Eagan wins third in a row, Stewartville’s defense lives up to nickname during packed weekend of high school football

Head coach Nick Johnson believes his Eagan squad can compete with any team in the state — when the Wildcats don’t make mistakes.

Eagan (3-1), the seventh-ranked team in Class 6A, won its third consecutive game on Thursday with a nail-biting 35-33 victory over ninth-ranked Lakeville South, sparked by 21 unanswered points in the second half.

It was Eagan’s first victory over the Cougars in a decade.

The win wasn’t without some tense moments in the waning minutes. The Cougars pulled within two when senior quarterback Gaven Dean scored on a 9-yard run with 2 minutes, 26 seconds remaining. On the two-point conversion attempt, Dean bootlegged left and was sandwiched just short of the goal line by seniors Adam Dorsey and Christian Langhorst.

Lakeville South recovered the onside kick, and after marching to the Wildcats’ 19-yard line, junior defensive back Grady Recer made a diving interception at the 7-yard line with 58 seconds remaining to preserve the victory.

“Our defense made a really big goal-line stand on the two-point conversion,” Eagan senior quarterback Brooklyn Evans said. “After a drowning onside kick, our defense made another big play. They came up big at the end.”

It was Evans who was providing big plays earlier. He capped the 21-point run with his third touchdown of the game on an 82-yard dash. He also scored on runs of 37 and 45 yards, finishing the night with 204 yards on 19 carries.

“I was able to be super productive because of the guys in front of me,” Evans said. “It takes all of us working together to be successful on offense.”

Said Johnson: “Our offensive line has come together. We have a few returners who have taken the first-year starters and shown them this is how we do things. They are a great groups of kids who come to work every day with a mentality they want to get better.”

In their season opener, the Wildcats dropped a 35-14 decision to fourth-ranked Edina after leading 14-13 at halftime.

“When we played Edina, we played a great first half,” Johnson said. “Then we started making mistakes in the second half. We learned that we are good enough to compete with anyone if we play our game and don’t make dumb mistakes. Since the Edina game we have played better, but we are still looking to play a complete game for four quarters.”

The Wildcats next play top-ranked and undefeated Lakeville North.

“We are going through the gauntlet of our schedule,” Evans said. “We have to come out and play with the same energy as we have the previous three games. This is a really important game for us.”

Stewartville has plenty of labels for different aspects of its program — Apex Predators, Iron Tiger and Gold Rush. Gold Rush is the name of the Tigers’ defensive unit.

It’s very fitting.

The No. 1-ranked Class 3A defending state champions (4-0) are only allowing three points per game this season. They have shutout eight of their last 18 opponents while yielding 4.8 points per game during that span. On Friday, the Tigers held Pine Island (3-1) to 98 yards of total offense and forced five turnovers — four interceptions and a fumble — in a 19-0 victory.

“We emphasize flying around and finishing at the ball,” Tigers defensive coordinator Alex Hain said. “We do a lot of work with block destruction, tracking, and tackling. We have great team speed and athleticism at all levels of the defense, and each level complements the other levels well.”

Junior linebacker Isaac Spencer has a team-leading 20 tackles, senior linebacker Justice Deno has five tackles for loss, senior defensive linemen Lincoln Dube and Graysen Schneider each have three sacks, and senior defensive back Parker Wangen has three of the Tigers’ nine interceptions.

“We focus on high performance and what it takes to be able to execute at a high level on Friday nights,” Stewartville head coach Garrett Mueller said. “I could not be more proud of our players and coaching staff for the job they’ve done building one of the top defenses in the state.”

Inside the numbers

2: Punt returns for touchdowns for Columbia Heights senior Julian Manjo in the first quarter of the Hylanders’ 48-6 victory over Twin Cities Charter. Manjo scored on 41- and 72-yard returns.

6: Touchdowns Edina junior Mason West accounted for in the Hornets’ 48-21 triumph over Wayzata. West threw five touchdown passes, three to senior wide receiver Meyer Swinney, and ran for another. He has 15 touchdown passes on the season for the Class 6A, No. 4 Hornets (3-1).

8: Sacks Kingsland senior defensive end Parker Johnson has through the first four weeks of the season.

14: Seconds remaining when senior running back Isaiah Beale scored on a 1-yard run, giving Rochester Mayo a 17-14 victory over Rosemount.

88: Points Nine-Player, No. 2 Mountain Iron-Buhl (4-0) scored in a 88-6 victory over winless Cass Lake-Bena (0-4).

115: Yards Spring Grove senior quarterback Bryce Berns covered on consecutive carries for touchdowns. Berns scored on runs of 35 and 80 yards for the Nine-Player, No. 8 Lions (4-0) in a 42-6 triumph over Lanesboro. He finished with 167 yards rushing on just six totes.

119: Number of rushing attempts for Lakeville North senior workhorse Sam Ripplinger during the first four weeks of the season. He has rushed for 623 yards and eight touchdowns for the Panthers.

373: Passing yards Moorhead sophomore quarterback Jett Feeney threw in a 50-15 victory over Brainerd. He completed 26-of-36 passes with six touchdowns for the Class 5A, No. 3 Spuds (4-0).

993: Total yards Cam Hungerholt, senior quarterback for LeRoy-Ostrander/Lyle-Pacelli, has recorded the past two weeks. On Friday in a 48-34 victory over Houston for the Nine-Player, No. 7 Cardinals (4-0), he rushed for 268 yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns while completing 7-of-14 passes for 140 yards and two scores.

“He swings for the fences. He’s going to hit a home run. How can we limit that? Can we then counter with some base hits [and] slow the game down a little bit, keep our offense on the field running the clock and not making mistakes? But we failed to do that.” — Duluth East coach Blane Tetreault after watching Duluth Denfeld senior running back Taye Manns rush for over 200 yards and three touchdowns in the Hunters’ 48-14 victory. Manns has rushed for nearly 800 yards and 16 touchdowns on the season.