Week #4 Recap: Minnetonka

The Prior Lake Lakers scored nine unanswered points in the second half but it wasn’t enough as the Minnetonka Skippers held on for a 17-16 victory Sept. 22 at Minnetonka High School.

Following the loss to the Skippers (4-0 Overall, 3-0 Metro West), the Lakers (1-3 Overall, 0-3 Metro West) have now lost three consecutive games to three of the top six teams in the state.

The Skippers got the first turnover of the game against the Lakers. After a Minnetonka punt on the opening possession, Minnetonka intercepted a swing pass from quarterback Myles Greenwood intended for running back Levi Eiter to set Minnetonka up near the Prior Lake 24-yard line.

Minnetonka quarterback Milos Spasojevic completed a long pass to receiver Joran Thomsen down near the goal line and the Skippers punched it into the end zone a couple of plays later to take a 7-0 lead with 5:43 left in the first quarter.

The Lakers then went three-and-out on their next possession and a good punt return by the Skippers set them up already in Prior Lake territory near the 40-yard line.

The Skippers scored on a 7-yard touchdown run by Spasojevic on the first play of the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead.

Prior Lake would answer right back on the next drive. After a long kickoff return by receiver Jaxson Barrett, the Lakers put together a 7-play 50-yard drive capped off by a 9-yard touchdown run by Eiter to cut the lead to 14-7 with 8:43 left in the half.

Minnetonka moved the ball down the field on the next drive, converting a pair of key third downs to keep the chains moving but the drive ultimately stalled near the 10-yard line. Spasojevic also suffered an apparent injury at the end of the drive and did not return to the game. The Skippers kicked a field goal to increase their lead to 17-7 with 2:58 left in the half.

The score remained 17-7 at halftime.

It looked as though the Lakers were going to go three-and-out on the first possession of the second half but a hard count in punt formation caused Minnetonka to jump offside and give Prior Lake 5 yards and a new set of downs.

Later in the drive, running back Hunter MacGillivray broke free of tacklers near the line of scrimmage and took off down the sideline for what would have been a 43-yard touchdown the play was called back due to an illegal block.

Prior Lake moved the ball near the 10-yard line but ultimately settled for a field goal. Kicker Mason Storlie drilled a 32-yard field goal to cut Minnetonka’s lead to 17-10 with 5:36 left in the third quarter.

The Laker defense forced a turnover on the next possession when linebacker Dylan Hawley stripped the ball from the Minnetonka running back from behind on fourth down. Lineman Skyler Werner scooped up the ball to give possession back to the Lakers.

Prior Lake then had a methodical 12-play 56-yard scoring drive capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by Eiter. Storlie’s extra point attempt sailed wide to keep the score 17-16 Skippers with 9:23 to go in regulation.

Prior Lake’s defense then forced another turnover on the next possession when safety Josh Marcinkevich punched the ball out and it was recovered by MacGillivray.

On third-and-5 from the 44-yard line, it looked as though the Lakers picked up the first down on a toss play but an illegal hands to the face penalty negated the run and ultimately caused the drive to stall out, which resulted in a turnover on downs.

Minnetonka then moved the ball down the field and had a chance to run out the clock but a huge tackle by MacGillivray in the backfield on a fourth-and-1 gave the Lakers one final chance with 1:20 to go in regulation.

A big completion on fourth-and-10 from Greenwood to Barrett moved the ball out near midfield in the closing seconds. However, a pass from Greenwood intended for tight end Naz Kishchun on the ensuing fourth down fell incomplete to end the game and seal the 17-16 Minnetonka victory.

Statistically, Greenwood completed 7 of 15 passes for 54 yards and an interception.

Eiter rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. MacGillivray had 10 carries for 58 yards.

Barrett had two catches for 28 yards.

Cornerback Luke Loehlein was the leading tackler with 13 tackles. MacGillivray had nine tackles. Hawley and Marcinkevich each had eight tackles.

Week #5 Preview: Edina

The Lakers will welcome the Edina Hornets to Dan Patch Stadium for homecoming on Sept. 29 at 7pm.

The two teams met in Week 3 of the 2022 season, a 24-9 Prior Lake win at Edina.

Edina’s 2023 season has been similar to the Lakers in that they won their season opener but have since lost three straight. The Hornets beat Eagan 34-7 in Week 1 and then lost to Eden Prairie 36-14 in Week 2, Minnetonka 34-10 in Week 3 and Wayzata 24-21 last week.

The result of the game may be important for seeding down the road as both teams reside in Section 6AAAAAA. As it stands right now, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka and Shakopee are likely the top 3 seeds in some order but the 4 seed and first round playoff home game is seemingly up for grabs as the Lakers take on section opponents Edina and Wayzata the next two games.

The Hornets (1-3 Overall, 0-3 Metro Gold) are led by fourth-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.

Quarterback Mason West is the Hornets’ leading passer with 73 completions on 113 attempts for 845 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Running back John Warpinski has 54 carries for 270 yards and three touchdowns.

Meyer Swinney, Sonny Villegas and Trillion Sorrell are the hornets top two receivers.  Swinney has 24 catches for 246 yards and two touchdowns. Villegas has 21 catches for 306 yards and three touchdowns. Sorrell has 18 catches for 217 yards and a touchdown.

Notes

Kickoff at Dan Patch Stadium on Friday is scheduled for 7pm.

It is Prior Lake’s homecoming game.

Also, Brad Bulver, a longtime PLSAS teacher, coach and football filmer was recently diagnosed with ALS. The Bulver family now lives in Edina and needs your help as they transition their home and lives to support Brad. Please donate as you are able in support of a longtime Laker! You can donate at the following link: https://t.co/kd3RZQZws4

PL Lakers Live will be streaming the game at the following link:

https://gametimemn.com/pl-lakers-live/

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 and a preview of the matchup against Wayzata.

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