Minnetonka's wild 27-24 comeback victory over Wayzata, coupled with No. 1 Eden Prairie's loss, makes the No. 2 Skippers the favorite for the top spot next week.
What does Minnetonka senior quarterback Aaron Syverson think?
"It's nice — and I don't mean this in a bad way — but we know what we're capable of," he said. "We think we can be pretty good."
Such confidence helped Minnetonka outlast No. 10 Wayzata, with the Skippers taking the lead for good on Braden Fiske's 53-yard touchdown catch from Syverson with 2 minutes, 28 seconds to play. That was the last of five lead changes in the second half.
Trailing 12-10 at halftime, Minnetonka got a second field goal from Grant Altman, this one from 30 yards, to go ahead by a point. That came two plays after a penalty nullified a Skippers touchdown pass.
Wayzata missed a field-goal attempt for a second time. But on the Trojans' next possession, Keaton Heide hit Nicholas Kallerup for their second touchdown, this one for 26 yards. Wayzata led 18-13 into the fourth quarter.
Ben Tolkinen changed that for Minnetonka on a 1-yard TD run and the Skippers led 20-18.
Wayzata used a fourth-down conversion to propel a scoring drive finished by Bennett Fragomeni. But the 24-20 lead would not stand, as Syverson hit Fiske behind the defense for the final score.
On the game's first drive, Fiske, a receiver who sees spot duty, ran the same route incorrectly.
"He goes the right way the next time and caught the game-winning touchdown," Syverson said. "That's unbelievable."
Raheem Brown's interception at the Minnetonka 25-yard line stymied Wayzata's final push.
"I loved the way our kids fought and made big plays when they had to on a big stage," Minnetonka coach Dave Nelson said. "Wayzata is a great team so this a big win."
Wayzata coach Lambert Brown said his team "just ran out of time. I loved our kids' effort."
