Week #3 Recap: Eden Prairie

While the score was 20-13 at halftime, the Eden Prairie Eagles pulled away with 20 unanswered points in the second half to defeat the Prior Lake Lakers 40-13 Sept. 12 at Eden Prairie High School.

The Eagles (2-1 Overall, 1-1 Metro West), ranked sixth in the most recent Class 6A poll, continued their winning ways in recent history against the Lakers (1-2 Overall, 0-2 Metro West) as Prior Lake has not beaten Eden Prairie since they started facing each other regularly in 2013.

Eden Prairie got on the board first with an 8-play 67-yard touchdown drive highlighted by three double-digit runs by star running back Elijah Rumph. Rumph capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead with 8:03 left in the first quarter.

Prior Lake picked up a first down on the next drive on an effective jet sweep run by receiver Aiden Mbinda but the possession ultimately stalled after a false start penalty backed up the Lakers and resulted in a punt.

The Eagles then marched down the field again on an impressive 15-play 83-yard drive that lasted into the second quarter. Only one play on the drive resulted in a double-digit gain but EP methodically moved the chains and ultimately capped the drive with a 3-yard TD on a reverse play to stretch Eden Prairie’s lead to 14-0 with 11:11 left in the second quarter.

The Lakers answered on the next drive with an 80-yard touchdown drive of their own. A 15-yard run on a trap play by fullback TJ Peterson advanced the ball into EP territory. A few plays later, facing second-and-11 at the 13-yard line, quarterback Myles Greenwood threw the ball to his left to running back Levi Eiter, who caught the ball in stride, tiptoed down the sideline and into the end zone for a PL touchdown. Kicker Mason Storlie’s extra point was blocked so the score was 14-6 Eagles with 7:10 left in the half.

Eden Prairie then matched the Lakers with a touchdown of their own on the ensuing possession. A 28-yard gain on a wide receiver screen advanced the ball deep into Prior Lake territory. Rumph ultimately capped off the drive with a 1-yard TD run. The extra point was no good and the Eagles led 20-6 with 1:37 left in the half.

Despite the limited time remaining on the clock to start the next drive, the Lakers made the most of it with a 15-yard swing pass from Greenwood to Eiter on the first play and a 27-yard gain on an incredible leaping catch by receiver Colten Gunderson along the sideline. A pass from Greenwood to Mbinda on a seam route advanced the ball down to the 1-yard line in the final minute. After a spike stopped the clock, Greenwood rolled right and threw to receiver/cornerback Luke Loehlein in the end zone on the next play for the touchdown. Storlie’s extra point made the score 20-13 Eagles with 29 seconds left in the half.

The Eagles had one more opportunity to score at the end of the half after a short kickoff and a long run advanced the ball into field goal range in the closing seconds but the Lakers blocked the field goal as time expired to keep the score 20-13 at halftime.

Prior Lake started the second half with the ball but, on the second play of the drive, the snap flew over Greenwood’s head and after he corralled the ball, Greenwood threw to his left but the pass was intercepted by an EP defensive back as he fell out of bounds to give Eden Prairie possession.

Eden Prairie scored on a 1-yard touchdown run four plays later to increase the Eagles lead to 27-13 with 9:16 left in the third quarter.

It looked as though Prior Lake might answer on the next drive. A long run by Greenwood and a 10-yard push by the PL offensive line moved the ball into Eden Prairie territory but, later in the drive, Greenwood’s pass intended for Gunderson on fourth-and-6 at the 39-yard line was incomplete, resulting in a turnover on downs.

 The Eagles then put together an 11-play 61-yard drive into the early part of the fourth quarter capped off with an 11-yard touchdown pass to extend the Eagles’ lead to 33-13 with 11:55 left in regulation.

The teams exchanged punts on the next two possessions.

On Prior Lake’s next drive and with about 5 minutes left on the clock, the Lakers opted to go-for-it on fourth-and-4 at their own 28-yard line in a last-gasp effort to come back but Greenwood was sacked to force a turnover on downs and put the game out of reach.

Eden Prairie added a touchdown in the closing moments to reach the final score of 40-13.

Statistically, Greenwood finished 11 of 25 for 127 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also had six carries for 36 yards.

Eiter was the leading rusher with seven carries for 49 yards while Peterson had four carries for 30 yards.

Eiter was also the leading receiver with three catches for 49 yards and a touchdown. Loehlein had four catches for 24 yards and a touchdown. Mbinda had three catches for 27 yards.

Loehlein led Prior Lake in tackles with 14. Eiter had 11 tackles and cornerback Griffin Marshall had eight tackles.

 Next up: Minnetonka

The Lakers will have another tough test this week as they host the Minnetonka Skippers on Friday Sept. 20 at 7 p.m at Dan Patch Stadium.

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

Minnetonka defeated Prior Lake in a close game last year; a 17-16 Skippers win last year at Minnetonka High School.

Friday’s game will be Senior Night as well as Tackle Cancer Night.

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.

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 including knocking off then top-ranked Edina 35-28 last week in a game the Hornets once led 28-7. Minnetonka defeated White Bear Lake 34-10 in Week 1, Wayzata 28-14 in Week 2 and Edina 35-28 in Week 3.

Quarterback Caleb Francois leads the Minnetonka offense. Francois has found more success as a runner than as a passer so far this season with 53 carries for 427 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns. Through the air, Francois has completed 11 of 22 passes so far this season for 245 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Running backs Chase Conrad and Quinton Restrepo have shared time at running back so far this season for the Skippers. Conrad has 52 carries for 224 yards and three touchdowns while Restrepo has 30 carries for 108 yards.

Receivers Vincent May and Duke Richardson have been the top two targets through the air for Minnetonka. May has five catches for 113 yards and a touchdown while Richardson has five catches for 99 yards and a touchdown.

Notes

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

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 Minnetonka game and a preview of the matchup against Edina.

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