Rivalry Game: Southwest vs. Washburn Recap/Players of the Game

Growing up in Southwest Minneapolis the rivalry between the Southwest Lakers and the Washburn Millers was a big deal. The feud seeped into many aspects of high school life at both schools, as many students at both Southwest and Washburn grow up in the same neighborhoods, going to the same elementary schools, and played park board sports together as children. Back when I was in middle school in Minneapolis, 8th graders were allowed to tour between 1-3 high schools before choosing where they wanted to attend, and many kids in South Minneapolis ended up deciding between Southwest and Washburn, leading to a lot of familiarity between students at both schools. The same closeness extended to each football program, and for a long time the Washburn Millers absolutely owned the rivalry - to the tune of 29 straight victories over the Lakers. It got to the point where it barely even continued to constitute a rivalry, but the games still remained competitive, and the contest brought out the best in both sides. My senior year - the 2012-13 football season - I captained the most talented Lakers squad in those 30 years, and we found ourselves undefeated heading the 2.6 miles down the road to face an also undefeated Miller team led by 612 heavyweight recruits Jeff Jones, Raymonte Maynard, Jamison Whiting, and Noah Scarver. It was by far the craziest game of my football career, and Washburn ended up scoring a go-ahead TD pass to Scarver near the end of the 4th to ultimately crush the dream that us Lakers had went to bed dreaming about since our freshman years and win 19-18. Two years later, the Lakers finally snapped the losing streak in a dramatic 14-13 victory at Washburn’s field. Since then the rivalry has been more back-and-forth, and preceding last Friday’s "Southside Showdown" Southwest had earned three straight victory over their cross-town adversary. The 2020 edition of the contest lived up to all the hype of the rivalry, and the two sides battled for 48 minutes in Southwest Minneapolis in what resulted in an exciting 17-14 victory for Southwest to lengthen their win streak to four straight over Washburn. In this free PrepRedzoneMN recap, find out what happened in the game, and keep scrolling to find out who earned my Player of the Game awards. Thanks for reading! Recap  The game really got going two minutes into the first quarter as the state’s leader in interceptions - Southwest’s  Jaden Reed Jaden Reed WR Minneapolis South | 2021 State MN  - picked off what was then his fifth INT on the year to halt Washburn’s opening drive and give the Lakers the ball near midfield. Using a heavy dose of 210 lb. RB/LB  Nick Flaskamp Nick Flaskamp LB Minneapolis South | 2021 State MN , the Lakers stormed down into the 10 of Washburn. However, the state’s leading tackler in Washburn’s  Nyle Dickel Nyle Dickel LB Minneapolis Washburn | 2021 State MN  helped the Miller’s defense to hold tight and force a turnover on downs thanks to four straight impressive defensive stands. Washburn took back over on offense, but eventually had to punt, and Southwest was facing a big 4th and 1 as the first quarter expired with the score standing at Southwest 0, Washburn 0 The second quarter saw some tough running from Flaskamp and Washburn’s 220 lb. RB Ramon Lee, but neither side could get a complete drive going and traded punts throughout the first half of the second quarter. It wasn’t until a deep bomb to Reed by junior QB Preston Engen that one side finally found the scoreboard, and Southwest took the lead 7-0 with 4:50 left in the half thanks to Reed’s beautiful snag in the endzone. Washburn could not get their dangerous passing attack going on the ensuing drive, and Southwest got the ball back with barely any more time having ticked off the clock. The Lakers used Flaskamp to get themselves in field goal position, and K Landon Ramos made the 25+ yard FG to take a 10-0 lead with less than a couple minutes remaining in the first half. This is where things got interesting though, as Washburn’s Jamar Nelson took the following kick return 85 yards to the HOUSE on an exciting and impressive KOR that got the Millers right back into the football game and with momentum going into the half. The first half ended with the score standing at Southwest 10, Washburn 7. The Lakers were also set to receive the second half kickoff. Southwest came out of the half fired up, and although the two teams traded punts to begin the third quarter, the Lakers got back going on offense on their second drive of the game and used some strong Flaskamp runs and a nice completion from Engen to DB/WR  Marcus Mattox Marcus Mattox DB Minneapolis South | 2021 State MN  to get inside Washburn territory, where Flaskamp exploded up the middle for a 35-yard TD run and a 17-7 Laker lead with 4:45 left in the third quarter. Southwest then recovered a beautifully called onside kick and attempted another FG, but it was unsuccessful and Washburn found themselves with the ball and driving as the third quarter ended. The score remained at Southwest 17, Washburn 7 It was two offensive possessions later that Washburn finally put together their best drive of the game, and used some nice completions from Miller QB  Andrew Gotziaman Andrew Gotziaman QB Minneapolis Washburn | 2021 State MN  to stud WR  Jamarien Wheeler Jamarien Wheeler 6'2" | WR Minneapolis Washburn | 2021 State MN  and some tough running from Lee to set up a pretty Gotziaman to Wheeler TD catch that got the Millers back in the ball game. With 7:43 left in the fourth the score stood at Southwest 17, Washburn 14. The end of the game got crazy, as Reed picked off another pass, Dickel made a couple big TFLs to get Washburn the ball with the final possession of the ball game with 3:06 left in the game, but the comeback could not be completed and Washburn could not string together enough completions to keep moving down the field. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Southwest had won their fourth straight "Southside Showdown" 17-14, and the celebration was on big time. Scroll below to check out who won the Players of the Game! Players of the Game Offense Nick Flaskamp Nick Flaskamp LB Minneapolis South | 2021 State MN  (Southwest) RB. 5’11, 210 lbs. Recorded 39 rushes for 189 yards and a TD, plus 13 tackles and 4 TFL Jamarien Wheeler Jamarien Wheeler 6'2" | WR Minneapolis Washburn | 2021 State MN  (Washburn) WR. 6’, 200 lbs. Recorded 5 catches for 35 yards and a TD Defense Nyle Dickel Nyle Dickel LB Minneapolis Washburn | 2021 State MN  (Washburn) LB. 6’3, 220 lbs. Recorded 19 tackles, 3 TFLs Jaden Reed Jaden Reed WR Minneapolis South | 2021 State MN (Southwest) DB. Recorded 2 interceptions, a 40-yard TD catch, and 8 tackles Special Teams Jamar Nelson (Washburn) WR/RB. Returned a kickoff 85 yards to the house Landon Ramos (Southwest) K. Kicked a 25+ yard FG and handled kickoff duties for the Lakers, including a perfect onside kick.