Hard Work Pays Off: Irondale @ Spring Lake Park

The Spring Lake Park Panthers smothered the visiting Irondale Knights 24-0 in a section 5AAAAA semifinal matchup Saturday afternoon that still proved to be an entertaining and physical game from start to finish. The #1 seeded Panthers got to work early as they received the opening kickoff of the ball game and proceeded to methodically pound the football down the field with their triple option attacking offense. The Panthers offense consisted of a heavy package that sometimes brought in a sixth lineman and almost always used the blocking abilities of stud TE Trey Toner (6'5, 235), who mauled people all day long and helped QB Zack Dunbar (6', 170) and the tough RB duo of Henry Dennis (5'11, 190) and Brian Orellana (5'10, 170) pick up huge chunks of yardage all day. Orellana found the end zone after a 34-yard handoff hit pay dirt on the opening drive of the game to make the score 7-0 in the middle of the first quarter. SLP's Brian Orellana After receiving the ball, Irondale found themselves with a long 3rd down but a great throw from 2021 QB Griffin Bourassa (6', 191) to is favorite WR Gabe Kasper (6'3, 190) picked up 20 for a first down. However, a flag brought the Knights back, and their drive stalled out. I believe that if Irondale wouldn't have been flagged on that 3rd down and their drive would have continued, this could have been a different ball game. Instead, the teams battled back and forth on defense for the rest of the first quarter which ended 7-0. In the 2nd, the Irondale defense seemed to be rising to the challenge of the demanding Spring Lake Park rushing attack. Irondale's hammer of a LB: 2021 Trent Taylor (6'2, 227) made the hit of the game on a third down stop wherein the junior hit the back in the hole so hard that the pop rang throughout the stadium as if the Panther fight song had been played over the loudspeakers. Northern Sun recruit Jakobe Bass (5'11, 182) made a nice PBU in the end zone on 4th down to give the ball back to the Knights, and Bourassa got the drive going early as he found Ignatius Ejiofor (6'4, 221) on a seam route that went for 33-yards and put Irondale in Panther territory. Irondale's Trent Taylor and Ignatius Ejiofor However, a big hit by Blaine Cooper (6'1, 175) on 1st, a great PBU by Joey Sorenson (5'6, 140) on 2nd, and a mistake in which the ball slipped out of the QB's hand on 3rd brought Irondale's kicker out on the field for a FG attempt to make the score 7-3. The ball sailed left however, and Spring Lake Park took over with the ball on the 20. They once again then marched methodically down the field for the rest of the 2nd quarter and capped the drive off with a TD run by Dennis with 59 seconds left in the half to make the score 14-0 in favor of the Panthers. As the last seconds ticked off of the scoreboard in the half, it in no way felt like the game was over and I had liked what I had seen from both teams thus far.  The 2nd half got off to a great start as Irondale received the ball to start the 2nd half. On that kickoff, SLP's Dennis made the most exciting play in the game in my opinion as he sprinted down the field, threw his 190 lb. frame into a Knight blocker, trucked him, did it to a second guy, and then smacked the returner to make the tackle. It was beastly to say the least. The teams traded punts on their ensuing offensive possessions and Irondale found themselves back with the ball late into the 3rd quarter. QB Bourassa got outside the pocket and took off down the right sideline before stepping out of bounds, but a Panther defender laid out the junior in what looked like a late hit. No flag was thrown, and Bourassa had to leave the game putting sophomore QB Conner Kraal (5'9, 153) straight into the fire. He was sacked and fumbled the ball later in the drive, and SLP capitalized on the turnover and scored on the first play of the 4h quarter to make the score 21-0. Irondale's Jakobe Bass Irondale fought hard the rest of the game, but with Bourassa out it was really hard to get anything going for the Knights on offense. A late FG by SLP's Raul Solorio (6', 190) put the Panthers up 24, but Irondale fought until the very last play and almost found the end zone with QB Kraal for the last drive of the game. Yet the game finished 24-0 in favor of Spring Lake Park, and they will host the #2 seeded Cooper Hawks in the section 5AAAAA championship next week with a trip to the state playoffs on the line. The Spring Lake Park Panthers are looking tough to beat right now. Hudl Recap: http://www.hudl.com/v/2CD6DM