Week #7 Recap: Woodbury

Running back Levi Eiter scored three touchdowns in the first half as the Prior Lake Lakers defeated the tenth-ranked Woodbury Royals 39-13 on Oct. 13 at Dan Patch Stadium.

The win for the Lakers (3-4 Overall, 1-4 Metro West) is the third straight win for Prior Lake over the Royals (4-3 Overall, 3-2 Metro East), dating back to the 2012 playoffs.

Eiter got the Lakers on the board quickly with a 62-yard touchdown run on Prior Lake’s first offensive play. Eiter took the handoff, followed the right side of the offensive line and sprinted down the middle of the field and into the end zone. Kicker Mason Storlie’s extra point was good to give the Lakers a 7-0 lead with 8:33 left in the first quarter.

Woodbury answered back with a score of their own on the next drive. Facing fourth-and-14 at the Prior Lake 32-yard line, quarterback George Bjellos threw to receiver Liam Frommelt on a screen pass and Frommelt weaved his way through the Prior Lake defense and into the end zone, tying the score 7-7 with 4:35 left in the first quarter.

The tie score was short-lived as Eiter had a 52-yard touchdown run three plays into the next Prior Lake drive on the exact same play as his first touchdown to give Prior Lake a 14-7 lead with 3:20 left in the first quarter.

On the next possession, linebackers Dylan Hawley and Sean Nadeau tackled Woodbury running back Isiah Tisdale in the backfield on third down to force a punt at the end of the first quarter.

A pair of completions from Prior Lake quarterback Caden Wick to receiver/running back Jaxson Barrett moved the ball deep into Woodbury territory. A few plays later, Eiter rumbled into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown to increase Prior Lake’s lead to 21-7 with 8:37 left in the half.

Prior Lake’s defense then forced a three-and-out to give the ball back to the Laker offense.

On the ensuing drive, facing a second-and-3 at the Woodbury 36-yard line, Wick dropped back to pass and threw deep down the middle of the field to Barrett, who caught the ball near the goal line for the touchdown. The extra point attempt was blocked as the Lakers led 27-7 with 4:12 left in the half.

Woodbury would answer with a passing touchdown with 31 seconds left in the half to cut Prior Lake’s lead to 27-13.

A long kickoff return by cornerback Luke Loehlein gave the Lakers one more chance before halftime but a sack of Wick in the closing seconds ran out the clock.

Four plays into the second half, running back/safety Hunter MacGillivray took the handoff on a trap play, followed his blockers, broke a tackle and scampered into the end zone for a 37-yard touchdown. The extra point attempt was blocked, making the score 33-13 Lakers with 10:12 left in the third quarter.

The Laker defense forced another three-and-out on the next drive, highlighted by a sack by lineman Skylar Werner.

Prior Lake’s offense then put together an 8-play 43-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a 3-yard touchdown run by MacGillivray to push the Laker lead to 39-13 with 5:26 left in the third quarter. The two-point conversion attempt was no good.

Prior Lake’s defense then made a stop on the next drive, effectively putting the game away.

The teams played a scoreless fourth quarter, finalizing a 39-13 Prior Lake win.

Statistically, Wick completed 4 of 5 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown.

Eiter rushed for 159 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries. MacGillivray rushed for 92 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.

Barrett was the leading receiver with three catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.

MacGillivray was also the leading tackler with 10 tackles. Linebacker Drew Hendrickson had eight tackles, while Nadeau and lineman Jide Abasiri each had six tackles.

Week #8 Preview: Buffalo

The Prior Lake Lakers will close out the regular season on Thursday October 19 at 1pm when they travel to Buffalo High School to take on the Bison.

The Lakers and Bison last met in 2018 in the opening round of the playoffs. Prior Lake won that game 52-42 at Dan Patch Stadium.

This season, Buffalo (5-2 Overall, 5-0 Metro Maroon) is led by first-year head coach Jackson Litterer, who comes to the Bison after coaching in Iowa the past few years. The Bison lost to Minnetonka last week 61-21 and to Eden Prairie 48-7 in Week 1 but sandwiched five wins in the middle of the season. Buffalo beat Hopkins 56-14, Park 39-34, Eastview 33-18, Roseville 21-12 and Burnsville 40-18.

The Bison’s spread-style offense is led by a pair of quarterbacks, Kyler Kelvie and Grady Guida. Kelvie has completed 71 of 119 passes for 970 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. Guida has completed 23 of 42 passes for 332 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions.

Kelvie and Guida are also the leading rushers with over 300 rushing yards. Jack Griffieth is the leading running back with 54 carries for 245 yards and two touchdowns.

Receivers Gauge Alsen, Wyatt Osterbauer and Nolan Mahannah are the leading targets for the Bison passing game. Alsen has 22 catches for 401 yards and six touchdowns. Osterbauer has 21 catches for 295 yards and six touchdowns. Manhannah has 18 catches for 274 yards and a touchdown.

Playoff Seeding

Playoff brackets will be announced on Friday October 20 at 10am during the Class 6A Selection Show on the KARE 11 YouTube Channel.

The Lakers, barring some surprises, are likely to be a #5 seed and start the playoffs on the road.

Seeds and brackets will be finalized on Friday October 20. The first round of playoffs will be on Friday October 27 and played at the high seed.

Notes

Kickoff at Buffalo High School on Thursday is scheduled for 1pm.

It is Prior Lake’s final regular season 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 won’t be streaming the game this week but Buffalo will be streaming this week’s game via the NFHS Network at the following link (Note: Viewers will need to subscribe in order to watch): https://t.co/Bd3rqL1Aj1

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 Buffalo game and a preview of the first-round playoff matchup.

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