Friday Night Lights: Mankato East vs. Mankato West Recap

Tonight I was fortunate to cover one of Minnesota’s most heated and respected rivalries as the Mankato West Scarlett vs. the Mankato East Cougars dueled in what was their 48th total matchup. The game did not disappoint, and what began as a defensive showdown for almost the whole first half turned into a passing contest that ended up favoring the West Scarlett, and they took advantage of a few big aerial attacks that solidified a 20-0 victory for Mankato West. Despite the shoutout, Mankato East’s offense was humming, and there was never a dull moment in the game. For a more detailed recap of the Mankato showdown, all you have to do is scroll below! Thanks for reading.

After Mankato West received the opening kickoff the defensive battles took the forefront as East’s best player in senior OL Eli Olson Eli Olson 6'5" | OL Mankato East | 2021 State MN recorded a booming sack to start the game off right for the Cougars. However, West’s 2022 QB Zander Dittbener responded with a dart of a throw on a slant route to 2022 WR Mekhi Collins Mekhi Collins 6'4" | 205 lbs | WR Mankato West | 2022 State MN to erase the loss from the sack and move the chains for West. The drive ended up fizzling out, but that connection of Dittbener to Collins would remain a productive one for the remainder of the game. East had a 2022 stud QB of their own though, as Jacob Eggert Jacob Eggert 6'1" | 195 lbs | QB Mankato East | 2022 State MN led the Cougars to their own promising first drive as big runs from Ethan Sundermeyer and Gus Gartzke Gus Gartzke 5'9" | 185 lbs | LB Mankato-East | 2022 State MN both picked up first downs on runs of 10+ to get into West territory. Mankato East kept the running game going on their first drive, using a strong push led by Olson to power Gartzke for a fourth down conversion to keep the drive alive. Eggert then got the passing game going, along with his incredible pocket awareness and mobility, and found 2022 standout WR Puolrah Gong to get inside the redzone, and East was knocking at the endzone’s door on their first offensive drive. However, their first series inside the 20 started off with a tough first down as West’s Ryan Haley Ryan Haley 6'0" | 205 lbs | LB Mankato-West | 2022 State MN made a big TFL in the backfield, and as the first 12 minutes expired East was facing a 4th down deep near West’s endzone. END OF ONE: Mankato West 0, Mankato East 0

East attempted a pass on that 4th down, and Eggert threw a nice ball, but it was broken up in the endzone by West’s Max Goertzen. Scarlett ball. Things were looking good as West’s offense took back over, but on third down Gong located and snagged a low-thrown Scarlett pass attempt and intercepted the ball to give the Cougars a new chance to score deep in West territory. West’s aggressive defense once again responded though, and East faced yet another fourth down on their first series since getting the ball back. Although Eggert is masterful at escaping the rush, he could not get away from Haley on that 4th down pass attempt and was sacked to give West the ball back once again. The two sides traded possessions, and with more than half of the second quarter gone West finally opened up the scoring as Dittbenner found a streaking Collins up the left sideline for a 33-yard TD that put the Scarlett up 6-0 after the 2pt conversion failed. After stopping East again, the Scarlett marched down the field with some huge completions to Goertzen and Collins to set up another passing TD as Dittbenner found Buom Jock for a TD on a slant route inside the redzone. West successfully converted this 2pt attempt, and went into halftime with a 14-0 lead over their crosstown rivals. END OF TWO: Mankato West 14, Mankato East 0

The hits got harder in the second half, and West’s defense came out aggressively as East received the second half kickoff and Owen Johnson Owen Johnson 6'0" | ATH Mankato West | 2021 State MN laid the wood on East’s returner. Scarlett DL Tanner Shumski cranked a Cougar ballcarrier to follow it up on 2nd down, and after a 3rd down incompletion East had to punt. The two sides again traded possessions that saw big hits from Haley at LB for West and Tanner Borchardt at DL for East. West ended up with the ball again near the end of the 3rd, and the Scarlett did a good job of setting up their pass game with the run as Johnson exploded for a couple nice gains between the tackles and a short while later Dittbenner found Collins on another fade route that he caught in the endzone for another six points. The 2pt conversion was no good, and the score stood at 20-0 as East took over to end the third quarter. END OF THREE: Mankato West 20, Mankato East 0

The Mankato East Cougars put up a valiant fight, but unfortunately it wasn’t in the cards for them tonight. They couldn’t put a complete offensive drive together in the 4th quarter, but their defense held tough as West continued to apply pressure with their rushing and passing attacks. Although they couldn’t find the endzone, Eggert absolutely blew my mind with his shiftiness and elusiveness in and outside the pocket, and his RB Gartzke and WR Gong continued to make plays when they got the ball in their hands. Their best play of the night came near the end of the game as Eggert hit Nathan Drumm on a wheel route out of the backfield that went for 70+, but alas West’s defense remained unrelenting and East couldn’t get in for six. Another player who caught my eye – especially in the fourth quarter – was 6’3, 220 lbs. 2022 West DL Gannon Rosenfeld, who was almost unblockable at times and made a ton of plays as a pass-rusher and in run support. As the final whistle blew in Mankato and the echoes of West’s student section victorious chants overtook the livestream, the score finished at Mankato West 20, Mankato East 0.