St. Anthony Village stays undefeated, sets up showdown next week
Once the St. Anthony Village Huskies stopped the Richfield Spartans' first drive inside the Huskies' ten-yard line, the undefeated Huskies didn't look back. They would drive the ball the length of the field – 93 yards – for the touchdown and didn't stop scoring. With their junior varsity playing out the string, the Huskies got a 56-27 road victory over Richfield, setting up a showdown with the undefeated Fridley Tigers next week.
The Huskies' offensive line dominated from the opening drive. Shden Mikael, Jackson Mack, Patrick Lavin, Ryan Ballot and Rhett Olson opened huge running lanes for running back Jonathan Kieren and kept a clean pocket for quarterback Josh Cary. One of those clean pockets allowed Cary to throw to wide receiver Troy Ellison for a forty-yard gain. Ellison would force a pass interference call to get the ball inside the ten-yard line, and Kieren would score the first of numerous touchdowns for the senior.
After forcing a punt, the St. Anthony Village offense kept right ongoing. Cary threw a short slant pass to Ellison. Ellison didn't have to break stride; he sprinted untouched across the field to the opposite pylon for a touchdown and a 15-0 lead.
The Huskies' offense and the offensive line continued to roll making it three possessions and three touchdowns. Kieren scored again – this time from thirteen yards out.
Richfield would cut into the lead with a Ryan Miles to Mitchell January touchdown pass. However, on the following kickoff, Ellison got some great blocking, made one quick cut, and made the score 29-7.
After an interception by the Huskies' Owen Martin, Kieren wasted very little time putting the game away. His third touchdown of the first half gave the Huskies a commanding 36-7 lead.
"Our offensive line did a great job," Kieren said. "They came out and worked hard. This summer our offensive line was putting in work, and today those holes were opening for me. They are animals."
Mack stuffed an inside run for the Huskies and with the hit, he forced a fumble that St. Anthony Village would recover. The interior of the defensive line would force a second fumble on the Spartans' next possession. The Huskies would go into the locker room with a 36-7 lead.
Miles and January would hook up again for the Spartans' second touchdown. The 73-yard touchdown catch and run temporarily gave the Spartans hope they might be able to get back into the game. St. Anthony Village made sure that hope lasted about five minutes. The offensive line continued to win the line of scrimmage and Kieren did the rest with a 77-yard touchdown run.
Kieren and January would trade long touchdowns to finish out the third quarter. Kieren's touchdown would be a 40-yard run and January would answer back with a 78-yard touchdown catch.
With backups finishing out the game, St. Anthony Village would wrap up the victory setting up a showdown next week when they travel to face fellow undefeated Fridley on Friday night. Richfield (1-3) will travel to face Mound Westonka.
