The Lions look ready for the playoffs

It was a defensive battle from the very beginning when the undefeated Providence Academy Lions visited the SMB-Wolfpack. On a soggy Wednesday night, mainly behind the running of running back Jacob Meissner Jacob Meissner 5'10" | 200 lbs | RB Providence Academy | 2022 State MN , and a defense that gave up one significant play, the Lions remained undefeated with a 13-7 victory. Neither offense could get much going through two drives, but it was easy to see where the Lions’ offense would come from – running back Meissner. On defense, the Lions were not going to let the running game, and Sanjay Redd Sanjay Redd 5'10" | 165 lbs | RB SMB | 2022 State MN beat them. They were also winning the field position game, and three drives aside, the Lions were starting at mid-field. Meissner began to find some room up the middle, and he used his physical running style to bounce off tacklers and break tackles. Providence Academy’s Kaden LaComb finished off the touchdown drive with a one-yard plunge to take a 7-0 lead. "Our defense was solid. We made sure Sanjay didn’t get around us," Miessner said. SMB’s first productive offensive drive got them on the Providence side of the fifty but was slowed down and then stopped because of the Lions’ defensive line. Mark McCarthy Mark McCarthy 6'4" | 235 lbs | TE Providence Academy | 2022 State MN pressured the quarterback and forced quarterback Charlie Johnson Charlie Johnson 6'3" | 180 lbs | QB SMB | 2022 State MN out of bounds for a short loss. On the next play, Logan Ahlers and Abu Tarawallie were in the backfield immediately, blowing up an inside draw for a short loss and a punt. Pinned deep in their end, the Lions didn’t get any points, but they picked up three first downs to flip field position. Quarterback Jack Reller came up with the key play using his feet to convert a third and long. Great coverage on back-to-back plays by Lions’ corner Ja’ Rory Purnell Rory Purnell ATH Minneapolis Washburn | 2018 State MN forced a third and long for the Wolfpack offense and an eventual punt. Relatively silent in the first quarter, SMB-Wolfpack defensive end and Michigan State commit Chase Carter Chase Carter 6'6" | 220 lbs | DL SMB | 2022 State MN took over. He sacked the quarterback, then on the next play, he came down the line of scrimmage to make a tackle for a short gain. From then on, Carter seemed to dictate what the Providence Academy offense could and couldn’t do. After forcing a punt, Providence Academy had the ball in SMB territory, with two minutes to play in the half, but Carter continued his strong play catching a running back from behind for a loss. The Lions’ running game found a way to deal with Carter’s strong play and threatened to score late in the half. Back-to-back plays by Brody Rindelaub Brody Rindelaub 6'1" | 205 lbs | LB SMB | 2023 State MN and then Judah Thomas forced a punt. Pinned inside their ten-yard line, SMB’s offense finally got going. Johnson connected with Elijah Wade on a short out pattern for a first down. Then Johnson let fly a deep ball down the sidelines. Wade had gotten behind the defense and ran under the pass for a 74-yard touchdown catch. The drive covered 95 yards and doubled the Wolfpack’s offensive production for the entire half. Coming out in the second half, the Lions got the passing game going. Reller completed a thirty-yard pass to Nick Fahnlander. Later during the drive, a screen to Meissner and a tough run after catch picked up a first down. Later, Meissner should have been stopped behind the line of scrimmage, but he broke three tackles to pick up five yards instead of a short loss. Meissner would get paid off a few plays later. He cut to the outside, made a spin move to avoid a tackler, sprinted down the sidelines for a twenty-yard touchdown run. Although they missed the extra point, the Lions led 13-7 in the third quarter. "Our blocking was amazing," Meissner said. "They blocked it right, and I bounced it outside and scored."

Providence Academy tried to put the game away midway through the fourth quarter by gambling on a fourth and one from midfield. SMB made the stop and took over on Providence’s side of the field. The Lions’ defense would bail out the offense by forcing SMB into a three and out – highlighted by a tackle for loss by Ahlers. The offensive line, Reller and Meissner, keyed a time-consuming, field position drive to practically put the game away. Mostly on the ground, the biggest play came from Reller’s arm. The offense converted on a third and long when the senior completed a deep out to Fahnlander for 25 yards and a first down. A punt with three and a half minutes to go forced SMB to go 83 yards. After picking up a first down, disaster struck the Wolfpack. A low snap got by the quarterback, and although SMB would recover, it would leave them with a nearly impossible third and 23. Meissner forced SMB back even further with a sack, and Anthony Fahnlander would finish the game in style for the Lions’ defense with an interception. "I was so excited. I knew we needed something," Meissner said, "so I just ran at him. It was awesome. It was everyone doing their job the whole game – not just that sack, but the sack cleaned it up." The 13-7 win completed a perfect regular season for Providence Academy and dropped the SMB-Wolfpack to 5-3.