Surprised? Not the Blaine Bengals
Posted on November 20th, 2008 – 1:26 PMBy John Millea
Blaine is the surprise team in Class 5A football this season. There are several reasons, including a Northwest Suburban Conference that had some good balance. Blaine’s only loss was a 21-7 decision at Champlin Park in Week 4.
The Bengals were No. 9 in the final Star Tribune Metro Top 10 and No. 7 in the final Associated Press statewide 5A poll.
Blaine has one game to go, of course, and that’s the Prep Bowl matchup with Wayzata.
During a lengthy interview with Blaine coach Shannon Gerrety, I asked him if he was surprised to see his team playing for a state championship. His answer:
“No, we’re not surprised. We think we’ve had a special team all year. We’re not the most talented team in the state. But we told the kids that when we won it in 1988 we weren’t the most talented team then, either. There’s something about some groups who just get the job done. I don’t know all the answers, but I do know some kids play hard for each other, and this is one of those groups.”
One response to "Surprised? Not the Blaine Bengals"
A team with good chemistry can go as far, if not further, then a team that has individual talents but cannot play well together. Andover experienced that last year, winning the sec 7AAAAA championship. Some good players, not great, that played well as a team and achieved goals other Andover teams have not reached. Good luck to the Bengals as you represent the always strong NWSC!
