Week #4 Recap: Minnetonka

The Minnetonka Skippers scored on all three of their second half possessions as they rolled to a 28-7 win over the Prior Lake Lakers Sept. 20 at Dan Patch Stadium.

The third-ranked Skippers (4-0 Overall, 3-0 Metro West) are the third of four straight top 10 opponents that the Lakers (1-3 Overall, 0-3 Metro West) are expected to face.

The Lakers started with the ball and there was excitement three plays in when Prior Lake opted to go for it on fourth down at their own 33-yard line. Running back Levi Eiter picked up the first down by a matter of inches on a run to the left but moved the chains. However, the drive stalled after that and Prior Lake had to punt.

Minnetonka drove down the field on the ensuing possession but the drive ultimately stalled near the Prior Lake 25-yard line when the Laker defense forced an incompletion on fourth-and-12.

The teams then exchanged punts on the next few possessions as it remained scoreless into the early part of the second quarter.

The Skippers then had a 14-play drive in which they marched down to the Prior Lake 14-yard line but the Prior Lake defense made another stop when linebacker Jackson Didion sacked the Minnetonka quarterback in the backfield to end the threat.

Prior Lake picked up a first down on the ensuing drive on a defensive pass interference penalty but ultimately had to punt after an offensive holding penalty stalled the drive.

Minnetonka then went on a nine-play 55-yard drive. On the eighth play of the drive, Prior Lake safety Cole Brinkman intercepted a pass from Minnetonka quarterback Caleb Francois in the end zone, however, the Lakers were called for defensive holding on the play which nullified the interception and kept the drive alive. Francois scrambled into the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown on the very next play and the Skippers took a 7-0 lead with 1:02 left in the second quarter.

The Skippers led 7-0 at halftime.

Minnetonka received the second half kickoff and took advantage with a 13-play 80-yard touchdown drive. The key play was a scramble from Francois on third-and-9 at the Skippers' 44-yard line where he dropped back to pass, couldn’t find anyone open but took off and ran for 18 yards and a first down. Later in the drive, Francois scored on a 10-yard touchdown run to give the Skippers a 14-0 lead with 6:37 left in the third quarter.

Prior Lake’s offense finally got going on the next drive. Facing first-and-10 at the Lakers' 25-yard line, Prior Lake quarterback Myles Greenwood dropped back and threw the ball to his right on a wheel route to receiver Aiden Mbinda, who caught the ball in stride and was tackled after a 45-yard gain. Two plays later, Greenwood connected with Eiter on the same wheel route for a 30-yard touchdown. Storlie’s extra point made the score 14-7 with 4:26 left in the third quarter.

A strange situation transpired on the next drive when it looked like the Lakers had forced and recovered a fumble near midfield; however, the officials deemed an inadvertent whistle had been blown which gave the ball back to the Skippers. A few plays later, Francois broke off a 40-yard run and was brought down near the goal line. Francois scored on the next play to extend Minnetonka’s lead to 21-7 with 1:13 left in the third quarter.

Minnetonka led 21-7 after three quarters.

Prior Lake looked like it may answer on the next drive after a 36-yard catch and run from Greenwood to receiver Luke Loehlein advanced the ball into the Minnetonka red zone. However, facing fourth-and-goal at the 6-yard line, Greenwood threw to his right toward Eiter on the same wheel route as earlier in the game but the pass was intercepted and returned out near midfield with 9:01 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Skippers then put together an 11-play drive to essentially end the game, capped off with a 10-yard TD pass to reach what would be the final score of 28-7.

Statistically, Greenwood completed 11 of 17 passes for 151 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

Eiter had five catches for 40 yards and a touchdown. Mbinda had three catches for 72 yards. Loehlein had three catches for 39 yards.

Linebacker Dylan Hawley was the leading tackler with 13 tackles. Linebacker Sean Nadeau had 11 tackles. Loehlein and safety Kai Greene each had nine tackles. Linebacker Jackson Koenig and cornerback Griffin Marshall each had eight tackles.

Week #5 Preview: Edina

The Lakers will travel to Edina to take on the Hornets at Kuhlman Stadium Sept. 27 at 7pm.

The matchup is Edina’s homecoming game.

The two teams met in Week 5 of the 2023 season, a 33-26 Edina win at Dan Patch Stadium; a game in which Prior Lake led early but the Hornets stormed back following a weather delay. That win for the Hornets was the start of an eight-game winning streak that ended with a loss to Centennial in the state championship game.

Edina has started the 2024 season with high expectations. The Hornets are currently ranked fourth in Class 6A and had been ranked as high as #1 before a loss to Minnetonka. Edina beat Eagan 35-14 in Week 1 and Eden Prairie 35-14 in Week 2 before falling to Minnetonka 35-28 in Week 3 and rebounding to beat Wayzata 48-21 last week.

The result of the game may be important for seeding down the road as both teams reside in Section 6AAAAAA.

The Hornets (3-1 Overall, 2-1 Metro West) are led by 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 leads the Hornets’ offense with 65 completions on 86 attempts for 976 yards, 15 touchdowns and one interception. West has a number of FBS offers and is considered one of the top quarterbacks in Minnesota.

Meyer Swinney, a Cal commit, is West’s top receiving target. Swinney has 29 catches for 470 yards and seven touchdowns so far this season. Trillion Sorrell and Benilde-St. Margaret’s transfer Jabari Strader are two other talented receivers.  Sorell has 11 catches for 221 yards and three touchdowns. Strader has 12 catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Jake Bock also gets involved in the passing attack and has 5 catches for 109 yards and a three touchdowns.

While they have primarily scored through the air, the Hornets have a rushing attack as well. Running back Chase Bjorgaard has 76 carries for 390 yards and four touchdowns.

Notes

Kickoff at Kuhlman Stadium on Friday is scheduled for 7pm.

Edina will be streaming the game at the following link (Note: There is a fee to watch):

https://app.staylive.io/edinasportshub/livestream/s-edina-prior-lake-varsity-footaball-6kpfs

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.