High school football: Best of Friday’s action, from team of the week to top player performances

Recapping the best of what took place in Friday's Week 6 of high school football in the East Metro and beyond.

The Mustangs used a 5-yard rushing score from Connor Jude to edge Woodbury, 14-13 , in a pivotal Metro East subdistrict tilt on Friday.

The Mounds View defense surrendered a touchdown on Woodbury's opening drive, but didn't surrender another offensive point all evening.

With the win, the Mustangs remained perfect in subdistrict play. They'll square off with Forest Lake in the bout that's likely to determine the subdistrict title and No. 1 seed in the Class 6A playoffs next week.

Burnsville: The Blaze earned their first win of the season Friday, edging Apple Valley 27-26.

New Richmond: The Tigers sewed up the Big Rivers Conference title with a 49-21 win over Menomonie. New Richmond dominated the conference slate, winning every game but one by three-plus scores.

Player of the night: Colton Butts, White Bear Lake wide receiver

Butts tallied six grabs for 157 yards and three scores in the Bears' dramatic, 32-29 win over Stillwater. Two of those touchdowns came in the final frame, including the game-winning 20-yard receiving touchdown with 34 seconds to play.

Wyatt Stachowiak, White Bear Lake quarterback: It was splitting hairs selecting between Butts and Stachowiak for the top honor, but hat tip to the signal caller for throwing for 289 yards and four scores in a win that will go a long way toward netting the Bears a home playoff game.

Braden Hatalla, Stillwater quarterback: It came in a losing effort, but Hatalla was wonderful on Friday. The Ponies' signal caller accumulated nearly 300 yards of total offense, including 153 yards and three scores on the ground.

Carter Cupito, SMB quarterback: Yes, the quarterback is the son of former Gophers QB Bryan Cupito. But Carter, a multi-sport athlete at Minnehaha Academy, is making a name for himself.

The freshman, who already has an offer from the Gophers, threw for six more touchdowns in SMB's 56-0 win over Concordia Academy to keep the Wolfpack unbeaten. Cupito has 23 passing touchdowns through six games.

Frank Schwieters, Mahtomedi defensive back: The senior hauled in two interceptions in the Zephyrs' 27-3 win over Tartan, including one he returned for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Mack Jurkovich, Forest Lake running back: The Rangers' star runner scored thrice more in Forest Lake's 44-27 win over East Ridge.

Eli Larson, St. Croix Lutheran running back: Larson tallied touchdown runs of 43, 50, 52 and 58 yards in the Crusaders' 42-20 win over St. Agnes.

Play of the night: Burnsville's defensive stop

Apple Valley scored with eight minutes to play to trim Burnsville's lead to 27-26. The Eagles elected to go for two and the lead. But quarterback Noah Weaver's attempted bootleg was immediately snuffed out by a blitzing Donnavon Lyons to blow up the attempt and preserve a lead that held through the finish line.

Moorhead won the battle of the Class 6A titans, topping Eden Prairie 55-34. The Gophers commitment passing combo of Jett Feeney (quarterback) and David Mack (receiver) was again firing on all cylinders. Feeney threw for 372 yards and six scores, five of which went to Mack.

Moorhead and Champlin Park and now the lone two unbeatens remaining in Class 6A after Shakopee was knocked off 14-10 by Prior Lake in a stunning upset. It's just the Lakers' second win of the season.

There are seven one-loss teams in the state's biggest class.

River Falls clinched its playoff spot via a 24-8 win over Rice Lake. Menomonie will need to upset River Falls next week in its regular season finale to guarantee itself a place in the playoff field. Hudson, New Richmond and Chippewa Falls are all also locked into the playoffs from the Big Rivers Conference.

In the Middle Border Conference, Somerset and St. Croix Central will square off in a win-and-in contest, where the loser will hope to qualify with a losing conference record. Amery can secure a playoff spot with a win over Prescott, while Osceola and Baldwin-Woodville will play next week for the conference crown.