Suburban East Conference Football Preview

The Suburban East Conference should once again be filled with top-notch talent and teams during the 2011 season.

Mounds View and Cretin-Derham Hall split the conference title a year ago, then won their respective sections en route to state tournament berths. Stillwater Area came within a win of a state tournament appearance, losing to Mounds View in the Section 2AAAAA championship game.

Who will lead the SEC in 2011? Patch.com polled coaches across the conference to see who they picked as the top teams and players this fall.

Teams to watch

Cretin-Derham Hall – A perennial state power, the Raiders have a lot of skill people.

Stillwater Area – New coach Beau Labore comes from Woodbury, and he inherits a defense full of experience and leadership. Five returning defensive starters — defensive end Sam Brynestad, defensive tackle Marcus Tacheny, defensive tackle Carter Alexander, strong safety Zach Krenz and defensive back Billy Wagner — will lead the way.

Mounds View – The Mustangs made it to the state semifinals last year, but return just two starters.

Players to watch

Nate Ricci — Stillwater Area (Wide receiver)

Nate hopes to help a young offense find its way early in the season.

Jonathan Harden – Cretin-Derham Hall (Defensive tackle)

At 6-foot-2 and 300 pounds, the senior can dominate a game. He had 68 tackles and 15 sacks last season.

Kevin Miley – Cretin-Derham Hall (Quarterback)

A second year starter, Miley threw for 2,040 yards last season, completing 69 percent of his passes.

Mick Nelson – Mounds View (Defensive end) 

Played offensive last year, coach expects him to “be a very good DE.”

Emeche Wells – Roseville Area (WR/RB/DB/KR) 

Explosive athlete that does a little bit of everything for the Raiders. 

Key losses

Ezekiel Okeleye – East Ridge (Running back)

Ezekiel led the conference in rushing each of the past two seasons, including 1,508 yards last season. 

Andre Hunt – Cretin-Derham Hall (Running back)

Andre ran for 1,202 yards and had 13 touchdowns last year.

Andrew Rose – Stillwater Area (Linebacker)

Andrew had 92 tackles in eight conference games, 67 of them solo.

Toughest road trip

Cretin-Derham Hall — early-season showdown at Mounds View in Week 2 is a rematch of last year’s state quarterfinal. Can’t be looking ahead to game at Stillwater the following week.

Mounds View — at White Bear Lake Oct. 7. Never an easy game playing in the Bears backyard.

Stillwater Area — at Mounds View Sept. 30. Both teams with tough early schedules and neither will want a second loss.

Preseason Conference Player of the Year

Jonathan Harden – Cretin-Derham Hall (Defensive tackle)

Compact and tough in the trenches, Harden is ranked the seventh-best Minnesota prospect by rivals.com. His numbers may not equal last year’s as teams run away from him. University of Minnesota reportedly among his college considerations.

2010 final standings

Conf. Overall

Mounds View   7-1, 10-2

Cretin-Derham Hall      7-1, 10-2

Stillwater Area         7-1, 9-2

East Ridge        6-2, 7-3

Woodbury        3-5, 4-6

Forest Lake      3-5, 4-6

White Bear Lake          3-5, 4-6

Roseville Area        3-5, 3-6

Hastings           1-7, 1-8

Park     0-8, 0-9

Top 2010 postseason finishes

Mounds View – Won Section 2AAAAA, but lost 21-16 to Wayzata in state semifinals

Cretin-Derham Hall - Won Section 4AAAAA, but lost 21-7 to Mounds View in state quarterfinals

Stillwater Area – lost 32-6 to Mounds View in Section 2AAAA final