Week #7 Recap: Woodbury
Running back Levi Eiter rushed for three touchdowns and a two-point conversion as the Prior Lake Lakers defeated the Woodbury Royals 52-18 on Oct. 11 at Woodbury High School.
The win for the Lakers (3-4 Overall, 1-4 Metro West) is the fourth straight win for Prior Lake over the Royals (2-5 Overall, 1-4 Metro East), dating back to the 2012 playoffs.
Prior Lake scored first against Woodbury when Eiter took the ball on a toss play to the left, followed a block from lineman Ethan Beckman and took off down the sideline and into the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown. Kicker Mason Storlie’s extra point gave the Lakers a 7-0 lead with 8:29 left in the first quarter.
Woodbury would answer with a 12-play 80-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by the quarterback. The Royals opted to go for two but the try was unsuccessful and kept the Prior Lake lead at 7-6 with 2:36 left in the first quarter,
The Lakers struck back quickly on the next drive when Eiter took a handoff to the left from quarterback Myles Greenwood and sprinted through the hole created by the offensive line and all the way to the end zone for a 68-yard touchdown. Storlie added the extra point to make the score 14-6 Lakers with 1:10 left in the first quarter.
The Royals opted to go-for-it on fourth down from their own 42-yard line on the next drive in the early moments of the second quarter but good coverage from cornerback Luke Loehlein and safety Cole Brinkman broke up the pass attempt and forced a turnover on downs.
On the ensuing Prior Lake drive, facing first-and-10 from the Woodbury 17-yard line, Greenwood dropped back and threw to Gunderson in the end zone on a fade route. Gunderson juggled the ball but ultimately came down with the ball for the touchdown. Eiter then ran in a two-point attempt to increase the Laker lead to 22-6 with 8:19 left in the second quarter.
After the Lakers forced a three-and-out on the next drive, Loehlein fielded the ensuing punt at his own 43-yard line, sprinted to his left, broke a tackle near the 20-yard line and scampered into the end zone for a punt return touchdown. Storlie’s extra point increased the lead to 29-6 with 5:57 left in the half.
Woodbury would answer with an 8-play 66-yard touchdown drive that was finished off with a 19-yard touchdown run. The two-point attempt was no good as the Lakers led 29-12 with 2:20 left in the half.
Prior Lake would add to the lead in the closing seconds of the first half with a 13-play 68-yard drive capped off by an incredible touchdown catch by Gunderson where he hauled in a back-shoulder throw from Greenwood near the pylon for the 12-yard score with just 5 seconds left in the half. Storlie’s extra point made the score 36-12 at halftime.
The Lakers got the ball to start the second half and Eiter scored on the exact same toss play as the first touchdown, where he followed a great block from Beckman and raced into the end zone for a 37-yard touchdown. Storlie kicked the extra point to increase the Prior Lake lead to 43-12 with 9 minutes left in the third quarter.
Woodbury advanced the ball into Laker territory on the next drive but a sack by linebacker Jackson Koenig and a fourth down pass breakup by Loehlein ultimately gave the ball back to the Lakers on downs.
Prior Lake put the game away on the next drive. Backup quarterback Drew Brinkman entered the game and connected with running back Brady Hallberg on a swing pass for a 24-yard gain and advanced the ball into the red zone. A few plays later, Drew Brinkman threw to his right to receiver Aiden Mbinda who caught the ball near the 5-yard line and dragged a Woodbury defender into the end zone for the touchdown. Storlie’s extra point made the score 50-12 with 3:08 left in the fourth quarter.
Due to the lopsided score, the officials went to “running time” and the clock didn’t stop in the fourth quarter.
Prior Lake gained two more points in the fourth quarter after the snap on a Woodbury punt sailed over the punter’s head and out the back of the end zone for a safety.
Woodbury also scored a touchdown in the closing seconds to reach the 52-18 final score.
Statistically, Greenwood completed 7 of 10 passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns. Drew Brinkman completed 3 of 5 passes for 53 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Eiter rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries.
Mbinda was the leading receiver with five catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. Gunderson had three catches for 38 yards and two touchdowns.
Koenig was the leading tackler with 10 tackles. Linebacker Dylan Hawley had 7 tackles.
Storlie went 6 for 6 on extra points and had five touchbacks on kickoffs.
Week #8 Preview: Buffalo
The Prior Lake Lakers will close out the regular season on Thursday October 17 at 1pm when they host the Buffalo Bison at Dan Patch Stadium.
It will likely be Prior Lake’s final home game of the season as the Lakers are expected to be a #5 seed and open the playoffs on the road.
The Lakers and Bison met last year in the regular season finale, a 39-6 Prior Lake win at Buffalo High School.
The last time Prior Lake and Buffalo met at Dan Patch Stadium was in the first round of the 2018 playoffs, a wild 52-42 shootout win for the Lakers. That Buffalo team featured star quarterback Aidan Bouman and star receiver Treyton Welch. Bowman, son of former Buffalo coach and Vikings QB Todd Bouman, is now the starter at the University of South Dakota. Welch is currently on the New Orleans Saints roster in the NFL.
This season, Buffalo (5-2 Overall, 5-0 Metro Maroon), is led by second-year head coach Jackson Litterer. The Bison went undefeated in the Metro Maroon District this season. Buffalo lost to Minnetonka last week 40-7 and to Eden Prairie 40-6 in Week 1 but sandwiched five wins in the middle of the season against Metro Maroon foes. Buffalo beat Hopkins 37-20, Park 28-17, Eastview 34-7, Roseville 24-7 and Burnsville 38-12.
The Bison’s spread-style offense is led by quarterback Grant Benson. Benson has completed 47 of 90 passes for 571 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions.
Running back Noah Wittke is Buffalo’s top playmaker. Wittke has rushed for 725 yards and eight touchdowns so far this season. Benson and running back Landon Carrell also contribute to the rushing attack. Benson has five rushing touchdowns.
Receivers Matthew Jordan and Hendrix Gatz are the leading targets for the Bison passing game. Jordan has 14 catches for 189 yards while Gatz has 13 catches for 156 yards and a touchdown.
Playoff Seeding
Playoff brackets will be announced on Friday October 18 at 10am during the Class 6A Selection Show on Randy Shaver’s Prep Football Podcast on YouTube at the following link. https://www.youtube.com/@ShaversPrepFootballPodcast
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 18. The first round of playoffs will be on Friday October 25 and played at the high seed.
Notes
Kickoff at Dan Patch Stadium on Thursday is scheduled for 1pm.
It is Prior Lake’s final regular season game.
PL Lakers Live will be streaming the game this week 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 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.
Photo by Taylor Smith