The Gophers football program gained a commitment Friday from  Michael “MJ” Graham, a sophomore safety from Hutchinson Community College. He is the fifth pledge to Minnesota’s 2026 class over the previous week.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound safety, with a three-star rating from 247Sports, had offers from Michigan State, Kansas State, West Virginia, Costal Carolina and Central Florida and others.

He and two other Hutchinson teammates visited the Gophers during their bye this week. Defensive lineman KJ Henson and receiver Derrick Salley were also on the trip, according to 247Sports.

Graham has 28 total tackles and six interceptions so far this season. He had 16 tackles and two picks as a freshman.

The Oklahoma City, Okla., native played quarterback as well as basketball at Westmoore High School. He was committed to play football at Houston before going to a JUCO.

Related Articles

Loons vs. Seattle: Keys to match, storylines and prediction 

Why is P.J. Fleck always mentioned for coaching vacancies?

Gophers football adds former Ohio State pledge Aaron Thomas

Gophers flip Madison, Wis., lineman Beckett Schreiber from Washington State

Gophers flip big running back Jett Walker from West Virginia

Griffen Dean couldn’t have picked a much better time to have a career night.

The junior set school records with 292 yards rushing and six touchdowns, and Lakeville South pulled away in the second half Friday night to dethrone defending state champion Maple Grove 49-31 in a Class 6A football quarterfinal in Apple Valley.

Dean scored on runs of 40, 73 and 1 yard in the second half as a two-point lead turned into a rout. Nic Swanson had a 72-yard run during the stretch in which the Cougars scored 28 straight points.

Lakeville South (9-2) will bring its Power-T rushing attack to U.S. Bank Stadium for a Nov. 14 semifinal game with pass-happy Moorhead (7-4). The Spuds beat Centennial 35-21 Thursday.

James Engle ran for two scores and Kaden Harney threw for one touchdown and ran for another, but the Crimson (10-1) lost for the first time in 24 games.

Lakeville South did not attempt a pass; its lone punt came with backups in the game.

A 3-yard run by Engle got Maple Grove within 21-19 early in the second half, but Dean capped an 80-yard drive with a 40-yard dash.

Three plays after a Maple Grove punt, Dean went 73 yards to paydirt to make it 35-19 late in the third quarter.

Swanson scored early in the fourth, and Dean completed his night from the 1 midway through the final frame to make it 49-19.

Lakeville South led 21-13 at the break as both team’s offenses scored as they traditionally do: ball control drives for the Cougars and quick strikes for the Crimson.

Running its Power-T offense to perfection, a 25-yard run by Dean capped a 12-play opening Cougars drive. But Maple Grove needed just five plays to tie the game on a 32-yard reception by Josh Thompson.

Dean’s 6-yard run early in the second quarter capped a nearly eight-minute drive for a 14-7 Lakeville South lead.

Following a Crimson punt, the junior then capped an eight-play drive with a 21-yard burst with 2:03 left in the half. But Engle scored from the 6 with 32.5 seconds left to complete a 60-yard drive that took 90 seconds.

Maple Grove running back James Engle (24) pushes his way past Lakeville South defenders for a touchdown during the second half of a football quarterfinal in the State Football Tournament at Eastview High School in Apple Valley, Friday, Nov. 07, 2025. Lakeville South won 49-31. (Craig Lassig / Special to the Pioneer Press)

Related Articles

Football: Hill-Murray falls in Class 4A state quarterfinals

Football: Moorhead beats Centennial in Class 6A state quarters

Updated Minnesota high school state football brackets. Semifinals set in 4A and 9-Player

High School Football: St. Thomas Academy, Hill-Murray punch tickets to state

Football: Woodbury drops shootout against Moorhead in section final

With something closely resembling their full lineup in place for the first time this season, the Minnesota Wild offered a vision of the team they can be, when everything is clicking, Friday on Long Island.

Leading start to finish, the Wild won for the third time in four games this month, pulling away from the New York Islanders for a 5-2 victory at UBS Arena.

Along the way, the Wild put the game to bed in the third period on a highlight reel back-and-forth passing play between reunited linemates Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello to give Minnesota a three-goal lead late.

“It’s pretty impressive that he can be off and come off surgery and then play the way he did, which is great,” Wild coach John Hynes said in the postgame scrum with reporters at the Islanders’ home rink. “Him coming back into the lineup added some good depth and some other different combinations which we felt would work well together.”

Zuccarello, playing for the first time this season after returning from a lower-body injury, wasted no time making his presence felt. Less than two minutes into the game, he hit Ryan Hartman with a long lead pass that sprung Hartman on an unsuccessful breakaway.

Jesper Wallstedt got the start in goal for Minnesota — his first since Oct. 26 at home versus San Jose — and made 25 saves in the win as the Wild improved to 6-7-3 overall.

Vinnie Hinostroza, Danila Yurov, Brock Faber and Marco Rossi scored for the Wild in the win, coming 24 hours after they had led two leads slip away in a loss at Carolina.

After Minnesota killed the game’s first penalty, they found the back of the net with their first shot on goal. Jonas Brodin saw Hinostroza cutting hard to the Islanders’ net. Brodin’s pass caught Hinostroza perfectly in stride for a tap-in. It was Hinostroza’s second goal of the season.

Marcus Johansson had the secondary assist on the goal, extending his career-best point streak to 10 games.

Yurov, back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch in the previous three games, was back on the fourth line with Yakov Trenin and Marcus Foligno. Later in the first, that trio had a scrappy shift in front of the Islanders’ crease, which ended with Yurov finding a gap in the armor for his second career goal. Foligno assisted on the goal for his first point of the season.

New York got on the board five minutes into the middle frame when they caught the Wild goalie moving laterally and Emil Heineman scored. But Faber answered with his second goal in as many games just over a minute later. Then Rossi scored on a breakaway after a long-distance setup from Kaprizov, and the Wild led 4-1 before the game had reached its midway point.

When it was all over, they were still raving about the Zuccarello to Kaprizov combination, which cashed in via a takeaway, a no-look between the legs drop pass, a return pass and a one-timer that left the Islanders goalie bewildered.

“I knew exactly where it was going,” Hynes said. “But how it happens that quick and the execution is impressive.”

David Rittich, making his sixth start of the season for New York, had 21 saves in the loss.

The Islanders make their only visit to St. Paul this season on Jan. 10.

The Wild get Saturday off before starting a five-game homestand, which begins Sunday night with the Calgary Flames visiting Grand Casino Arena.

Related Articles

Wild expect a boost from Mats Zuccarello’s return

Missed opportunity for Wild as Hurricanes storm back

First opportunity for Daemon Hunt in his return to the Wild

The story behind the whacky goal that won the Wild a game

A game ‘like a fruit salad’ gives Wild their first win streak

Fifth-seeded New Life Academy fell behind in its Class 2A semifinal and could not recover as top-seeded Hawley swept the Eagles in straight sets Friday night at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.

Fresh off a five-set thriller, New Life rolled into the match with a chance to knock out the Nuggets, the reigning Class 2A champs. Instead, Hawley took care of business 25-17, 25-15, 25-23.

Nuggets head coach Kathleen Rustad said there is “confidence” within this group, with experience from state title games in various sports.

“They’ve been in the state championship for softball, too, multiple times,” Rustad said. “So when you get into a tight (situation), whether it’s a match or a game or a set or an inning or whatever, it’s just like, all right, next play. They just know how to do it. They’ve got a lot of experience.”

The familiarity with the moment, and the opponent, helped the Nuggets. Hawley defeated New Life in two sets back on September 20 and showed off its dominance again to open the state semifinal.

Hawley began the match on a 5-0 run, setting the tone and forcing New Life into an early timeout.

Back-to-back solo blocks by eighth-grade middle blocker Grace Baur pulled the Eagles within three points partway through the opening set. Baur was a part of all three Eagles blocks in the first set, and head coach Dede Lawson said it was important to have Baur step up in the middle.

“To go against that speed of tempo and get the blocks that she did is always motivating,” Lawson said. “When our eighth grader comes up with those big plays, it just energizes everybody.”

But Nuggets seniors Sella Fleming and Annaka Johnson formed a wall of their own at the net. The duo was a part of each of Hawley’s three first-set blocks.

Fleming, Hawley’s setter, finished with a match-high 31 assists to go along with three block assists.

Johnson, after delivering defensively, finished off the first set, 25-17, with a cross-court swing that caught the Eagles’ block off guard.

A tightly contested second set saw Hawley begin to break away after consecutive service aces by junior outside hitter Katie Vetter, giving the Nuggets an 11-7 lead.

Hawley halted every New Life run and pulled away late, earning a 25-15 second-set victory. It was a position the Eagles knew all too well, trailing 2-0 in each of their first two tournament matches.

New Life battled back after a slow start to the third set and took a 20-16 advantage. But Hawley showed its resolve by racing back on a 4-0 run.

Lawson said the experience Hawley has in big situations showed late.

“They’re the returning stage champions, and they showed it when it got 20-20,” Lawson said. “They stepped up and finished off, where we just came up short in that third set.”

That momentum swing determined the match as the Nuggets roared past the Eagles late, claiming the third and final set 25-23.

Hawley will face the winner of second-seeded Albany and the third-seeded Chatfield at 3:00 p.m. Saturday in search of its repeat state championship.

Related Articles

State volleyball: How Cretin-Derham Hall built a culture of success

State volleyball: New Life Academy rallies from 2-0 hole to win state quarterfinal

State volleyball: Stewartville topple Mahtomedi in Class 3A quarterfinal

State volleyball: Cretin-Derham Hall on to semis after beating Sauk Rapids-Rice

State volleyball: Apple Valley upsets East Ridge in 4A quarters