When it comes to dynasties in sports, there are very few that stand out; the New York Yankees of the 1920s, the Boston Celtics of the 60s, or the UCLA basketball of the 70s. But there’s one not many people think of, despite the fact that it’s happening just a few miles down the road.

Eden Prairie football has won four of the last five state championships, despite key players graduating every year. Minnetonka Coach Dave Nelson credits their “winning tradition.” They also had thirty straight games without a loss before falling to Totino-Grace in week one this year. The Skippers travel the six miles into the Eagles’ territory for a game at seven tonight; here’s a preview of the matchup.

Arguably the biggest part of beating Eden Prairie is keeping their daunting offense under control. The Eagles put up 62 points in a victory over Minneapolis South last year. Despite this, the Skippers are confident that they can keep them in check.

“We just need to play our game to stop them,” said junior linebacker Ryan Wiebold.

While talking about the offense, Nelson echoed those sentiments, saying that to move the ball on offense they need to play EP “no different than any other team. [We] need to execute, eliminate turnovers, get off the football and block.”

Scoring against this year’s Eden Prairie defense is a tall task. Led by 6’4″ Gopher recruit Jermaine Johnson at defensive end, the Eagles held their opponents to an average of under ten points per game in their first three contests.

Eden Prairie is an undeniably great team. But the Skippers have surprised a lot of people this year, and they’re not intimidated by a team’s history. As Wiebold said later via text, “We r feeling confident.”