Nearly perfect in the first half – South moves onto the Prep Bowl

Nearly perfect in the first half &#8211; South moves onto the Prep Bowl

Brian Jerzak

November 20, 2021 @ 04:00 AM

To defeat a team that has been as dominant as Lakeville South has been, an opponent has to play nearly perfectly. When the opponent makes mistakes, things can get ugly quickly. Things did not go perfectly for St. Michael-Albertville, but they did for the South Cougars. Six first-half possessions resulted in three lost fumbles and no points for STMA. On the flip side, the Cougars had five possessions and scored four touchdowns on the way to a 40-14 victory and a trip to the Prep Bowl to face Maple Grove. It was a familiar story for the Cougars. South’s explosive running game, opportunistic passing game, and under-rated defense dominated in all phases of the game. Things started poorly for the Knights on the first play of the game. A bad decision for STMA on the opening kickoff made STMA start inside the ten. Back-to-back first downs on the ground got them out of a big hole, but Lakeville South defensive back Ryder Patterson recovered the first of three first-half fumbles. Two plays later, Cougars’ running back scored from forty yards out. On STMA’s next drive, South’s Payton Schulz tipped a pass, forcing a third and long. Schultz forced a fumble on the next play, and the Cougars’ Hunter Webster recovered. Hansen took a handoff right up the middle on the very next play for a 31-yard touchdown. STMA’s offense was moving the ball on the next drive, but two nice plays in the passing game for South – Patterson with a pass deflection and with an open-field tackle forced a punt. With the Knights’ defense creeping up to stop the run, South quarterback threw to a wide-open for a 23-yard touchdown. Already up 21-0, South forced another STMA fumble. This time, Sam Delmont forced the fumble, and South took over at STMA’s forty-yard line. Dean threw his second pass of the first half and his second touchdown. Hansen’s catch and run covered 30 yards and made the score 27-0. A South fumble at the end of the first half was the only thing that stopped the Cougars. They would open the second half with a long touchdown drive and were up 34-0 before their punter had to come onto the field. The inside trap game of the Cougars kept the Knights’ defense guessing all night. Tight ends Androff and and offensive linemen including Zach Steinhagen, Alex Vazquez, Brecken Klein, and Wyatt Ronn blocked their way to the Prep Bowl. The defense also continued to dominate up front and didn’t give up a score until the Cougars were leading 40-0, and there were only eight minutes to play in the game. The Knights would add another touchdown late to finish the scoring.