Game recap: Edina

A two-hour weather delay came at the right time for the Edina Hornets as they outscored the Prior Lake Lakers 19-9 in the second half to secure a 33-26 win Sept. 29 at Dan Patch Stadium.

It was the first win for the Hornets (2-3 Overall, 1-3 Metro West) over the Lakers (1-4 Overall, 0-4 Metro West) since the teams started playing each other regularly in 2015.

Despite the final score, the Lakers controlled the early portion of the game. Prior Lake’s defense made a stop on fourth-and-1 on the opening drive when lineman Reid Permuth and linebacker Drew Hendrickson stopped Edina running back John Warpinski in the backfield to force the turnover on downs.

Prior Lake’s offense then moved the ball into Edina territory but was forced to punt after a third-down sack knocked the Lakers out of possible field goal range.

On the very next play after the punt, Edina quarterback Mason West completed a pass over the middle of the field to receiver Trillion Sorrell, who broke a tackle near midfield and sprinted into the end zone to give the Hornets a 7-0 lead with 6:31 left in the first quarter.

A long kick return to midfield by safety Josh Marcinkevich near midfield. Three plays later, the Lakers answered Edina’s long score with one of their own when running back Hunter MacGillivray took a handoff and weaved his way through the Edina defense for a 43-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7 with 5:18 left in the first quarter.

It looked like Edina would answer back quickly to start the next drive but receiver Meyer Swinney dropped a long pass that would have surely been a touchdown and the Laker defense stood tall and forced a punt.

A few plays later, MacGillivray scored on another long run, this time on a trap play where he sprinted through the middle of the defense for a 44-yard touchdown run to give Prior Lake a 14-7 lead with 3:08 left in the first quarter.

Prior Lake’s defense then forced a three-and-out on the next drive to give the ball back to the Lakers to start the second quarter.

The Lakers then put together a 16-play 63-yard drive but ultimately stalled near the 10-yard line. Fill-in kicker Marcinkevich knocked through a 27-yard field goal to increase the Prior Lake lead to 17-7 with 5:25 left in the half.

Edina would answer back. On fourth-and-9 at Prior Lake’s 32-yard line, the Hornets ran what appeared to be a wide receiver screen pass but it was actually a trick play. Because the pass was backward, the receiver caught the ball and immediately turned and threw downfield to another receiver who was wide open, caught the ball and took it in for a touchdown to cut the Lakers lead to 17-14 with 1:41 left in the half.

A short kickoff and good return by receiver Kyle Rothmeyer moved the ball near midfield and gave the Lakers one more shot to score before the half. However, quarterback Myles Greenwood was sacked in the closing seconds near the red zone and the Lakers without any timeouts left saw the clock hit zero and end the first half.

Then the weather came. What originally started as a simple lightning delay turned into more as wind and rain hit Dan Patch Stadium. After a roughly two-hour delay, the weather subsided and the teams retook the field for the second half.

The Lakers started the second half with a bang when cornerback Luke Loehlein returned the kickoff 61 yards and into Edina territory. A pair of double-digit yard runs by running backs Josh Burns and Levi Eiter moved the ball into the Hornet red zone and Eiter capped off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 23-14 with 10:06 left in the third quarter. The two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful.

The Hornets would answer back on the next drive, highlighted by a crazy 36-yard catch by receiver Sonny Villegas, who caught the ball falling out of bounds to move the chains. A few plays later West found Swinney in the end zone for the score on a scramble drill play. The extra point was missed and the score was 23-20 with 7:22 left in the third quarter.

Another long kick return, this time by receiver Jaxson Barrett, gave the Lakers another chance to answer back as he returned the ball 62 yards inside the Edina 45-yard line. However, the drive stalled near the 30-yard line and quarterback Caden Wick’s pass on fourth down fell incomplete.

However, the Laker defense would get the ball back a couple of plays later when linebacker Sean Nadeau and Eiter knocked the ball loose from an Edina receiver and Nadeau jumped on the ball to give possession back to Prior Lake.

The Laker offense couldn’t get in the end zone but did get into field goal range as Marcinkevich knocked through a 32-yard field goal to increase the Prior Lake lead to 26-20 with 1:21 left in the third quarter.

A big 32-yard completion from West to Villegas on a third down on the next drive kept the drive moving into the fourth quarter. A couple of plays later, Warpinski rumbled into the end zone and the extra point was good to give the Hornets a 27-26 lead with 11:50 left in regulation.

Prior Lake’s offense moved the ball to midfield on the next drive but ultimately had to punt.

The Hornets then put together a methodical 12-play 82-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Warpinski. However, Edina was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the touchdown which resulted in a 15-yard penalty on the extra point. The extra point attempt sailed wide left to keep the score 33-26 Edina with 3:01 left in regulation.

The Lakers had a chance to answer on the next possession but a fourth down pass from Wick to Barrett fell incomplete near midfield and turned the ball over on downs.

Warpinski picked up a first down on the next set of downs, allowing the Hornets to run out the clock and secure a 33-26 win.

Statistically, Wick completed 3 of 10 passes for 31 yards and Greenwood completed 1 of 3 passes for 7 yards.

MacGillivray was the leading rusher with 16 carries for 148 yards and two touchdowns. Eiter had 14 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown. Burns had 7 carries for 36 yards.

Rothmeyer was the leading receiver with three catches for 25 yards.

MacGillivray was the leading tackler with 12 tackles. Nadeau had 7 tackles while Hendrickson and Loehlein each had 6 tackles.

Next up: Wayzata

Prior Lake will look to get back on the winning track when they travel to Wayzata to take on the Trojans on Oct. 6.

The Lakers and Trojans last met in the opening game of the 2020 COVID season, a 29-28 comeback win for Prior Lake when they took the lead on a two-point conversion in the final moments.

The Trojans (1-4 Overall, 1-3 Metro West), led by coach Lambert Brown, have had a tough start to the season, similar to the Lakers. Wayzata lost to Lakeville South 41-27, Minnetonka 22-21, and Shakopee 21-17 before rebounding with a 24-21 win over Edina and then falling to Eden Prairie 39-7 last week in a game that finished on Saturday due to last Friday’s storms.

Quarterback Cole Heilbrun leads the Trojans offense. Heilbrun has completed 54 of 104 passes for 815 yards, five touchdowns and eight interceptions this season.

Running backs Carter Olson, Owen Winston and Omar Madkour lead the Wayzata rushing attack. Olson has 72 carries for 288 yards and a touchdown. Winston has 60 carries for 188 yards and a touchdown. Madkour has 25 carries for 76 yards.

Receiver Tony Ley is the top target through the air with 23 catches for 390 yards and two touchdowns.

Friday’s game is a battle of Section 6AAAAAA opponents so the result could have an impact on seeding come playoff time.

Notes

Kickoff at Wayzata on Friday is scheduled for 7pm.

Though it is a road game, PL Lakers Live will be streaming the game at the following link:

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

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

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 Wayzata game and a preview of the matchup against Woodbury.

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