Chanhassen has been widely considered the cream of the crop in Class 5A football this season.
But Mahtomedi put a sizable scare into the Storm’s quest for a championship.
Charlie Brandt ran for two scores and threw for another, but the Zephyrs came up 80 seconds short of an upset in Saturday’s state quarterfinal.
Defensive lineman Dominic Castagnetto capped a 12-play, 76-yard, nearly five-minute drive with a 2-yard run out of the power package with 1:20 left as the Storm rallied for a 28-22 win.
It’s the second straight week Castagnetto scored late to let Chanhassen advance. His short run with 34 seconds left gave the Storm a 37-36 win over perennial-power Mankato West last week.
“Two in a row is nice, but it’s better that we won,” he said.
Mahtomedi, which got a 25-yard field goal by Charlie Thein for a 22-20 lead with 7:14 to play, got the ball on its own 38 after Castagnetto’s score, but a sack and three incompletions allowed Chanhassen to celebrate.
Finishing 4-4 in the regular season, including losses in its final two contests, Mahtomedi (6-5) had seemingly found its stride in the postseason with a 33-point win over Tartan and a 19-7 win over Cretin-Derham Hall to set up a date with the Storm.
“I told our kids I love their fight,” said Mahtomedi coach Dave Muetzel. “They didn’t listen to anybody, and they came in here and fought the whole game.”
“It’s about improving each week,” he continued. “We got a few guys back as well from being injured, but the kids kept battling and kept working. It’s a competitive group, and it showed out here today.”
Maxwell Woods ran for 102 yards and a touchdown, caught a score and took a kick to the end zone for Chanhassen (11-0), a first-time tournament participant that will face Andover in a Nov. 18 semifinal. That game is at 7 p.m. inside U.S. Bank Stadium. The 10-1 Huskies beat Armstrong 37-20 Saturday.
“That’s awesome; we get to play football inside,” coach Cullen Nelson said as the wind picked up postgame at chilly Apple Valley High School.
Down by 14-13, Mahtomedi took advantage of Max Strecker’s recovery of a fumbled punt return midway through the third quarter with arguably its best drive of the day.
Twice the Zephyrs converted on fourth down — both on Brandt keepers — before the senior quarterback lofted a perfectly placed 18-yard pass into the hands of Will Newman for a 19-14 lead after the two-point try failed.
“Just a gritty football team,” Castagnetto said of the Zephyrs. “They’re not the biggest guys I’ve ever faced against, but they played very hard, very fast.”
Woods, a North Dakota State commit who had a rushing score late in the first half, had a 13-yard catch early in the fourth quarter for a 20-19 Storm lead.
Brandt snuck in from the 1 for a quick 7-0 Mahtomedi advantage, but Woods took the ensuing kickoff 85 yards to tie the game.
A quartet of Chanhassen miscues — fumble on the 5, short punt and two defensive penalties in the red zone — resulted in Mahtomedi going up 13-7 midway through the second quarter on another Brandt sneak. He gained 12 yards on a fourth-and-8 earlier in the drive.
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