Chaska coach Bryan Dahl doesn’t mind putting senior kicker Quinn Meyer in pressure situations, especially against St. Thomas Academy.
Meyer booted a 42-yard field goal as time expired Wednesday, giving the Hawks a 24-21 come-from-behind victory over the Cadets at Gerry Brown Stadium in Mendota Heights.
Last season, Meyer booted a 37-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining in regulation to give Chaska a 35-34 win over the Cadets in overtime.
“It was another close, hard-fought game, as they always are when we play St. Thomas Academy,” Dahl said.
Chaska (4-4) scored 10 points in the final five minutes and pulled even at 21-21 when senior running back Morgen Engeman scored on a 2-yard run. The Hawks got the ball back on their 49-yard line with 1 minute, 47 seconds remaining.
“We were trying to move the ball to around the 30-yard line to have a kick to win the game,” Dahl said. “Our offense was able to get the ball down to the 25-yard line and run the clock down to two seconds. Our team has a lot of confidence in our kicking game, and Quinn has a big leg. He put a great kick on the ball to win the game.”
Chaska scored on all four of its second-half possessions after the Cadets (5-3) took a 14-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
‘They dominated the first half,” Dahl said. “We talked to our guys at halftime about needing to play with more energy and just compete. We were able to get an interception to start the second half and score a couple plays later. That gave us life and jump-started our energy. Our offense did a great job in the second half.”