If Lakeville North coach Brian Vossen ever wants to move on from coaching and teaching, he may have a future in sales.
With the Panthers, Rosemount and Burnsville all East Metro White subdistrict champions, the question of who deserved the top-seed heading into the postseason wasn’t clear. Lakeville North beat Burnsville in the third game of the season, Burnsville beat Rosemount in the seventh game and Rosemount beat Lakeville North in the final game of the regular season. All finished with 7-1 records.
The decision the Section 3-6A coaches made: Lakeville North deserved the top seed.
The coaches from Lakeville North, Burnsville, Rosemount, Prior Lake, Lakeville South, Eagan, Farmington and Eastview met Saturday morning at 9 am to decide the seeding for the postseason. Before each coach voted, Vossen, Jeff Erdmann (Rosemount) and Tyler Krebs (Burnsville) campaigned for their respective teams as to why they deserved the No. 1 seed.
Apparently, Vossen was the most persuasive.
His argument?
“We had a tougher schedule,” Vossen said after the Rosemount game.
Vossen points to his team’s victory over non-district opponent East Ridge the first game of the season. The Raptors finished 7-1, and are ranked No. 4 in Class 6A by the Associated Press. Rosemount and Burnsville faced opponents from outside the East Metro White as well, but neither one was at the level of East Ridge. The Irish faced White Bear Lake (2-6), and Burnsville faced Roseville (1-7).
Lakeville North joins Eden Prairie, Maple Grove and East Ridge as the four No. 1 seeds heading into the 6A playoffs. The Panthers will face Buffalo (1-7), a No. 8 seed, on October 16 at Lakeville North High School at 7 pm.
Section 3-6A seedings:
1.Lakeville North
2.Burnsville
3. Rosemount
4. Prior Lake
5. Lakeville South
6. Eagan
7. Farmington
8. Eastview
Other notes:
–Third-year quarterback Drew Stewart struggled against the Irish, throwing an interception, fumbling the ball and getting called for a costly intentional grounding penalty. He did throw for three touchdowns, though, and finished with his best regular season numbers by far. His 2015 stats:
- 86 of 131 passes completed for a completion percentage of 65.6 percent
- 1303 yards with 16 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.
In his sophomore and junior years combined, Stewart threw 10 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. The Panthers will need Stewart to return to the level of play from the first six games of the season if they hope to make it deep into the postseason.
Other stats to note:
- First-year running back Wade Sullivan rushed for 974 yards and 12 touchdowns in the regular season. Lakeville North’s top two running backs in 2014 ran for a combined 744 yards and seven touchdowns.
- It’s been several years since Lakeville North had the receiving duo it has in 2015. Senior wide receiver Nick Fossey caught 39 passes for 596 yards and 10 touchdowns in eight games. His counterpart, David Lindstrand, caught 25 receptions for 494 yards and six touchdowns.
Nick Kelly 