Edina rallies past Stillwater on the strength of Mason West’s three TD passes to Jabari Strader

Edina football coach Jason Potts lived through a scenario such as Thursday’s game against Stillwater once before.

His team blew a 21-point lead to Minnetonka in September, a game that offered hard lessons.

The Hornets applied what they learned in a 19-16 comeback victory against visiting Stillwater at Kuhlman Field next to the Edina Community Center.

“You never want to lose a game where you are ahead 21 points, but it was a great learning experience for us,” Potts said.

Two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter from Edina quarterback Mason West to receiver Jabari Strader produced the necessary points. The standout play featured Strader going up to snag a ball in the back corner of the end zone.

“Jabari had a fantastic night,” Potts said. “When that ball was in the air you thought, ‘There’s no way that pass is getting caught.’ But he went up and got it. That’s the type of kid he is.”

Stillwater (3-4) was led by senior Landon Huber, who booted three field goals for nine of his team’s 16 points as the Ponies led 16-6 through the third quarter. His kicks stood out on a night when Edina (5-2) struggled with two of its three point-after attempts.

“If you want to beat one of the best teams in the state, you have to find a way to make plays,” Stillwater coach Beau LaBore said. “They did and we didn’t.”

West and Stillwater’s Nick Kinsey are two of the top high school quarterback prospects in the state. Both tossed first-half touchdown passes. West launched majestic rainbows downfield such as his first-quarter TD pass to Strader while Kinsey benefitted from yards after the catch picked up by determined receivers such as Jack Runk.

West, scrambling to extend plays, found Strader two additional times in the fourth quarter to right Edina’s ship after the Hornets fell to Shakopee last week.

Count LaBore impressed.

“Their roster is loaded with explosive athletes,” Labore said. “Kicking three field goals caught up with us. We were wishing we could have executed a bit better to make it six points on a few of those drives instead of three.”