Week #3 Recap: Eden Prairie

While the game was tied 14-14 entering the fourth quarter, the Eden Prairie Eagles pulled away with 14 unanswered points to defeat the Prior Lake Lakers 28-14 Sept. 14 at Dan Patch Stadium.

It was the second consecutive year the Eagles (3-0 Overall, 2-0 Metro West) had defeated the Lakers (1-2 Overall, 0-2 Metro West) by a score of 28-14 in their head-to-head matchup.

Eden Prairie started fast and got on the board first. The Eagles forced a Lakers three-and-out to start the game and a short punt set Eden Prairie up already in Prior Lake territory. Two plays later, Eden Prairie running back Liam Berndt rumbled into the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown to put the Eagles up 7-0 just over three minutes into the game.

Prior Lake then moved down the field on the next drive behind running backs Levi Eiter and Josh Burns but the drive ultimately came to a screeching halt following an intentional grounding penalty that forced the Lakers to punt.

The Eagles then put together a long drive of their own, 15 plays and 70 yards that lasted into the second quarter. The possession was highlighted by a successful fake punt by the Eagles near midfield to keep the drive alive and was capped off by a 15-yard TD run by Eden Prairie running back Eli Rumph to increase the lead to 14-0 with 8:16 left in the half.

The two teams exchanged punts on the next two possessions.

Then it was Prior Lake’s turn to score, with a nine-play 62-yard drive. A 15-yard run by receiver/running back Jaxson Barrett moved the ball past midfield and then it was the Levi Eiter show. Eiter had big gains on a swing pass and a toss run to the left and capped off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run on another toss play to get the Lakers on the board and cut the lead to 14-7 Eagles in the closing seconds of the half.

Eden Prairie got the ball to start the second half but the Laker defense made sure that drive was short-lived when lineman Jide Abasiri punched the ball out and forced a fumble. Cornerback Will Bauleke jumped on the loose ball to give the ball back to the Lakers early in the third quarter.

Each team punted on their next possessions but it resulted in good field position for the Lakers near midfield.

On the second play of the next Laker drive, Burns took the handoff and took off down the middle of the field and gained 46 yards before he was tackled inside the 10-yard line. Eiter knifed his way into the end zone on the very next play and kicker Mason Storlie’s extra point tied the game at 14 with 4:26 left in the third quarter.

However, Eden Prairie would answer with a 16-play 80-yard drive that took nearly eight and a half minutes off the clock. There weren’t many big plays on the drive but the Eagles got enough to keep moving the chains and ultimately capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Jeremy Fredericks with 8:59 left in regulation to give Eden Prairie the lead back at 21-14.

The Lakers picked up a big first down to start the next possession when quarterback Myles Greenwood rolled to his right near his own goal line and threw to Barrett, who caught the ball and tried to hurdle an EP defender past the first down marker to move the chains.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, the drive stalled after that. With the clock running down in the fourth quarter, Prior Lake opted to go for it on fourth-and-2 but a handoff to Josh Burns came up a yard short and the Lakers turned the ball over on downs.

A few plays later, Fredericks scampered into the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 28-14 Eagles with 1:44 left and effectively put the game out of reach.

The Lakers were stopped on fourth down on the next possession, allowing the Eagles to run out the clock and secure the victory.

Statistically, Greenwood finished 7 of 11 for 56 yards.

Burns was the leading rusher with 13 carries for 79 yards while Eiter had 12 carries for 71 yards and two touchdowns.

Barrett was the leading receiver with three catches for 26 yards.

Linebacker Jason Green led Prior Lake in tackles with 11. Cornerback Luke Loehlein and safety Hunter MacGillivray each had 10 tackles. Abasiri, Bauleke and linebacker Dylan Hawley each had seven tackles.

 Next up: Minnetonka

The Lakers will have another tough test this week as Prior Lake travels to Minnetonka High School to take on the Skippers on Friday Sept. 22 at 7 p.m.

The Skippers (3-0 Overall, 2-0 Metro West) enter Friday’s game ranked fourth in the latest Class 6A AP poll, while the Lakers are unranked in the same poll.

Prior Lake and Minnetonka last met in 2020, a 49-7 Laker win at Minnetonka High School.

There will be a familiar face on the Skippers sideline as Minnetonka is in their fourth season under head coach Mark Esch, who served as Prior Lake’s offensive coordinator in 2018 before leaving to take an assistant coach position at Minnetonka in 2019 and was ultimately elevated to head coach in 2020 after longtime Skipper head coach Dave Nelson retired in 2020.

Prior to his time with the Lakers, Esch, who is known for coaching a spread style of offense, was the head coach at Mankato West from 2006 to 2016, where he took the Scarlets to nine state tournaments and won two state championships in 2008 and 2014.

This year’s Minnetonka squad has gotten off to a strong start, winning each of their first three games. Minnetonka defeated White Bear Lake 38-7 in Week 1, Wayzata 22-21 in Week 2 and Edina 34-10 in Week 3.

Quarterback Milos Spasojevic, recognized as one of the top QBs in the state, leads the Skipper passing attack, completing 39 of 59 passes so far this season for 468 yards, nine touchdowns and an interception.

Running backs Roman Johnson and Lucas Knox have shared time at running back so far this season for the Skippers. Johnson has 41 carries for 174 yards while Knox has 31 carries for 153 yards and a touchdown. Spasolevic also has 14 carries for 101 yards.

Receiver Joran Thomsen has been the top target through the air with 12 catches for 143 yards and a touchdown. Receivers Hudson Poole, William Hairston and Duke Richardson have also been regular pass catchers for the Skippers so far this season.

Notes

Kickoff at Minnetonka High School on Friday is scheduled for 7pm.

No PL Lakers Live this week but Minnetonka will be streaming the game on their “Tonka Webcasts” YouTube page at the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qmoPs4B274

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 Minnetonka game and a preview of the matchup against Edina.

Taylor Smith can be reached at tay1@me.com or on Twitter at @taysmith2013.