A simplistic football philosophy is if the other team doesn’t score you cannot lose.
Rosemount hasn’t quite gotten to that level of defensive perfection, but the Irish continue to close the gap.
Its latest domination without the ball was a 41-7 win Friday at District 196 rival Eagan.
Winners of six straight after an opening night loss to Centennial, and aiming to play with a controlled aggression, Rosemount (6-1) has allowed an average of 6.8 points in those victories, including a pair of shutouts.
“We’re definitely hungry,” said linebacker Max Jones. “… We come into every game knowing we’re going to have to out-physical the team because every team we play are physical teams.
“… We have to work as one heartbeat. One heartbeat, one unit, a well-oiled machine and that’s how we’re going. We’re holding ourselves to a very, very high standard. Even letting up one score we’re really upset.”
The Irish defense may get its biggest test of the season Wednesday when Rosemount, ranked sixth in the latest Class 6A poll, is home to No. 4 Lakeville South. The Cougars (6-1), who held off Prior Lake 27-23 Friday, average 28.1 points per game.
“As our coach likes to say, ‘It’s going be to a fist fight in a phone booth,’” Jones said. “Who wants it more? Who’s going to be the stronger, more physical team?”
Against Eagan, Rosemount took advantage of excellent starting position in jumping out to a 21-0 lead. Its three first-half scoring drives were 18, 35 and 45 yards.
Finn Macken and Mayon Dixon connected for an 18-yard score, Jakhai Hollie went around the left end for 28 yards and Jaidon Jackson had a 17-yard touchdown reception.
“Everything about (our offense) we’re flowing. It’s just a family, it’s a brotherhood,” Hollie said. “… Defense tries to stop one thing, and we have a counter to it.”
Jackson added a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs in the third quarter, drives that began at the Wildcats’ 18- and 38-yard lines.
An interception by Cullen George early in the fourth quarter put the ball at the Eagan 30. Levi Cinnamo caught a touchdown pass on the first Irish offensive snap.
In losing three of four, the Wildcats have scored 28 points and continue to have trouble hanging onto the ball. Eagan lost two fumbles and threw an interception upping its season turnover total to 18.
Its lone points came on an 11-yard halfback pass from Gage Halvorson to Nick Emerson to make it 21-7 with 13 seconds left in the first half, a drive kept alive by a gutsy 4th-and-1 conversion at its own 25. Rosemount then committed personal foul and unnecessary roughness penalties — Jones called them “dumb” — in a four-play span to get Eagan to the edge of the red zone.
“(Rosemount is) just so physical … and we gave them too many short fields by not hanging onto the ball,” said Eagan coach Nick Johnson.
Eagan (2-5) played without its starting quarterback and its second-leading rusher. Plus, the squad has lost three starting offensive linemen from an area that was expected to be a team strength this season.
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