Mike Grant--What an arrogant jerk

[Schlic Daddy]

http://www.startribune.com/sports/preps/49467197.html

"The Lake Conference will dissolve," Grant said. "That's what everybody wanted. Nobody wanted to play us. I imagine we'll still be playing. We have to play some games. Somebody has to play us."

[Bronko Nagurski Gopher]

even though it comes off as arrogant you have to admit there is likely some truth to his comments about no one really "wanting" to play them. he just didn't play the PC game in how he worded his comment.

[tpbeight]

The move of the 9 schools out of the Lake Conference is in reaction to the MSHSL ordering 4 new, very large schools into the Lake, making it a 16-team conference. It has nothing to do with not wanting to play EP.

[Goldteam]

someone tell mike it's just high school football

it aint the big time.......IT'S HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

[MaxyJR1]

The Lake is going to split. Chanhassen and Chaska are going to the Missota Conference. Eden Prairie is going to be forced to a 5 or 6 team league with the Classic Lake teams and the rest of the Lake will reorganize.

People want to complain about the MSHSL but if they were not involved, Grants senario is very true. No one wants to play the Classic Lake or Eden Prairie unless they have to.

[GoBigGold]

As long as he can get his kids to graduate....wait, wha? this is HS football?

[GopherRock]

Anyone who has been following this mess for any length of time (like myself) has seen the breakup of the Lake coming from a mile away. It is simply a matter of time before this happens and sets off a massive metro-wide conference realignment. If anything, the Lake Conference has been the one holding this up.

The breakup has almost happened once already. The Dakota County schools in the Lake (Rosemount, Eagan, Apple Valley, Eastview, Lakeville North & South, and Burnsville) were ready to leave and form their own league, but they couldn't get either Hastings or Farmington to leave the SEC and Missota, respectively, so they couldn't get to 8.

Hutchinson has already gotten out of the Missota and into the Wright County with neighbors Glencoe, Dassel-Cokato, and Litchfield.

Elk River has been grumbling about wanting out of the NW Suburban, but the M8 (their preferred destination) won't let them in for anything other than football.

John Millea at the Tribune and the Twin Cities Hoops Czar (http://tchoops.blogspot.com/search/label/2010-2011%20Realignment) have been following this since August of 2007.

[GopherGod]

someone tell mike it's just high school football

it aint the big time.......IT'S HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

I hear you, his teams may be good by Minnesota standards but there are plenty of teams in Florida, Texas, California, Louisiana, Georgia, etc. that would wipe the floor with his team and even here I don't think that Cretin would be running scared from playing his guys.

[Section 100]

Anyone who has been following this mess for any length of time (like myself) has seen the breakup of the Lake coming from a mile away. It is simply a matter of time before this happens and sets off a massive metro-wide conference realignment. If anything, the Lake Conference has been the one holding this up.

The breakup has almost happened once already. The Dakota County schools in the Lake (Rosemount, Eagan, Apple Valley, Eastview, Lakeville North & South, and Burnsville) were ready to leave and form their own league, but they couldn't get either Hastings or Farmington to leave the SEC and Missota, respectively, so they couldn't get to 8.

Hutchinson has already gotten out of the Missota and into the Wright County with neighbors Glencoe, Dassel-Cokato, and Litchfield.

Elk River has been grumbling about wanting out of the NW Suburban, but the M8 (their preferred destination) won't let them in for anything other than football.

John Millea at the Tribune and the Twin Cities Hoops Czar (http://tchoops.blogspot.com/search/label/2010-2011%20Realignment) have been following this since August of 2007.

The Dakota schools forming a conference makes sense. The Bloomington schools want to look for another home, thus leaving 5 teams in the Lake Conference. The same problem the Classic Lake had- just 5 teams.

Would the Lake ever consider taking AHA & BSM? Their locations makes sense. The hockey teams match up, but what about the other sports? I don't buy the enrollment issue with these schools, since they can recruit their athletes. Nice looking conference:
AHA
BSM
Edina
EP
Hopkins
Mtka
Wayzata

The Bloomington schools would fit right in. What exactly are those schools looking for??

[dpodoll68]

I hear you, his teams may be good by Minnesota standards but there are plenty of teams in Florida, Texas, California, Louisiana, Georgia, etc. that would wipe the floor with his team and even here I don't think that Cretin would be running scared from playing his guys.

?

As soon as they start making high school conferences that spread across several states, your comment would be relevant to anything ever.

[GophBen]

AHA and Benilde would get massacred in football. They don't have the numbers. You need to forget that "recruiting" BS.

[grunkiejr]

AHA and Benilde would get massacred in football. They don't have the numbers. You need to forget that "recruiting" BS.

This.

When I was growing up in Chaska in the mid-90's AHA & Benilde worked to get Lakeville and Chaska kicked out of the Missota conference because they were too big. Now you're asking those schools to go up against teams like EP. If they held the score within 50 points it would be a moral victory.

[Section 100]

AHA and Benilde would get massacred in football. They don't have the numbers. You need to forget that "recruiting" BS.

So they don't recruit their hockey players?? Those hockey teams were non-factors 10+ years ago.

Put EP & Wayzata aside...how would AHA & BSM football match-up with the other teams on the football field? What about basketball, soccer, baseball, etc.

[GophBen]

So they don't recruit their hockey players?? Those hockey teams were non-factors 10+ years ago.

Put EP & Wayzata aside...how would AHA & BSM football match-up with the other teams on the football field? What about basketball, soccer, baseball, etc.

I don't know about hockey. I can only answer for AHA's football program. But they did go out and hire Trebil from Bloomington Jefferson to turn the program around, and that he did.

I don't think they would fare too well with any of them in football. Those schools are all 5A, and AHA and BSM are 4A. There's a big gap there due to size, much larger than the one between 3A and 4A.

[Schlic Daddy]

The move of the 9 schools out of the Lake Conference is in reaction to the MSHSL ordering 4 new, very large schools into the Lake, making it a 16-team conference. It has nothing to do with not wanting to play EP.

Agreed. He is just using this as another reason to get his name in the paper and talk about how great he is. Like someone above said, this is HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL!

I can hear Allen Iverson right now..."What are we talking about, high school? We talking about high school, not college, not pros, high school. What are we talking about? High school."

[GopherFan75]

I think teams are afraid to play Eagan.
________
Lexus Es (http://www.toyota-wiki.com/wiki/Lexus_ES)

[Curseislifted33]

I think teams are afraid to play Eagan.

gotta love it, and as a former lake conference player we were always pumped to play EP...

[UpnorthGo4]

Quote: "someone tell mike it's just high school football
it aint the big time.......IT'S HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Is there even one football fan in California, Texas, Florida, or Ohio who would say something like this? I think not. If Mike Grant won six high school football championships in one of those states he would be a rock star. Arrogance is almost a required character trait for winning football coaches. If you find yourself not liking a particular football coach who is arrogant, he probably coaches a team that regularly beats up on your favorite team.

[gopherjay]

How about he is a great high school coach, despite having the advantage of numbers, he knows where to play a kid and everyone contributes. He has the entire community of youth wanting to play football for E.P.. He is spot on that no one wants to play them, it is very true. I think what you mean is that you and others are jealous of their success. Grant would be happy to get into a conference with the top seven schools in the state. The results would be the same.

[parkinglotgopher]

He is spot on that no one wants to play them, it is very true.

I'm biased to Wayzata, but let them join a conference with us, Edina, Tonka, Hopkins and a team(s) to be named later. I think they'd welcome EP and the kids would jacked for the challenge of playing some of the best every year.

I don't think it's true that no one wants to play them, but there are plenty of teams that don't because they lack the numbers or the talent to compete. I think Coach Grant will find teams that can match at least the former, and in many years the latter, by making a move to play some schools just to the north.

[grunkiejr]

EP has a great program but I've personally never been all that impressed by the football mind of Mike Grant. His team frequently tips off their play by the alignment of their lineman. Our problem was that even though we knew what play they were running we couldn't stop it. His players were so much better than ours that our DL was getting knocked in to the safeties that were trying to make the tackle 10 yards down the field.

His teams are fundamentally sound, execute well, and everybody is playing at the right position. Part of that is Mike Grant's coaching, part of that is the youth program that EP has starting back in elementary school, and part of that is the enrollment/demographics of EP. However, in my opinion there are much better coaches in the state. As a whole the Wright County conference probably has the best coaches in the state (G-SL, Hutch, etc).

[KUFANINMINNY]

I hear you, his teams may be good by Minnesota standards but there are plenty of teams in Florida, Texas, California, Louisiana, Georgia, etc. that would wipe the floor with his team and even here I don't think that Cretin would be running scared from playing his guys.


Well, perhaps EP should stop ducking Rockhurst and play them. Then again, after watching what Rockhurst did against Minnetonka 40-some to 6 the week after the Skippers played EP (EP won by 7), something tells me that EP wants NOTHING to do with Rockhurst.

Instead of the deep south, perhaps Minnesota schools should try and beat teams from Missouri first.

[GopherGod]

Well, perhaps EP should stop ducking Rockhurst and play them. Then again, after watching what Rockhurst did against Minnetonka 40-some to 6 the week after the Skippers played EP (EP won by 7), something tells me that EP wants NOTHING to do with Rockhurst.

Instead of the deep south, perhaps Minnesota schools should try and beat teams from Missouri first.


Kansas City Rockhurst is a great program and I was able to play them a couple of times in high school in the mid 90's. They have always been a great program it seems and I agree that most years they probably would beat EP without much problem. The level of talent that has come out of that program over the years is pretty impressive.

[KUFANINMINNY]

It just bothers me the air of invicibility that Grant has. Who has he played, in all of his years, that gives him that air? The answer is simple: All Minnesota teams. Go out and play someone out of state who is nationally respected. Rockhurst does it all the time. Cretin has played teams from Louisiana. 'Tonka has done it by scheduling Rockhurst. I hear how great EP is but they never play anyone of any magnitude.

The best game I watched was Lakeville/EP 2003. It made me smile as Lakeville pretty much destroyed them.

[GopherGod]

It just bothers me the air of invicibility that Grant has. Who has he played, in all of his years, that gives him that air? The answer is simple: All Minnesota teams. Go out and play someone out of state who is nationally respected. Rockhurst does it all the time. Cretin has played teams from Louisiana. 'Tonka has done it by scheduling Rockhurst. I hear how great EP is but they never play anyone of any magnitude.

The best game I watched was Lakeville/EP 2003. It made me smile as Lakeville pretty much destroyed them.

I agree with you 100% and it would be a great reality check if they went and played one of these top out of state programs every few years.

[sonnygarcia]

Well, perhaps EP should stop ducking Rockhurst and play them. Then again, after watching what Rockhurst did against Minnetonka 40-some to 6 the week after the Skippers played EP (EP won by 7), something tells me that EP wants NOTHING to do with Rockhurst.

Instead of the deep south, perhaps Minnesota schools should try and beat teams from Missouri first.

Ducking Rockhurst? Hardly. EP would have been fine against them the past decade. I think Rockhurst was too busy flexing their muscles against little MN schools like Becker.

[sonnygarcia]

Plus, when we start bashing MN football, lets remember one thing ----- not many people here give a Fuc& about football, we are a hockey and basketball state. Thats like us talking tough telling the best hockey team in Kansas to step up and come take on Edina. I would bet the only place where you can actually join a football league before Jr High in this state is in the metro area. I grew up in the 2nd largest "area" in MN and I can tell you in the late 90's we did not have football league for kids, Jr High was your first taste of football.

[KUFANINMINNY]

Ducking Rockhurst? Hardly. EP would have been fine against them the past decade. I think Rockhurst was too busy flexing their muscles against little MN schools like Becker.

That was a "filler" for their schedule. Everybody knows that in the entire KC area.

EP would have gotten pancaked in 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Rockhurst had a total of 34 D-1 players in those years.

And 4 NFL guys.

Good luck EP.

[FireDaveLee]

I don't know if they would have pancaked them in 2002 & 2007. Beaten them, perhaps....but not pancaked.

2002: Both beat Edina (which did have a decent team that year) relatively easily.
2007: EP completely destroyed a Cretin team that had Michael Floyd, John Nance, Shady Salamon, & Sentreal Henderson in the state title game.

The thing is: I don't really know of anyone that's been claming that EP is better than Rockhurst. EP is what they are: a large public suburban community that is good at what they do regarding Minnesota high school football. I don't think anybody is claiming they're better than Rockhurst, or on a level of DeLaSalle or Evangel Christian.

As for what Grant said.....perhaps he shouldn't have said what he said, or could have phrased it better. As for the conference, I do hope that the Lake somewhat does change because if you had the current Lake and added Wayzata, Edina, Minnetonka & Hopkins, that is an absolute POWER conference with arguably the two best football programs in Wayzata & EP, the biggest murder conference hockey wise with Edina, Jefferson, EP & Minnetonka, and we shouldn't forget Hopkins basketball.

[Goldmember]

... Grants senario is very true. No one wants to play the Classic Lake or Eden Prairie unless they have to.

:rolleyes: B.S. The Lake is hardly afraid to play the Classic Lake.

The whole Lake Red/ Lake Blue/ Classic Lake split was all about the Classic Lake teams not wanting anything to do with the emerging suburbs of the 80's and 90's like EP and Burnsville. The Dakota County schools took EP in when no one else would have them. It is mostly the former Classic Lake schools that really wanted nothing to do with EP. Now they're gone.

Look at a map and you can tell why the Lake gave EP, Chaska and Chan the boot. EP will be just fine in the Classic Lake after everybody kisses and makes up for what happened in the 80's. And EP athletics is likely to take a big hit in the next few years because of Chanhassen, which is essentially opening IN Eden Prairie. EP's future looks more like Hopkins than it does Lakeville South.

[FireDaveLee]

:rolleyes: B.S. The Lake is hardly afraid to play the Classic Lake.

The whole Lake Red/ Lake Blue/ Classic Lake split was all about the Classic Lake teams not wanting anything to do with the emerging suburbs of the 80's and 90's like EP and Burnsville. The Dakota County schools took EP in when no one else would have them. It is mostly the former Classic Lake schools that really wanted nothing to do with EP. Now they're gone.

Look at a map and you can tell why the Lake gave EP, Chaska and Chan the boot. EP will be just fine in the Classic Lake after everybody kisses and makes up for what happened in the 80's. And EP athletics is likely to take a big hit in the next few years because of Chanhassen, which is essentially opening IN Eden Prairie. EP's future looks more like Hopkins than it does Lakeville South.

That's funny, because I can look at a map and can tell why EP & Armstrong switched from the Lake Blue & Lake Red respectively and Armstrong went into the Classic Lake in 1993-1994 and EP went into the Lake that same year. I'd say geography had more to do with that than Edina & Minnetonka being afraid of an emerging suburban school. They would have wanted nothing to do with Wayzata just as much if that was the case. EP made the most sense because they already bordered Bloomington and didn't have as deep of rivalries with anyone compared to Richfield or Edina at the time.

The problem you ended up with is that three of the Classic Lake schools became smaller (Richfield, St. Louis Park & Cooper) while the Lake school districts added more high schools in Eastview and an additional Lakeville school. Add two to one conference and take away three from another and you have the problem. Whether or not this could have been predicted in the early 90s is something that definitely worth being mentioned.

I do agree with you that it isn't a matter of schools afraid of EP as much as geography.

[Goldteam]

Quote: "someone tell mike it's just high school football
it aint the big time.......IT'S HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Is there even one football fan in California, Texas, Florida, or Ohio who would say something like this? I think not. If Mike Grant won six high school football championships in one of those states he would be a rock star. Arrogance is almost a required character trait for winning football coaches. If you find yourself not liking a particular football coach who is arrogant, he probably coaches a team that regularly beats up on your favorite team.

i have nothing against grant at all

it's just high school football in minnesota is all it is

it's really no big deal......GOT IT?

[maroonfive]

but I would cheer for EP anytime they play a private school.


Go Gophers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[grunkiejr]

:rolleyes: B.S. The Lake is hardly afraid to play the Classic Lake.

The whole Lake Red/ Lake Blue/ Classic Lake split was all about the Classic Lake teams not wanting anything to do with the emerging suburbs of the 80's and 90's like EP and Burnsville. The Dakota County schools took EP in when no one else would have them. It is mostly the former Classic Lake schools that really wanted nothing to do with EP. Now they're gone.

Look at a map and you can tell why the Lake gave EP, Chaska and Chan the boot. EP will be just fine in the Classic Lake after everybody kisses and makes up for what happened in the 80's. And EP athletics is likely to take a big hit in the next few years because of Chanhassen, which is essentially opening IN Eden Prairie. EP's future looks more like Hopkins than it does Lakeville South.

The first part of what you wrote is 100% true but the conclusion of the second paragraph (while possibly true) is based on false information.

1) Chanhassen High School is located about a mile from Chaska High School on the SW side of Chan and EP is to the east of Chan.

2) The opening of Chanhassen is just a split of the existing ISD #112 which is made up of Chaska, Chanhassen, Carver, East Union, and Victoria. They are not redoing the district lines w/ EP and are not adding any students from EP. A pretty decent sized portion of Chanhassen already attends EP and that isn't changing. Chanhassen HS will be made up of Chan, Victoria, Carver & East Union and Chaska HS will be made up of the city of Chaska.

EP athletics may take a hit in the coming years but it would have less to do with the new Chanhassen high school than it does an aging population in Eden Prairie that causes enrollment to shrink (similar to Edina over the last 40 years).

[Goldmember]

2) The opening of Chanhassen is just a split of the existing ISD #112 which is made up of Chaska, Chanhassen, Carver, East Union, and Victoria. They are not redoing the district lines w/ EP and are not adding any students from EP. A pretty decent sized portion of Chanhassen already attends EP and that isn't changing. Chanhassen HS will be made up of Chan, Victoria, Carver & East Union and Chaska HS will be made up of the city of Chaska.

The single biggest advantage EP has had is that, seeing the closing of HS's in Edina and Bloomington, they decided they would never build an EP-South HS. The Southwest Metro has had no new highschool-opening activity for decades. Compare this to Dakota County, where a new HS has opened every few years.

I could be wrong about Chan having an effect. But with open-enrollment school districts matter much less than they used to. I think there are going to be a lot of kids who would have gone to EP that are going to opt for the shiny new penny and wide-open roster spots in Chanhassen.

[goldygoon]

These conferences have needed allignment for a LONG TIME. Conferences need to change due to size of neighborhoods. I remember the days of the Suburban West conference when Lakeville, Hutch, Waconia, Mound, Etc. Then that conference dissolved and the complaints before that were Hutch was too good. They and all the other schools went their own ways. Hutch joined the Missota and they didnt want them but had no choice. The travel for the conference is a joke. Going from Red Wing to Hutch and vice versa was awlful. No conference foe should be 2 1/2 hours away. I was thrilled when Hutch got accepted into the Wright County it will save on travel for the school and the schools in the conference have vastly improved.

Now for the Lake Conference, I feel that is the same way as the old Suburban West Conference. You have the big power EP and the little schools like Kennedy, Jefferson, Eagan etc. get destroyed in every sport. It is time to dissolve and go their seperate ways.

I really loved the Dakota County idea. That would be a real competitive conference.

[GopherFan75]

These conferences have needed allignment for a LONG TIME. Conferences need to change due to size of neighborhoods. I remember the days of the Suburban West conference when Lakeville, Hutch, Waconia, Mound, Etc. Then that conference dissolved and the complaints before that were Hutch was too good. They and all the other schools went their own ways. Hutch joined the Missota and they didnt want them but had no choice. The travel for the conference is a joke. Going from Red Wing to Hutch and vice versa was awlful. No conference foe should be 2 1/2 hours away. I was thrilled when Hutch got accepted into the Wright County it will save on travel for the school and the schools in the conference have vastly improved.

Now for the Lake Conference, I feel that is the same way as the old Suburban West Conference. You have the big power EP and the little schools like Kennedy, Jefferson, Eagan etc. get destroyed in every sport. It is time to dissolve and go their seperate ways.

I really loved the Dakota County idea. That would be a real competitive conference.

Actually Jefferson has had one of the most successful hockey programs in recent years. And Eagan is on the rise in football and just went to state in baseball.
________
CHRYSLER FIREPOWER ENGINE SPECIFICATIONS (http://www.dodge-wiki.com/wiki/Chrysler_FirePower_engine)

[goldygoon]

Actually Jefferson has had one of the most successful hockey programs in recent years. And Eagan is on the rise in football and just went to state in baseball.

Ok so one sport out of how many? You can add Boys Basketball as well for Jags. Compare that to EP.

[Mr. Samsonite]

How hard is it to dominate football teams that have such small numbers compared to the other schools? Wayzata and EP have much bigger schools

[MNfootballfan]

The best game I watched was Lakeville/EP 2003. It made me smile as Lakeville pretty much destroyed them.

What time, because Lakeville destroyed them twice that year. Once in EP during the regular season, and then in Lakeville in the playoffs... If you ask me, both times were very nice!

[grunkiejr]

The single biggest advantage EP has had is that, seeing the closing of HS's in Edina and Bloomington, they decided they would never build an EP-South HS. The Southwest Metro has had no new highschool-opening activity for decades. Compare this to Dakota County, where a new HS has opened every few years.

I could be wrong about Chan having an effect. But with open-enrollment school districts matter much less than they used to. I think there are going to be a lot of kids who would have gone to EP that are going to opt for the shiny new penny and wide-open roster spots in Chanhassen.

Kris Humphries and Willie Mobley both lived in the Chaska School District but decided to transfer to other schools with better coaches/teams. As long as EP still has better teams (it seems likely to become a wider difference now that Chaska/Chan are splitting up) the best players will still go to EP.

I hung out with a friend that coaches for the new Chanhassen school this weekend and he told me that he has been hearing concerns from parents that players won't be recruited as hard because they are playing in the Missota conference. Most people that pay close attention to recruiting realize that the coaches will find the elite players regardless of conference (Van De Steeg, Decker, Campion, Jacobs, McNeal, Hageman, etc) through video & camps. However, the average parent believes the best chance for their kid to get noticed is by playing at the best program so I don't see Chanhassen stealing the elite players from EP but rather it will continue to be the opposite.

A new Chanhassen school may manage to keep some players and may be successful in pulling the marginal HS player from EP that would otherwise be sitting the bench but I don't see it having a big impact. Despite the shiny new facilities at Chan or upgrades at Chaska (new field turf) the facilities won't compare to EP.

[re3886]

The travel for the conference is a joke. Going from Red Wing to Hutch and vice versa was awlful. No conference foe should be 2 1/2 hours away.
My God, you have to be joking. Play in most non-metro conferences, like I did, and you would be considered some kind of pansy. The conference I played in featured: 2.5 hours by bus to Grand Rapids, 3 to Hibbing, 5 to Bemidji, and a sweet 6.5 to Moorhead for a non-conference game. While we did not do all those every year, but in my 4 years I took each of those trips twice, except Moorhead. I'm not counting 2.5 to St. Cloud to play Tech, twice in the same season or 3 to Little Falls, since those happened early in my career. Luckly Duluth has 3 high schools plus Superior, so it wasn't trips like that every week. The East Team now doesn't have that conference anymore, but last traveled to last year: Fargo North, 252 miles roughly, Thief River Falls, 243 miles, Crookston, 240 miles, and Detroit Lakes, 206 miles. I am not counting the travel for the state playoffs.
Acording to the same site, Red Wing To Hutch is 114.5 miles. So while conference realignment is a good thing, please don't forget having all these schools of simular sizes is a great thing, and the rest of the state really has it far worse.

[ConferenceChamp]

http://www.startribune.com/sports/preps/49467197.html

"The Lake Conference will dissolve," Grant said. "That's what everybody wanted. Nobody wanted to play us. I imagine we'll still be playing. We have to play some games. Somebody has to play us."


The Eden Prairie "problem" might be "solved" by building another high school in Eden Prairie.

[badgergopher]

I for one am glad they're doing something about the Classic Lake other than splitting up the schools and sending them separate ways. Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Wayzata are charter members. I think they ought split them into South and North again with
North:
Minnetonka
Wayzata
Hopkins
EP
Edina
Jefferson
Kennedy
? need eight?

South:
Chaska
Chanhassen
Apple Valley
Burnsville
Eagan
Eastview
Lakeville N.
Lakeville S.
Rosemount

[FishingMN]

What time, because Lakeville destroyed them twice that year. Once in EP during the regular season, and then in Lakeville in the playoffs... If you ask me, both times were very nice!

Of course that was the year "before" Lakeville split into North/South. While Lakeville South has had a few good teams since and Lakeville North has had some very good teams outside of football they have definitely taken a hit from what they would have had without the split.

[GoAUpher]

My God, you have to be joking. Play in most non-metro conferences, like I did, and you would be considered some kind of pansy. The conference I played in featured: 2.5 hours by bus to Grand Rapids, 3 to Hibbing, 5 to Bemidji, and a sweet 6.5 to Moorhead for a non-conference game. While we did not do all those every year, but in my 4 years I took each of those trips twice, except Moorhead. I'm not counting 2.5 to St. Cloud to play Tech, twice in the same season or 3 to Little Falls, since those happened early in my career. Luckly Duluth has 3 high schools plus Superior, so it wasn't trips like that every week. The East Team now doesn't have that conference anymore, but last traveled to last year: Fargo North, 252 miles roughly, Thief River Falls, 243 miles, Crookston, 240 miles, and Detroit Lakes, 206 miles. I am not counting the travel for the state playoffs.
Acording to the same site, Red Wing To Hutch is 114.5 miles. So while conference realignment is a good thing, please don't forget having all these schools of simular sizes is a great thing, and the rest of the state really has it far worse.

DL had the same issue when I was still in HS there. The members of the Mid-State conference booted DL for football while keeping them for all other sports. As a result, DL ended up with trips to Duluth Central every other year, Bemidji, various St. Cloud area schools, games against section foes like Thief River, and random road trips to schools down on I-90. I don't believe it is as bad now but for a while there you missed a lot of Friday classes as a DL FB player b/c of the long road trips.

[re3886]

DL had the same issue when I was still in HS there. The members of the Mid-State conference booted DL for football while keeping them for all other sports. As a result, DL ended up with trips to Duluth Central every other year, Bemidji, various St. Cloud area schools, games against section foes like Thief River, and random road trips to schools down on I-90. I don't believe it is as bad now but for a while there you missed a lot of Friday classes as a DL FB player b/c of the long road trips.

Between early outs for the trips and occasional afternoon Friday games, 3 older brothers who played, I didn't go to full Friday of classes very often in the fall.

[GoAUpher]

Between early outs for the trips and occasional afternoon Friday games, 3 older brothers who played, I didn't go to full Friday of classes very often in the fall.

Your memory is correct. DL ran through Central to some nice W's using the trusty Veer offense. I remember the Central roadie during my Soph year. It was later in the season and the field that Central played at (which if memory serves was actually @ Denfeld HS) was mostly dirt with dead grass clippings put over it so they could paint the lines. I heard later that all the Duluth HS FB teams (and possibly soccer too) played there. Not sure if that's true but whatever the cause I'm hoping they invested in field turf by now.

[re3886]

Your memory is correct. DL ran through Central to some nice W's using the trusty Veer offense. I remember the Central roadie during my Soph year. It was later in the season and the field that Central played at (which if memory serves was actually @ Denfeld HS) was mostly dirt with dead grass clippings put over it so they could paint the lines. I heard later that all the Duluth HS FB teams (and possibly soccer too) played there. Not sure if that's true but whatever the cause I'm hoping they invested in field turf by now.


Public Schools Stadium has had field turf now for about 10 years. The field was like that forever, because Denfeld would practice on it everyday, and Denfeld's old coach Marv Heikinen would always be running plays right in the dead smack middle of it. On our opening Home game. the field would be destroyed, and the first raining game would be an adventure. They redid the seating, and the away stands are completely gone. Everybody sits on the same side now. It is a much nicer venue.