30 August 2023
Senior defensive lineman Max Mogelson gets annoyed when Two Rivers’ run to the Class 5A, Section 3 final last fall is described by others as “crazy.”
To be fair, it was. The Warriors won all of one game during the regular season, only to reel off consecutive fourth-quarter rallies in two playoff victories — the latter featuring a pair of touchdowns in the final 70 seconds of the section semifinal to erase Bloomington Kennedy’s 11-point advantage. Two Rivers scored a combined 55 points in their first two section games after scoring 52 points total in eight regular-season games.
That is crazy.
But the playoff success is what Mogelson, a University of Nevada Las Vegas commit, assumes as the standard for the program.
“We’re not expecting to come out here and win a couple of games,” Mogelson said. “We’re not expecting to go on a ‘crazy’ playoff run, because that’s what we expect.”
It has not looked like the expectation over the past decade. The Warriors made it to the state tournament in 2013. Since then, they have won 15 total games — and not more than three in any season.
Last year’s playoff run marked the Mendota Heights program’s first postseason win since that state tournament appearance.
Sustained success this season would serve as a changed standard. That’s the plan this current group of Warriors aims to carry out. The pieces seem to be in place. Mogelson is a big force in the middle of the defense who can set a tone for the entire team.
Two Rivers defensive lineman Max Mogelson, at football practice in Mendota Heights on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, is a University of Nevada-Las Vegas commit. (Jace Frederick / Pioneer Press)
“When you take the field, and you’ve got a guy like that running next to you, you feel pretty good,” Two Rivers co-coach Tom Orth said.
Joining Orth as a co-coach this season is Bruce Carpenter, who was hired this offseason after he served as the University of St. Thomas’ offensive coordinator from 2017-21. Carpenter’s arrival seems to have added another jolt to a program riding a wave of momentum since last fall.
From the start, senior defensive end and running back Riley Pearce said Carpenter outlined winning habits.
“He really showed that he’s here to make this program better and push everyone to our fullest potential,” Pearce said. “So I think we stepped up to that challenge and really got it done this summer.”
“Great summer,” Orth reiterated.
Carpenter noted that this group of players is ready to achieve at a higher level, it simply didn’t know how. He’s trying to provide a map. The Warriors currently appear to be traveling down the right road.
Mogelson said the offseason was “different than anything I’ve ever seen.” The Warriors had 60 to 70 guys in the weight room on a daily basis. Orth noted the offseason work is a bonding experience for players.
“You could ask anybody out here, and they won’t tell you that it was easy,” Mogelson said, “but it was definitely worth it.”
Because the strength and athleticism gains are clear. But that’s only part of the reason why Carpenter emphasized the value of the offseason program.
“We want bigger, faster, stronger kids. But, really, we want healthy kids,” he said. “And that offseason program is about being healthy. Just building your body to a spot where you can not be injury-prone. And I don’t think we’re there yet, but yes, we had a lot of good dedication, and hopefully we can build that as we go.”
This is certainly a build. But with a focus on the 2023 season, Orth and the current players noted Two Rivers started camp much further ahead than it was at a similar time in past falls. Carpenter lauded the team’s ability to pay attention, learn and listen. They’re working, too.
“I think guys get after it,” Orth said. “We’ve got work to do with some of the other stuff, but they’re bringing that important piece. The willingness to work hard and the willingness to, when they’re on the field, get after it and be physical.”
That now needs to carry over into games, starting with Thursday’s season opener at home against Minneapolis Southwest. In the first few weeks, Carpenter wants the difference of the team’s pursuit to the ball between this year and last to “pop out” to guys when watching film. That type of energy and effort will build the foundation for a successful season.
And a successful season is very much the goal for these Warriors. And, this time, that success feels very attainable.
“We want to win games. I think that’s always the goal for a season, but obviously this school hasn’t won a lot of games in the past,” Pearce said. “From what you saw last year in the playoffs, that was just a little glimpse of what I think we can do.”
Added Mogelson: “I think if we give everything that we’ve got every play, every game, every day at practice, we’ll have a lot of good things happen this year. … I think we’ll put on a show for the city and kind of change the narrative around here about Two Rivers football.”
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