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Minnetonka Football Tradition - 2000's
(From Minnetonka Football - The First Half Century by Miles Jon Cohen)
This team played hard but came up a little short in the won/loss column finishing 3-6 for the year. This team had a free spirit but played extremely hard. All the seniors contributed to the season.
The Minnetonka football team stayed strong as a unit throughout a tough season. Our lone win was a 53-41 shootout over at Hill Murray (an all-time point record for Tonka and the first time ever we had played them).
Although the team finished with a 1-8 won/loss record, the players kept their spirits high with strong confidence and determination. This fall marked the end of the longest coaching tenure in the MHS history as 18-year Head Coach Myles Ginther decided to step down. Myles took a program in disarray and made it competitive again.
Dave Nelson began a new coaching era as the 10th head varsity football coach at Minnetonka High School. Dave comes from a well-renowned Minnesota football family and tradition; and has coached high school football for 24 years. His father, Stan, coached Anoka High from 1952 to 1978, his brother, Steve, was an NFL All-Pro and played 14 years for the New England Patriots (1974-1987) and Dave had an outstanding playing career himself at UMD (1974-1977). He formerly led Blaine to 10 conference championships,8 section titles, a state championship in 1988, state 5A runner-up in 1996, 1997, and 2001. He compiled an amazing 152-50 cumulative won/loss record over his 18 years as head coach of the Bengals!
The coaching staff included several past Tonka head coaches (George Soukup, Walt West, etc.) who continue to help at Freshman, Sophomore and JV levels as well as Varsity Tonka Alumni such as Gary Radziej, Tim Hanus, and Chris Cohen and former MAA pioneer John Mattox (56 year coaching career!).
Tonka football experienced a resurgence winning 5 games and losing 4, including our final 2AAAA quarterfinal loss to Burnsville 14-17. Tonka went from one victory last season to five this year including wins over Highland Park, Armstrong, Hopkins, Cooper and St. Louis Park. We jumped from the bottom of the Classic Lake conference to third this season, a major accomplishment given the short preparation time for the new regime. We put the league on notice that we were on the rise again.
The football theme for 2003 was "No Excuses - No Regrets". It epitomizes the hard work and dedication of many people including, of course, the players, parents, coaches, managers, trainers, school officials, cheerleaders, danceline, and band members. And of course our loyal and growing following of fans and supporters including alums.
In Coach Nelson's second season at Tonka, the Skippers got off to a strong start beating a good Irondale squad 48-17 in our first meeting ever. WE played our highlight game of the year in front of a standing-room only homecoming crowd beating perennial cross-lake rival Wayzata 20-15 in our 54th meeting between these two old foes. We defeated Edina in a romp 47-7, the worst beating from us in our long historic rivalry.
Finishing second in the conference to Armstrong, we drew Prior Lake in the first round of the Section 2 playoffs and won 38-21. We then beat Jefferson to go on to 8 wins, 2 losses and the number 8 ranking in the AP Minnesota poll. This was the farthest advance into the playoffs Tonka had ever made and only in Coach Nelson's second year. Although the boys fell 21-35 in the class 5A Section 2 Championship game at the Eden Prairie, they put a real scare into Mike Grant's squad leading 21-14 at halftime.
There were indications the 2004 season that Tonka was a really good ball club. After all, the 2003 team finished 8 and 3 for 2nd in the Conference. Another positive hint was the 8-0 finish of the JV team in 2003.
The Coaches believed and more importantly, the returning players believed the team motto "Whatever It Takes". Still when the squad came down the hill to open the season on the new artificial turf field on September 3, 2004, not many fans had any idea what was coming their way.
The first game was very tough and an omen of things to come as we defeated White Bear Lake, a team that would subsequently go very far in the State playoffs that year. In the game against our long time rival, Hopkins Royals, the Skippers exploded offensively with almost 500 total yards. Sam Buckman, also set a school record with the longest field goal in history - 46 yards.
Tonka ended the regular season with a record of 7-1. We defeated White Bear Lake, Hopkins, Cretin Derham Hall, Edina, Wayzata, Cooper, and St. Louis Park. The only loss in the regular season was against Armstrong. During the post season, Tonka defeated Bloomington, Eden Prairie, John Marshall, Champlin Park and finally Wayzata again in the state championship.
In our first State Semi-finals, Tonka faced the undefeated top ranked Section 7 Rebels of Champlin Park. In probably the most flawless game that Minnetonka ever played, Champlin never had a chance. The Rebels, caved as Coach Mike Korton said "our whole sideline went quiet".
Who would have guessed that our arch rival, Wayzata, would emerge from Section 6 to play us in the Prep Bowl for the State Championship. The game was expected to feature the defenses, it was anything but that with both teams rolling up a Prep Bowl record of 842 yards of offense. Tonka alone ran and passed for a record 519 yards. Trailing 13-14 in the fourth quarter and facing third and fifteen from our own 40 yard line, Tonka moved the ball 31 yards setting up a Tonka field goal and the lead, 16-14. Taking a commanding lead, 23-14, after a 72 yard touchdown, Tonka held Wayzata on fourth and five on our 25 yard line. It was 12:30 a.m. and the 'huge' Tonka crowd went absolutely ballistic as the final gun went off.
The State Championship represented the first football title in Tonka's long and storied history and was accomplished in Coach Nelson's third season at Minnetonka. The accolades flowed in for the team and coaches including five college signings.
THE TRADITION BY DECADE
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
Minnetonka Lore
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