After five years, the Mounds View Football Team reached state once again, marking the end of a successful season. This year’s team became the second in Mounds View history to win a conference and section championship by implementing key changes this season, including upgraded equipment, intense training and a stronger sense of camaraderie. 

This past season, the football team made great improvements on both sides of the ball. The team finished with a record of 8-3, the same as when they went to state in 2019. One of the team’s keys to success was their defense. “We average giving up 14.4 points a game. So at the end of the season, that was second best in [Class] AAAAAA football, which is really impressive,” said Varsity Head Coach Aaron Moberg. Meanwhile, their offense scored an average of 31.4 points a game, ranking fifth, and almost doubling their average of 17.2 from the previous season.

The team also broke the school’s turnover ratio record, which is the difference between a team’s turnovers and their opponent’s turnovers. Previously, the record was a negative four rating, and this year, the team had a positive 18 turnover rating. This means they forced other teams into many interceptions or fumbles on defense, while rarely turning the ball over themselves.

The impressive record was in part due to the captains stepping up and increasing the intensity of the practices. “It all starts with being a player-led team. And the way we practice hasn’t really changed much over the last couple of years, but the intensity and focus just keeps getting raised each year,” Moberg said. 

The team has also been working on improving their own play styles. The school’s athletic department recently spent thousands of dollars on upgraded equipment, such as cameras, drones and televisions. During practice, the drones filmed above in order to get a full view of the athletes. “It would record our practice so we could dive deep into what we did wrong during practice, and then we could watch [the] film and correct it so it wouldn’t happen in game,” said senior captain Joseph Kostolnik.

The team has also put an emphasis on watching videos of their opponents this year, which allows them to be ready for other play styles. “Watching our opponents and the games that they’ve played and their tendencies and things that they’ve done… that’s helped us play faster, just knowing what your opponent’s gonna do,” said senior Charlie Eggert.

Furthermore, the athletes have had fewer injuries this year due to strength Coach Conor Mitchell’s training advice. He emphasized keeping their bodies healthy rather than gaining muscle by assigning RPR (Reflexive Performance Reset) training, which refers to breathing and neurological exercises that help the brain and body recover. This overall increased their physical ability and has allowed them to be a stronger team throughout the season. “[Coach] Conor in the off-season, throughout winter, spring and summer, made us do a lot of RPR and just keeping our muscle loose and focused on the mobility side of lifting rather than just power, like how our old strength coach used to,” said senior Osley Olsen.

Through improved teamwork and focused team preparation, the team made it farther than previous years. During a close and intense playoff game against the Prior Lake Lakers, Mounds View managed to prevent the Lakers from scoring on a two-point conversion, allowing them to win the game 28-27. Not only did this game provide them a spot in the state tournament, but it also avenged their loss to Prior Lake from last year. “No one really picked us to win that game either, so you know, proving them wrong was an awesome experience,” said Olsen. 

Ending the year on a close loss to Shakopee was a tough way to be eliminated in the playoffs, but the team is proud of their accomplishments nonetheless. “We didn’t meet our full goal which was obviously winning state, [but] we’re still very proud of the season that we had and we hope that our team will leave a legacy for future Mustang teams and help the culture of the school,” said Kostolnik.