High Five: Eden Prairie vs. St. Michael-Albertville

In possibly the biggest regular-season game of the year, number two Eden Prairie hosted number three St. Michael-Albertville. With both teams coming into the game undefeated, I was expecting a close, hard-fought game. That is precisely what I got. Eden Prairie outscored the Knights 17-0 in the second half to complete a second-half comeback to win 24-14 and finish the regular season undefeated. Here are the players I felt stood out on Wednesday night. <strong>Noah Haeger G, Xavier Urena C, Anton Lang G Eden Prairie</strong> The Eagles’ offense looked out of sorts in the first half. Outside of the long touchdown pass early in the game, the Eden Prairie offense – especially the running game, a staple of Eden Prairie’s program - struggled to find consistency. In the second half, the coaching staff made some adjustments and started relying on the interior of the offensive line. Haeger, Urena, and Lang answered the bell, opening big holes right in the heart of the Knights’ defense. Those three athletes turned the tide of the game and helped the Eagles score 17 unanswered points. <strong>David Warren-Mitchell QB Eden Prairie</strong> It was a typical Eden Prairie quarterback performance. Warren-Mitchell didn’t put up great numbers, but he was efficient in throwing the ball. The balls he did complete made huge impacts on the game. He started the scoring with a perfect seam pass to <strong>Johnny Hartle</strong> for a 71-yard touchdown. Later, he rolled out and made a throw to the sidelines. With his legs, he made a run around the corner, made two guys miss, and picked up eight yards. On a third and ten, he scrambled for a first down. A well-thrown ball down the sidelines resulted in a touchdown to finish the scoring. He ended the game 4-9 for 115 yards and two touchdowns through the air while adding 52 yards on the ground. [player_tooltip player_id="18206" first="Connor" last="Reynolds"]<strong> Eden Prairie K/P/CB</strong> While his average wasn’t great, Reynolds kept the Eagles in the game in the first half. There was a bad snap on his first punt but was able to field the snap, run to the outside to get off a 20-yard punt that saved 40 yards of field position. He had to make a one-handed stab of a high snap to get a punt off on his second punt. Without his athletic leap, the Knights would have been inside the twenty. Reynolds kicked a 37-yard field goal, was 3-3 on extra points and kicked four touchbacks. At corner, he was part of a secondary that allowed only 93-yards through the air. He picked off a late pass to help seal the game. <strong>Javon Palmer-Pruitt Eden Prairie RB</strong> The main beneficiary of the Eagles’ interior line was Palmer-Pruitt. He did most of his damage in the second half. He made a tough run up the middle, breaking two tackles on the way to a 12 yard gain. Later, he bounced a run to the outside for a first down. The junior ran up the middle and broke a tackle for 19 yards. Possibly his biggest play of the game was a 4th and one he picked up in the fourth quarter. With the Eagles down 14-10, the junior was stuffed in the backfield but fought his way for two yards and a first down. On the next play, he scored on an eight-yard touchdown run. <strong>Jarrett Bennett RB/CB St. Michael-Albertville</strong> Bennett rushed for nearly 100 yards, showing cutback ability and the ability to break tackles. While he had a nice game on offense, his play on defense put him on this list. At corner, he lined up across from [player_tooltip player_id="18055" first="Cade" last="Kramer"], one of EP’s best offensive threats and our 37th ranked senior. Bennett was often on an island in one on one coverage. He defended two or three passes down the sidelines intended for Kramer. He only gave up two catches for 33 yards and one touchdown to one of the best receivers in the state. The touchdown he gave up, Bennett was in great position, Kramer just made an athletic play.