Woodbury Football Crushed 63-29 In Section Semifinal

Things started poorly for and didn’t get much better in Saturday’s section semifinal.

Drew Bauer ran for 214 yards and three scores and passed for 156 yards and two scores as Eagan routed the Royals 63-29.

Woodbury's Sawyer Moon threw for 163 yards and two touchdown passes to Connor McKeen, and Quran Al-Hameed and Cam Maslonka each had a rushing score for the Royals, who finished 6-4.

“We knew we were playing a team that was on a roll, and I think the first seven minutes kind of told the story,” said Woodbury coach Andy Hill. “In the playoffs you’ve got to avoid quicksand, and I don’t know that we did that.”

Michael Busch, who had 10 carries for 120 yards, scored from 20 yards out on Eagan’s first drive before Mitch Knutson returned an interception 38 yards for a score on Woodbury’s third offensive play.

“I had it right in my hands so I figured I’d take it to the end zone. It was an early Christmas present,” Knutson said. “It really just carried us on for the rest of the game.”

Al-Hameed scored from 10 yards out on fourth down to get the Royals (6-4) within six points, but a 17-yard run by Bauer made it 21-8 before the quarter expired.

McKeen scored on a 58-yard reception to make it 21-14, and it appeared that the last team to have the ball would win.

But Bauer and Busch teamed up for a 25-yard score midway through the second quarter, and after Moon was intercepted in the end zone on fourth down, Eric Woodcock had a 34-yard touchdown reception for a 35-14 Eagan lead at intermission.

“We had a tough time tackling tonight,” Hill said.

Eagan (6-4) erased any optimism the Royals had for a comeback early in the third quarter.

Woodbury had a first down at the Eagan 13, but three plays netted just three yards before Grant Matthews knocked away a fourth-down pass at the goal line. The frustrated Royals were also assessed two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties after the play to give Eagan the ball at its own 41.

On the Wildcats’ first play, Bauer got to the right sideline and sprinted 59 yards to the end zone and a 42-14 lead.

“Offensively, we didn’t quite execute a couple times in the red zone like we’d have liked to,” Hill said.

McKeen later scored from 18 yards out on a fourth-down play and Maslonka added a 1-yard run to get within 49-29 before Eagan got two more late scores.

Hill, in his first year as Woodbury coach, is proud of the foundation for the future set by this year’s seniors, and hopes that the Royals soon reach a point in the program where 6-4 is considered a down year.

“We’ve just got to pay the price that it takes to get there,” he said.