Eagles fly past Prior Lake and land on winning track

There was just one factor the Eden Prairie Eagles had been wanting ahead to extra this week than the intense lights of Friday evening.

That may be the intense lights of Thursday evening.

A Thursday kickoff meant one much less day of ready for a crew wanting to get again on the sector. The No. 7-ranked Eagles needed nothing greater than to erase the reminiscence of final week’s uncharacteristically lopsided loss to then No. 2 Edina.

The Eagles responded to that setback six nights later with an impressed efficiency towards Prior Lake, securing a 40-13 victory of their dwelling opener at Aerie Stadium.

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The casual ballot taken after the win indicated most, if not all, of Mike Grant’s gamers had been grateful for the possibility to get again within the win column one evening earlier. However for the coach, it meant one much less day of preparation and training.

“A 3-day week just isn’t best, since you’re nonetheless educating, you’re nonetheless making an attempt to study, you’re nonetheless getting higher,” Grant stated. “And so the brief week was robust, however it will likely be good to be in a standard week subsequent week.”

For gamers like senior linebacker James Anderson, who posted three solo tackles and two assisted tackles within the sport, Thursday couldn’t come quickly sufficient. 

“We had been able to play in all probability three days in the past. So, yeah, we had been able to be again,” he stated. “We’ve been prepared, and we’ve been wanting ahead to this sport.”

The Eagles picked up their second win of the season by doing what they do greatest: enjoying cussed protection and controlling the ball with a punishing working sport.

Junior quarterback Jackson Bakkum, who accomplished 5 of 10 passes for 64 yards with one landing and no interceptions, stated the crew made good use of their observe time to get again on observe.

“This week was centered. Focus, focus, focus. You understand, get each element down; get it carried out,” Bakkum stated. “We all know to have a brief reminiscence and study from our errors. Tidy up and get it going.”

The Eden Prairie offensive line actually stored the working lanes tidy, dominating the purpose of assault for senior working backs Jeremy Frederick and Elijah Rumph, resulting in 306 speeding yards within the sport. 

“I believed our offensive line got here off the ball,” Grant stated. “We managed the road of scrimmage. We didn’t punt till late within the sport down there. So, I believed they performed nice tonight.”

The road paved the way in which for Rumph, who led the Eagles with 155 yards on 23 carries and one landing within the second quarter. Fredericks churned up 83 yards on 15 carries and a pair of touchdowns.

“We stated it final week, it’s the way you reply,” junior guard Ethan Sather stated. 

Sather gave his fellow offensive linemen a spirited pep speak instantly after the Edina loss final Friday. His phrases had an influence, because the Eden Prairie offense managed the ball with staggering effectivity, holding onto possession for 33:59 to Prior Lake’s 14:01.

The Eagles recorded 27 first downs, changing on 10 of 14 third-down performs and an ideal 3-for-3 on fourth down.

“Clearly, it began in observe. Monday, we received there, we put within the work. We labored on getting low, we labored on the basics. We hit this sled for a very long time,” Sather stated. “We had been drained, nevertheless it’s the way you reply.”

Regardless of the possession benefit, Eden Prairie solely led 7-0 on the finish of the primary quarter following Fredericks’ 4-yard landing run.

The Eagles went up 14-0 with a misdirection play, handing the ball off to 6-foot-2, 250-pound nostril guard Gavin Walden, who waltzed in from 3 yards out.

The play capped off a 15-play, 83-yard drive that burned 8:47 off the clock.

Prior Lake managed to reply, scoring twice within the first half, and the Eagles held a 20-13 lead at halftime.

“At first, we had issues,” junior sort out Jake Gau stated. “At halftime, we found out our issues. We found out go towards their protection, and we had our mindset proper.”

Eden Prairie wasted no time taking again momentum in the beginning of the third quarter.

Senior security Max Kukla intercepted Prior Lake quarterback Myles Greenwood on the second play of the third quarter.

“Clearly, we type of had a troublesome finish to the primary half,” Kukla stated. “So to have the ability to get going like that, put the offense in a very good place for them to go down and rating, undoubtedly an enormous momentum.”

The play was a defining second within the sport, because the Eagles’ offense took full benefit of the brief discipline.

Fredericks transformed on a 3rd down scenario with a 13-yard run to the Prior Lake 1-yard line. He plunged in on the following play for his second landing of the sport. 

“It was type of the proper feeling to return out and have a giant cease to start out,” Kukla stated. “Then we simply stored stopping, and I don’t suppose they scored within the second half.”

Eden Prairie’s protection held Prior Lake scoreless all through the second half, bending however not breaking whereas giving up 251 yards of complete offense.

Extra importantly, the Eagles’ protection held the Lakers to simply 1-of-8 on third-down conversions, making key stops all through the second half.

“That they had that one swing play with the working again that was killing us,” Anderson admitted after the sport. “At halftime, we adjusted it, and I believe that had a huge impact on the second half.”

Bakkum discovered junior receiver Cooper Fahning from 11 yards out in the beginning of the fourth quarter, giving the Eagles a 33-13 benefit.

Senior working again Santosh Bommareddy scored on an 18-yard run with 2:23 remaining to cap the scoring.

The ultimate rating of 40-13 put the ending touches on the six-day purge of any remnants from the previous week.

The Eagles, in the meantime, stay up for an extended week as an opportunity to relaxation and put together for his or her subsequent problem at Shakopee this Friday evening.

“I do know they’re large. I do know they’re bodily,” Kukla stated. “They’ve received a giant O-line that they run behind. I do know they’ve received a couple of good working backs, their quarterback is sweet, so it’s undoubtedly going to be a battle.”

As Grant usually factors out, the competitors on the Eden Prairie schedule leaves no time for complacency. Each week incorporates a staunch opponent in Class 6A.

“We’ll watch movie on them,” Grant stated, wanting forward. “Typical Shakopee crew, they’ve received velocity. They’ve received good athletes. They’re a very good crew.”

Shakopee is ranked sixth with a 3-0 report and is coming off a 17-7 win over Wayzata.

“Good crew. We’re at all times enjoying good groups,” Bakkum stated. “We’re Eden Prairie. We gotta win.”