Mounds View's pressure sacks East Ridge, 21-6

Mounds View's upset of East Ridge at home Friday started with hard lessons learned some 280 miles east.

Shut out last week at Menasha, Wis., the Mustangs took a more physical approach into the East Ridge game. An undersized but never outworked defense led the way for No. 7 Mounds View (6-1) by wrestling the Raptors and quarterback Seth Green, a prized college recruit, to the ground throughout a 21-6 victory.

"We hadn't really seen any teams that were coming off the ball and punching us in the mouth," senior defensive end Charlie Callahan said. "So we were kind of angry from last week, and we came out giving our best effort."

The defense made an early statement by turning away No. 3 East Ridge (6-1) on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. The unit didn't flinch even as the Raptors started their first three possessions in Mounds View territory.

"Our defense played great; they didn't care about their big offensive line," Mustangs quarterback Joe Fredrickson said. "They were fast and physical and got after Seth."

Both defenses were formidable in the scoreless first half. East Ridge entered the game as the Suburban East Conference's stingiest defense, followed by the Mustangs.

"We couldn't score on the 1-yard line but it was 0-0 at the half," East Ridge coach Mike Pendino said. "As long as we got a guy like Seth Green, you've got a shot."

But Mounds View found another gear after halftime. A Luke Berndt fumble return to the East Ridge 11-yard line set up the first offensive touchdown, a 9-yard pass from Fredrickson to Ryan Kaczynski. They connected a second time in the third quarter, this one for 20 yards, as Mounds View built a 14-0 lead.

The gang-up-on-Green defense kept coming. The 6-4, 210-pound Green, who will make a verbal commitment Wednesday to either Michigan State, Minnesota or Oregon, was sacked three times by smaller defenders. With Green under duress, the conference's best offense sputtered.

"We hadn't played a team that closes that well and is that disciplined defensively," Green said. "You had to take a minute to get used to their speed."

East Ridge cut the lead to 14-6 in the fourth quarter. Then Fredrickson found Joe Janey downfield and the running back took off for a 76-yard touchdown and 21-6 lead.

The Raptors got no closer. Stout to the end, the Mustangs defense produced two interceptions and a turnover on downs to seal the upset.

"We played probably our best game of the year on the defensive side," Callahan said. "We kept holding them and holding them and we're really proud of our effort."