Eden Prairie. Coming into the final week of the regular season, the Eagles were vying for the top spot in Section 6 along with Shakopee, as both teams had two losses on the season. Shakopee had defeated the Eagles two weeks ago, but the Sabers were upended by Eagan on Thursday night. Meanwhile, the Eagles…
On the eve of MEA weekend, the fourth-ranked Eden Prairie Eagles made their case in the town on the St. Croix. To be considered for a No. 1 seed in the section playoffs, the Eagles needed a resounding win over third-ranked Stillwater in the regular season finale Wednesday night. They assembled a very convincing argument for themselves with a 35-24 dismantling of the previously undefeated Ponies. The Eagles now await their fate when the section pairings are announced on Friday. But before the Minnesota State High School League unveils its sectional brackets, football coaches are provided the opportunity to lobby…