JOHN SHERMAN john. sherman @ apgecm. com

When Mason West made the big announcement this summer that he would pursue hockey instead of football after high school, fans wondered if West would play the 2025 football season.

His teammates never had a doubt, and when practice began Aug. 11, there was West taking the snaps at quarterback.

The following day, West said,“ My goal is to work hard every day and help get us over the playoff hump.”

The destination, of course, is Prep Bowl 2025.

Edina almost won the state Class 6A

championship in West’ s sophomore year, 2023. After scoring a touchdown in the final moments of the game against Centennial, Edina needed to make a twopoint conversion to win it all. Chase Bjorgaard got the call on an inside reverse and was stopped inches from the goal line. Edina had a chance for an on-side kick, but a Centennial player recovered and the game was over with a final score of 28-27. Last fall Edina again made it to state, but bowed in the quarterfinals.

How will Edina get back to state this fall?“ We have to focus on the little things,” West said.

The combination of West at quarterback,

Bjorgaard at running back and Jabari Strader at wide receiver is the super trio in the Hornets’ offense. West passed for a school-record 37 touchdowns last fall while racking up 2,592 yards and completing 73 percent of his passes – 178 of 244.

Bjorgaard dominated the ground game with 206 carries for 1,164 yards and 10 touchdowns. Strader played a key role in the air attack with 31 catches for 338 yards and seven touchdowns. His 31 receptions were second on the team behind All-State wide-out Meyer Swinney, who is now playing for the University of California-Berkeley. Swinney

See FOOTBALL | PAGE 3

( SUN PHOTO BY JOHN SHERMAN)

Senior quarterback Mason West of the Edina football team threw for 2,592 yards and 37 touchdowns last fall.