Last week’s season-opening loss stuck with Maple Grove.

But instead of shadowing the talented but raw Crimson team with doubt and worry, it lit a fire.

The Maple Grove offense responded by putting up 438 yards of total offense, and the Crimson learned how to take care of the football through possession en route to a 44-36 home victory over Hopkins Friday night.

“It’s good to get a win, because we are a very raw team with a lot of room for improvement,” Maple Grove coach Matt Lombardi said. “We controlled the ball well enough on offense where we could move the ball methodically when we needed to.”

Behind a strong performance from the Crimson offensive line, senior Isaac Collins ran for four touchdowns while junior back Ryan Hanscome added another TD, and set up some others as Maple Grove ultimately won the war in the trenches.

“The offensive line really stepped up,” Hanscome said. “There were some giant holes for Isaac and me to run through. It makes things a lot easier when they create that much space. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

Collins echoed that sentiment, saying the Crimson’s play up front was imperative to this victory.

“Last week, we struggled up front, but this week, our line played 10,000 times better,” Collins says. “That’s maybe the biggest gain from last week.”

Out of the gate, Hopkins struck first when senior back JaMichael Ellis plunged in the end zone from 1 yard out just 1:24 into the contest. It was the first of his three rushing touchdowns on the night. 

Maple Grove answered with two consecutive TDs, but the end of the opening quarter saw the Royals pull ahead 14-13 following a 70-yard TD pass from Oscar Johnson-Dorothy to Deyon Campbell in the closing seconds. 

That pass play was one of many long gains where Hopkins was able to exploit the inexperienced Maple Grove defense that features nine new starters from a year ago. The Royals also scored touchdowns on plays of 51, 26 and 77 yards.

Those are the types of things that have Lombardi and the Crimson concerned and on alert moving forward.

“That’s the most points (36) on the scoreboard I have seen against us in as long as I’ve been the coach,” Lombardi said. “We are definitely going to improve that. Our effort was good, but we need to better learn how to handle the momentum in games.”

Maple Grove, ranked No. 6 in the Class 6A poll conducted The Associated Press, improves to 1-1 on the season and earned a welcomed victory against a talented Hopkins squad. The Crimson move forward at home Thursday against Edina (1-1).

Until then, the Crimson will get back to work, looking to make pivotal gains from week to week.

“We are used to winning a lot, and that first loss (against Osseo) kind of shook us a little bit,” Collins said. “We came back here, and our offense played really, really well. Our defense still needs a lot more work.”

Maple Grove senior Isaac Collins ran for four touchdowns to help lead the Crimson to a 44-36 victory over Hopkins Friday night at Maple Grove High School.

The Crimson (1-1), who were left reeling a bit after last week's one-possession loss to rival Osseo, flushed that defeat and got to work with their many offensive weapons in what turned out to be an offensive shootout that saw 80 points hung on the board.

The Royals (1-1), who put up 42 points in last week's victory over Coon Rapids, kept their offensive production flowing with another 36 points, though it was not enough to keep pace with the Crimson.

Maple Grove, ranked No. 10 in the Class 6A poll provided by The Associated Press, took a 28-21 lead late in the second quarter when Ryan Hanscome scored from 5 yards out. The Crimson never trailed again.

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