Week #2 recap: Shakopee

Joey Krouse made the game-saving tackle at the Prior Lake 1-yard line with no time on the clock as the Prior Lake Lakers defeated the Shakopee Sabers 24-16 on Sept. 9 at Dan Patch Stadium.

Shakopee quarterback Dominic Jackson snapped the ball from the Prior Lake 22-yard line with two seconds on the clock and completed a pass to receiver Gannon Rydberg down the middle of the field but Rydberg was met by Krouse near the 5-yard line, who dragged the receiver to the ground before Rydberg could reach the ball across the goal line to seal the Prior Lake victory.

The Prior Lake victory moved the Lakers (2-0 Overall, 1-0 Metro Gold South) to 7th in the latest KARE-TV Class 6A rankings released Sept. 14 while the Sabers (1-1 Overall, 0-1 Metro Gold South) dropped to 9th in the same poll.
Running back Garrison Monroe got the Sabers on the board first on the opening drive with a 38-yard touchdown run on a speed option pitch from Jackson to give Shakopee a 7-0 lead with 9:13 left in the first quarter.

The teams exchanged punts on the next few possessions.

The Sabers executed the next big play when Jackson took the snap, rolled right and threw deep to the right to Rydberg for a 36-yard gain late in the first quarter.

Shakopee then methodically drove the ball inside the Prior Lake 10-yard line but the Laker defense held and forced a field goal attempt. The field goal was good, increasing the Shakopee lead to 10-0 with 6:40 to go in the half.

Prior Lake answered with a methodical 12-play 62-yard drive of their own, highlighted by a 15-yard run by Krouse and a 7-yard touchdown run by running back Grayson Spronk. Spronk took the ball on a toss play to the left, followed his blockers and beat the Shakopee defenders to the pylon for the score to cut the Shakopee lead to 10-7 with 2:28 to go in the first half.

The Prior Lake defense then got a massive stop on the ensuing drive. The Sabers decided to go for it on fourth-and-2 on their own 28-yard line and Jackson tried to run around the outside but was met in the backfield by defensive lineman Jide Abasiri and linebacker Jack Gilbert, who brought down the quarterback and gave the ball to the Lakers with great field position.

The Laker offense went three-and-out but kicker Logan Lehrer drilled a 33-yard field goal to tie the game 10-10 with 26 seconds to go.

The game remained tied 10-10 at halftime.

Prior Lake continued their momentum into the quarter with a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half, highlighted by a 17-yard completion on third down-and-7 from quarterback Luke Crosby to tight end Trace Bowman to keep the drive alive and advance the ball into Shakopee territory. A few plays later, Crosby capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run on a quarterback sneak to give Prior Lake the lead 17-10 with 6:57 to go in the third quarter.

It looked as though Shakopee had answered to potentially tie the game on a 35-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-5 but the Sabers were called for holding and ultimately had to punt late in the third quarter.

The Sabers defense then forced a three-and-out and a good kick return set the Shakopee offense up at the 35-yard line.

It looked like the Prior Lake defense was going to get a fourth-down sack on the ensuing drive but Jackson escaped Gilbert’s tackle attempt and completed a pass to tight end Connor McGee for the conversion. A few plays later, fullback Jaden Hellerud plunged into the end zone for the score but the extra point attempt sailed wide left to keep the Laker lead at 17-16 with 6:10 to go in regulation.

The one-point lead increased quickly when cornerback/receiver Jake Fier caught the ensuing kickoff at his own 10-yard line, sprinted through the hole created by Laker blockers and took off down the Shakopee sideline, all the way into the end zone for the 90-yard touchdown return to push the Prior Lake lead to 24-16 with 5:57 to go.

Two plays into the ensuing Shakopee drive, Jackson tried to pitch the ball to Monroe on an option play but the pitch was wild and Krouse was able to wrestle the ball away from Monroe for the fumble recovery and set Prior Lake’s offense up at the Shakopee 24-yard line.

Prior Lake had an opportunity to effectively put the game away with a first down but a fouth-and-1 run play by Spronk was stuffed in the backfield to give Shakopee one last opportunity to tie the game in the closing moments.

The Sabers moved the ball down the field and near the Laker red zone on a reverse play setting up the final few passes that ultimately ended with Krouse’s tackle at the goal line to secure the Prior Lake win.

Statistically, Crosby completed 2 of 5 passes for 19 yards and a rushing touchdown.

Spronk was the leading rusher with 21 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown while Krouse had 13 carries for 66 yards.

Krouse also led the Lakers in tackles with 10 tackles, while linebackers Aidan McGowan and Bruce Soukup each had eight tackles.

Week #3 Preview: Edina

The Lakers will play their first road game of the season on Sept. 17 when they travel to Edina to take on the Edina Hornets at Kuhlman Stadium at 7pm.

The two teams met in Week 3 of the 2021 season, a 42-21 Prior Lake win at Dan Patch Stadium.

The Hornets (0-2 Overall, 0-1 Metro Gold) are led by third-year Head Coach Jason Potts, who came to Edina before the 2020 season after previously serving as the offensive coordinator at Robbinsdale Armstrong. Potts is known for running a spread-style offense.

Edina lost to Minnetonka 34-21 in Week 1 and lost to Rosemount 17-10 in Week 2.

Quarterback Finn McElroy is the Hornets’ leading passer with 44 completions on 77 attempts for 481 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in two games.

Running back John Warpinski has 16 carries for 36 yards and a touchdown on the season. Running back Landon Nebel has seven carries for 34 yards this season.

The Hornets use a number of different receivers. Receiver Sonny Villegas leads the team in catches with 14 receptions for 164 yards and a touchdown so far on the season while receiver Brady Anderson has 11 catches for 189 yards and a touchdown.

The result of the game may be important for seeding down the road as both teams reside in Section 6AAAAAA.

Notes

Kickoff at Kuhlman Stadium on Friday is scheduled for 7pm.

Friday’s game at Edina will be streamed at the link below and produced by Edina. Please note that there is a fee to watch. This is the only stream that we are aware of for Friday’s game at this time. http://edinasportshub.com

Follow @plhsfootball, @pllakers, @PLHSLakers , @PLLakersLive on Twitter for updates and links to the streams throughout the season.

Be sure to check back next week for a recap of the Edina game as well as a preview of the Week 4 matchup vs Lakeville North.

Taylor Smith can be reached at tay1@me.com or