Turnovers can nullify talent.
St. Paul Academy/Minnehaha Academy/Blake (SMB Wolfpack) learned that Friday night in an agonizing 15-14 defeat to Fridley in overtime. It was the season opener for both teams.
"That was a heartbreaking loss, a gut punch," Wolfpack coach Chris Goodwin said. "Our defense gave us every chance to win that game."
That they did. The Wolfpack limited Fridley to 149 total yards and the lone touchdown it yielded came on a fourth-down play in overtime when the Tigers started at 10-yard line.
The offense struggled with consistency and miscues. The Wolfpack wound up turning the ball over five times (three interceptions and two fumbles). Three of the turnovers were in Fridley territory and another resulted in a touchdown on a 60-yard return by Kerome Thompson off a tipped pass.
"We had moments of greatness on offense," Goodwin said. "Then we would turn around and have a drive killer."
The Wolfpack tied it at eight-all with 4 minutes, 1 second remaining in the fourth quarter. Junior quarterback Merrick Woods connected with senior wide receiver Kobey Sandifer on a 38-yard touchdown pass and junior running back Landon Dillon added the two-point conversion run. Dillon also scored the overtime touchdown on a 9-yard run but was stopped just short of the goal line on the two-point conversion run.
"The kids played hard. It just didn't work out for us," Goodwin said. "I am very optimistic this season."