Week #1 Recap: Forest Lake

Running back Levi Eiter rushed for the game-winning touchdown and quarterback Myles Greenwood added the two-point conversion with 1:23 left in the fourth quarter as the Prior Lake Lakers defeated the Forest Lake Rangers 22-19 Aug. 29 on a rainy night at Forest Lake High School.

The win for Prior Lake (1-0 Overall, 0-0 Metro West) over Forest Lake (0-1 Overall, 0-0 Metro East) is the Lakers’ eighth straight season-opening victory, dating back to 2016.

The excitement began on the first play from scrimmage following the Lakers’ opening kickoff. The Rangers attempted a run play to the left but lineman Skyler Werner punched the ball away from Forest Lake running back Mack Jurkovich to force a fumble. Cornerback Griffin Marshall jumped on the ball to give Prior Lake possession.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, Forest Lake got the ball back a few plays later when running back/linebacker Sean Nadeau was tackled short of the first down marker on a fourth down rush attempt.

Forest Lake then put together a 10-play 78-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by a 24-yard screen pass from quarterback Connor Johnson to receiver DJ Westman to move the ball near the goal line. Johnson rushed in for a 3-yard touchdown on the next play and the extra point was good to give the Rangers a 7-0 lead with 5:07 left in the first quarter.

It appeared as though Prior Lake was poised to answer back immediately when returner Luke Lohlein fielded the ensuing kickoff near his own 5-yard line sprinted through a hole, weaved his way through Forest Lake’s coverage team and wasn’t brought down until he reached the Rangers’ 7-yard line. However, the return was nullified by offsetting penalties, a holding call on the Lakers and a horse-collar tackle on the Rangers.

The Lakers moved the ball out near midfield on the ensuing drive thanks to a long run by Eiter but ultimately had to punt.

Following the punt, Forest Lake methodically moved the ball down the field into the early part of the second quarter but the drive came to a screeching halt when on fourth-and-3 at the Prior Lake 17-yard line linebackers Parker Barringer and Dylan Hawley tackled Johnson in the backfield on a quarterback draw attempt to thwart the scoring threat.

The teams exchanged punts on the next two possessions.

It looked as though Prior Lake might have a chance to score on the next drive as Greenwood completed a third-down pass to receiver Colten Gunderson to move the chains but fellow receiver Aiden Mbinda was called for pass interference to nullify the conversion and the Lakers ultimately had to punt.

Forest Lake then moved the ball near the Laker red zone in the closing seconds of the half but lineman Cody Lyons knocked down a screen pass on fourth down to end the threat.

Forest Lake led 7-0 at halftime.

Prior Lake’s offense finally got rolling to start the second half with a 14-play 78-yard touchdown drive on the opening possession. Facing a third-and-11 at the Forest Lake 45-yard line Greenwood dropped back and threw the ball deep down the middle of the field to Mbinda, who jumped and caught the ball over a Forest Lake defender to keep the drive alive. A few plays later, running back TJ Peterson rumbled in for a 5-yard touchdown run and kicker Mason Storlie’s extra point tied the game 7-7 with 6:36 left in the third quarter.

However, the Rangers answered back with an 8-play 75-yard drive, capped off by a 21-yard touchdown run on a counter play by running back Kevin Ndirangu to give the Rangers a 13-7 lead with 2:50 left in the third quarter. The extra point was no good after a bad snap, keeping the score 13-7.

Prior Lake and Forest Lake then exchanged punts into the early part of the fourth quarter.

Then it was Prior Lake’s turn to score. On second-and-14 near midfield, Greenwood completed another long pass to Mbinda down the middle and advanced the ball into the red zone. Eiter then had a 15-yard carry and finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run. Storlie’s extra point gave Prior Lake a 14-13 lead with exactly 8 minutes left in regulation.

The Rangers would quickly answer and retake the lead however with an 8-play 65-yard touchdown drive. Johnson found receiver Jacob Rehfeld in the end zone on a play action pass to give Forest Lake a 19-14 lead with 4:34 left in the fourth quarter.

Forest Lake decided to go-for-two but the conversion was no good after Johnson’s pass was knocked down by linebacker Jackson Koenig, who lept in the air in front of Johnson as he threw the ball.

Prior Lake then got the ball for what would turn out to be the game-winning 11-play 80-yard drive. Facing a second-and-8 at the 42-yard line with 1:52 remaining, Greenwood dropped back to pass, couldn’t find an open receiver, scrambled to his left, took off past a Forest Lake defender and scampered out of bounds past the first down marker. However, as he stepped out of bounds he was tackled by a Forest Lake defender, who received a late-hit penalty and advanced the ball deeper into Ranger territory.

Eiter then had back-to-back carries to the left, the second of which resulted in a 4-yard touchdown run to give Prior Lake a 20-19 lead with 1:23 left to play.

Prior Lake then opted to go-for-two. Greenwood rolled to his right couldn’t find an open receiver but scrambled his way into the end zone for the conversion to increase the Laker lead to 22-19 with 1:23 left.

Around the time of the go-ahead score the rain started to come down harder and following the ensuing kickoff, the power went out in the stadium, causing a short delay. The start time of the game was pushed back to 8:30pm from 7pm due to storms earlier in the evening.

After the power came back on, the Rangers advanced the ball into Laker territory in the final minute on a screen pass and a defensive pass interference penalty. On third-and-13 at the Prior Lake 43-yard line in the closing seconds, Johnson threw deep down the middle of the field but Lohlein knocked the ball down.

Johnson’s fourth-down throw slipped out of his hand and fell harmlessly to the turf to end the threat and secure the Prior Lake victory.

Statistically, Greenwood completed 10 of 14 passes for 113 yards.

Eiter led the way on the ground with 21 carries for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Greenwood had six carries for 38 yards. Peterson had seven carries for 31 yards and a touchdown.

Hawley led the Lakers in tackles with 11 tackles. Safety Kai Greene had nine tackles. Eiter had eight tackles. Barringer and Koenig each had six tackles.

Week #2 Preview: Shakopee

The Lakers host longtime rival Shakopee on Friday Sept. 6 at 7pm at Dan Patch Stadium at Prior Lake High School in Savage.

Prior Lake and Shakopee have faced each other regularly dating back to their time in the Missota Conference in the 1990s and 2000s. The rivalry was renewed when Shakopee joined the South Suburban Conference in 2014 before district schedules were created in Class 6A football.

Prior Lake has won seven of the last nine matchups between the two teams dating back to 2014; however, Shakopee won last season’s meeting 28-7 at Vaughn Field in Shakopee.

While only Week 2, Friday’s matchup could have playoff seeding implications later in the season as Prior Lake and Shakopee are in the same section and will seed together for playoffs. The district regular season schedules were overhauled before the 2023 season to better align the districts with the sections to make seeding easier come playoff time. A head-to-head victory can often be the separator when playoff seeding takes place.

The Sabers, known for their triple-option offense and strong run game, defeated Hopkins 58-35 in Week 1, rushing for 341 yards using nine different ball carriers.

Quarterback Judah Forsberg got the start for the Sabers in Week 1, completing 2 of 2 passes for 62 yards and two touchdowns against Hopkins.

Shakopee enters the game ranked 7th in the Star Tribune’s Metro Top 20 released Sept. 4 while the Lakers are ranked 16th in the same poll.

Notes

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

PL Lakers Live will be streaming Friday’s game, a co-production with Sabers Live. Friday’s stream with will be live at the following link:

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

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

Be sure to check back next week for a recap of the Shakopee game and a preview of the matchup against Eden Prairie.

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