Eden Prairie’s defense nearly perfect in battle of one versus two

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>September 28, 2018 - that was the last time anyone held the Lakeville South Cougars to single digits. The Eagles' defense was nearly perfect in a battle of number one Lakeville South and number two Eden Prairie. They held the Cougars' explosive offense to one touchdown, and the Eagles' defense set up the game's first score. They put on a defensive clinic in front of a packed house at Eden Prairie High School and likely grabbed the number one ranking in the state with a 21-6 victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cougars' offense had picked up a couple of first downs during their first possession. They were near the red zone but faced a fourth and short. They had already converted a fourth and short earlier in the drive, but this time, Eden Prairie defensive tackle <strong>Muhammad Saine</strong> beat his man off the snap, got into the backfield, and stuffed the fourth down run for a loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles' would mishandle a snap after the turnover on downs, and South linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='313090' first='Wyatt' last='Ronn'] would scoop up the ball and return it to the EP 25-yard line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Early on, it looked like South had the upper hand. Then, Eagles' defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='112137' first='Devin' last='Jordan'] made the game's biggest play. He looked like he dropped into a short zone, and the quarterback must not have seen him because the pass hit Jordan right in the numbers. He would take the pick back about 80 yards, getting dropped inside the five-yard line. One play later, [player_tooltip player_id='105390' first='Dominic' last='Heim'] scored – untouched – from two yards out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Big plays on defense by [player_tooltip player_id='383731' first='Adam' last='Mertens'] and Heim would key the next defensive stop.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles' offense looked like they were about to go three and out. They were facing third and long from inside their own twenty-yard line, but instead of playing it safe, Mike Grant's offense rolled the dice. Off a play-action fake, quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='19021' first='Nick' last='Fazi'] went up top and hit a streaking [player_tooltip player_id='246030' first='Michael' last='Gross'] in stride down the sidelines. Eighty-five yards later, Eden Prairie had a two-score lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With both offenses not known for the passing game, South rolled the dice on a fourth down and went up top – with explosive results. The Eagles' defense was giving up yards, but they had avoided the explosive running plays that have become a staple of the Cougars' offense. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='309078' first='Jacob' last='Royse'] threw deep down the middle to <strong>Jay Winters</strong>. Winters used all of his 5'10" height and reach to grab the pass for a 30-yard touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defenses would continue to dominate on both sides. Neither team would threaten to score until late in the third quarter. The Eagles' offense finally put together a solid drive – in typical Eagles' fashion. They pounded the ball at the Cougars' defense. Mostly on the ground, the Eagles' kept moving the chains until Jordan got around the corner and picked up big yards inside the five-yard line. [player_tooltip player_id='112150' first='Tyler' last='Walden'] finished the drive with a short touchdown run, and the Eagles' fans could taste it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eden Prairie defense took it from there. Like most of the game, they gave up some yards, but when the chips were down, they came up with the play they needed. Jordan was the last guy who could prevent a big gain from star running back [player_tooltip player_id='112043' first='Carson' last='Hansen'] – but like most of the game – the Eagle defender made the play – forcing a punt.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We had a great defensive effort the whole game," Eagles' defensive end [player_tooltip player_id='112086' first='Chiddi' last='Obiazor'] said. "We played for each other. We gave up that one pass, but I felt like their offense was not getting any drive. We had to shut down Carson Hanson, and we did that."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"center","id":448084,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/09/20220916_205912-scaled-crop-1552x1019-1663388936.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-448084"/><figcaption>[player_tooltip player_id='112086' first='Chiddi' last='Obiazor']</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South looked like they were finally wearing out the Eagles' defensive line. They were picking up chunks of yardage on the ground and were moving the EP defensive line visibly off the line of scrimmage. One last time – the front seven bowed its collective back. Defensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id='105391' first='Will' last='Sather'] exploded into the backfield and met the quarterback and running back as they tried to execute a handoff. He caused a fumble, and although the Cougars got on the fumble, they lost ten yards. On fourth and a mile, linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='383731' first='Adam' last='Mertens'] sacked the quarterback – effectively ending the game. The Cougars would not see the ball again as EP's offense ran out the clock to preserve the 21-6 victory.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->