Page 6 Fall Football Preview • Thursday , August 29 , 2024 sailor . mnsun . com
EDINA HORNETS
Prep Bowl is gold at end of the rainbow
FOOTBALL PREVIEW 202�
QUICK HITS
By JOHN SHERMAN john . sherman @ apgecm . com
( SUN PHOTO BY JOHN SHERMAN )
The five captains of the Edina High football team are , from left to right : Junior Mason West ( 9 ) and seniors Ryan Zentner ( 54 ), Liam Holmberg ( 6 ), Stephen Bunce ( 55 ) and Meyer Swinney ( 5 ).
Edina High ’ s football Odyssey almost ended with the second Prep Bowl victory in school history last season .
Who can forget the way it ended ? Edina was stopped two inches short of making a game-winning two-point conversion in the final minute of a 28-27 loss to Centennial at U . S . Bank Stadium .
The silver lining to the loss is Edina will return a good nucleus for another playoff run this season .
Junior quarterback Mason West , a 6-6 , 210-pound junior , is the key returnee . He set school records with 2,625 passing yards and 28 touchdowns last season . Completing 65.5 percent of his passes , West was accurate on short passes and long ones , as well .
Returning for their senior seasons are two key receivers - Meyer Sweeney who had 59 catches and Trillion Sorrell who had 42 . Between them , they scored 19 touchdowns .
“ Just because we made it to the Prep Bowl last year doesn ’ t mean we ’ ll make it this year ,” Edina head coach Jason Potts said . “ It is going to take a lot of work . We want to carry over the confidence , experience and focus we had last year in every practice this year .”
Edina won eight straight games after starting out 1-3 in 2023 . Coach Potts called his team together after Week 4 and challenged them to practice better , to be better teammates and change the course of the season . That is what happened as Edina ’ s memorable playoff run included wins over perennial state powers Maple Grove , Stillwater and Eden Prairie .
In his fifth season at Edina , Potts has built the program with what he calls core values .
“ My first year was the COVID-19 year ,” he said . “ We didn ’ t score our first touchdown until Week 5 , but we did finish the season with a playoff win [ over Osseo ]. Each year there has been improvement .
West enters his third season at quarterback . In addition to playing for the state runner-up football team last season , he skated on the first line for the Hornets ’ state champion hockey team .
“ I don ’ t pay attention to stats much ,” West said . “ I just want to win . I like the way we have improved from the summer . We have a lot of young receivers stepping up .”
The Hornets will try to forge a ground game that will open up the airways for West & Co . Junior Chase Bjorgaard is a proven running back , who was an understudy to John Warpinski last season . Warpinski broke Mike Sullivan ’ s 48-year-old Edina rushing record with 1,773 yards in 2024 . Bjorgaard averaged 9.2 yards per carry in limited action .
Edina is more experienced on offense than defense going into the 2024 season . Six starters return on offense with four defensive starters joining them .
Captains for the Hornets are seniors Swinney , safety Liam Holmberg and linemen Ryan Zentner and Stephen Bunce and junior quarterback West .
“ Going to the Prep Bowl last year was amazing ,” Zentner said . “ It was such a cool
memory , starting with when we walked out of Edina Community Center with all of our fans in the parking lot cheering . Then we had a police escort from Edina to U . S . Bank Stadium .”
A return trip this year would be great , now that the Hornets know the route .
The captains aren ’ t the only leaders on the team . Sorrell is another key senior . He started at slot receiver and defensive back last year . And junior William Gremmels is one of the most accurate place kickers in the state .
Coach Potts said he once again has good athletes with letters in other sports - West and Bjorgaard from hockey , of course , plus Troy Doroff and Liam Holmberg from wrestling , Gabriel Coleman from track , Race Deshotel from basketball and several others from various winter and spring sports teams .
Head Coach
Jason Potts Fifth season
Last Year ’ s Record : 9-4
Key Returning Players
Junior quarterback Mason West returns for his third varsity season after passing for 2,625 yards and 28 touchdowns in his sophomore year . He won All-South District honors in Class 6A . Another All-South District returnee , senior wide receiver Meyer Swinney , had 59 catches for 889 yards and 11 touchdowns last year . Trillion Sorrell , one of a handful of two-way starters in 6A football , had 42 pass receptions along with 4 interceptions and 32 tackles . Senior linebacker Evan Gilder was second on the team in tackles with 85 in 2024 . Senior captain Liam Holmberg had 63 tackles and intercepted three passes .
Schedule
All start times 7 p . m . Aug . 29 : vs . Eagan Sept . 6 : vs . Eden Prairie Sept . 12 : at Minnetonka Sept . 20 : at Wayzata Sept . 27 : vs . Prior Lake Oct . 4 : at Shakopee Oct . 10 : vs . Stillwater Oct . 16 : at Hopkins