Eagan Beats Rival Rosemount 28-7 In Regular Season Finale

Even when the team didn’t have much early success on the scoreboard this season, the Eagan football coaches continued to stress it’s all about how you play at the end that matters.

As the playoffs approach, the Wildcats are undoubtedly playing their best football.

Drew Bauer threw for 185 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 149 yards in Eagan’s 28-7 win at Rosemount Wednesday night.

“The last two games we’re getting to where we want to be,” said coach Rick Sutton, whose team beat Burnsville 31-0 last Friday. “I couldn’t be happier with the way we’ve played the last eight quarters.”

The Wildcats started the season 0-3, losing to top-10 teams Wayzata and Lakeville South and losing a heartbreaker in overtime to Eastview, but have won four of their final five.

“This is where we needed to be,” said linebacker Alex Mangan. “We’re bringing this hot streak in and we’re going.”

Eagan (4-4, 4-3 South Suburban Conference) will likely be the No. 3 seed in Section 4 of Class 5A behind Cretin Derham-Hall (8-0) and Woodbury (5-3)  and have a home game Tuesday. Seedings are to be announced Thursday, and playoff brackets will be updated on the Minnesota State High School League website.

The Wildcats started fast against the Irish, coming out throwing the ball six times on an eight-play drive that culminated in a 14-yard pass from Bauer to Mack Nelson.

After a three-and-out by Rosemount, a 20-yard pass from Bauer to Michael Busch set up another Bauer-Nelson score, this time from 13 yards out for a 14-0 lead with 3:01 to play in the opening quarter. Bauer finished 18-for-29 with no interceptions.

“It just kind of all came together; everyone did their job and it all clicked,” said Busch, who had 13 carries for 59 yards and caught five passes for 48 yards.

In the words of Sutton, the Wildcats defense was “lights out” in the first half, forcing five straight three-and-outs. Rosemount (5-3, 5-3) did not get a first down until late in the first half, but Grant Matthews intercepted Nate Lemoine on the next play.

“Our D-line got penetration right away all night,” Mangan said. “They got that push and linebackers filled the holes.”

The Irish cut the deficit in half on a 26-yard run by Lemoine early in the third quarter, but Eagan did not panic.

Cole Peterson caught a 6-yard score from Bauer late in the quarter to cap a 10-play, 72 yard drive for a 21-7 lead.

“They’re a good team,” said Rosemount coach Jeff Erdmann. “Their quarterback is fantastic. They got a lot of good players.”

A second interception by Matthews ended a short Rosemount drive, giving Eagan the ball on its own 10 early in the fourth quarter. After throwing the ball with success much of the night, the Wildcats went back to the run,  eating nearly 7 minutes off the clock during a 14-play drive. Busch ran 5  yards up the middle for the final score.

“We felt there were some things we could take advantage of and we were able to. When they made some adjustments we were able to run the ball,” Sutton said.