Lakeville South could have dished out any number of excuses if things hadn’t gone well this season. After all, it suffered two major losses last spring — first falling to Eden Prairie in double overtime in the Class 2A title game, then watching highly successful head coach Janne Kivihalme depart in controversial fashion.

But the Cougars didn’t miss a beat. Lakeville South (25-3-0) started 7-0-0, beat hated rival Lakeville North in the 1AA final and is riding a 16-game winning streak into St. Paul.

Now the challenge for first-year head coach Josh Storm and his experienced group of Cougars is to finally climb the last hurdle and claim a state championship.

The south metro powerhouse has the team to do it.

Led by a core of battle-tested seniors and ultra-talented juniors, Lakeville South might not be the favorite on paper at the X, but the Cougars certainly have the tournament experience and leadership to win it all.