Lakeville North 42, Eagan 7

It’s difficult for Lakeville North to get too excited about Friday night’s 42-7 win over Eagan. The victory, after all, came over another team trying to regain respect, and it still produced plenty to irk coach Mike Zweber.

But then there’s this: The Panthers are 2-0 headed into a matchup with Eden Prairie.

That’s as much progress as Lakeville North has been able to point to in a long time.

“Sometimes last year, we went into games knowing if we played our best and they played their worst, it didn’t matter,” Zweber said. “It’s different this year.”

The Panthers, 1-8 last year, took another step in their rebuilding project, blowing open a tight game with three third-quarter scores that overshadowed two turnovers and a blocked field goal in the first half.

“I thought we had shored that stuff up,” said Zweber, who spent much of the week harping on the Panthers’ four turnovers last week against Chaska. “But I’m proud of the way the guys stepped up at the end of the first half. We were pretty much mistake-free from that point.”

It is Lakeville North’s first 2-0 start since 2003, when the school (then called Lakeville High School) was on the way to two wins over Eden Prairie, a 13-0 season and a state title.

No one is comparing that team with this one. But of the three Panthers teams since Lakeville went to two high schools (North and South) in 2005, this is starting to look like the best.

Lakeville North rolled up 220 yards of offense in the first half. Its defense overwhelmed Eagan’s smallish offensive line almost from the start, taking away the Wildcats’ deep passing game and forcing quarterback Kevin Abbas to rush his reads.

All of Abbas’ four interceptions came while he was under pressure. Lakeville North turned three of those into touchdowns, including Tommy Vanasek’s seven-yard interception return with 2:15 left in the third quarter.

“Brian Vossen, our defensive coordinator, felt confident in our plan,” Zweber said. “Our No. 1 concern was to get pressure. We had some good cornerback blitzes.”

Only three plays in the second half were in Lakeville North territory. By that point, wide receiver Nick Judkins had scored his third touchdown of the night on a 41-yard punt return, capping a 35-0 Panthers run.

Panthers quarterback Mike Hartwell finished 14-for-17 for 163 yards and three touchdowns. Judkins caught seven of those passes for 79 yards.

And as that Eden Prairie game looms, he was also the one to assert the Panthers can give the defending state champions a fight.

“This was a big step,” Judkins said. “We know what Eden Prairie can do. We’ll be ready.”

Ben Goessling • 612-673-7252