Sports

No. 1 Eden Prairie handles Prior Lake

Seniors help steady the Eagles after the Lakers challenge early.

For the Minnesota Star Tribune

September 26, 2015 at 5:13AM

Prior Lake’s Jacob Hitz came down with a long pass during the second quarter despite having Eden Prairie defender Kal Lunde slamming him to the turf Friday night. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Eden Prairie homecoming crowd quieted for a brief moment Friday night as Prior Lake took an early seven-point lead.

"We had them right where we wanted," Eagles coach Mike Grant said.

He didn't appear to be joking, either.

Top-ranked Eden Prairie (6-0) overcame the early deficit and matched its season high in points, defeating Prior Lake 56-29 to win its 36th consecutive game.

The Eagles' senior captains — Carter Coughlin, Alec Hetherington and JD Spielman — scored seven of the team's eight touchdowns. Quarterback Jackson Randle added another.

Spielman, who has committed to Nebraska, led the team with four touchdowns, bringing his tally to 13 on the season. He scored on 30- and 68-yard runs in the first half and a 55-yard reception and a 25-yard interception return in the second. He credited the offensive line for the team's rushing success.

Coughlin, a linebacker who has committed to Minnesota, rushed for a 5-yard score in the first half and caught a 46-yard score in the third quarter. Hetherington scored from 1 yard out in the first half.

The trio helped Eden Prairie overcome a potent Prior Lake offense, led by 6-6 quarterback Jimmy Larson, who threw three touchdown passes. The Lakers (4-2) trailed just 30-22 at halftime, after Larson led two second-quarter touchdown drives.

The 29 points scored by Prior Lake were the most the Eden Prairie defense has allowed this season.

"They threw the ball better than they had all year," Grant said of Prior Lake. "They really did some good things, but we got to play better on that end, too.''

Prior Lake struggled with miscues, however, committing seven false-start penalties and four turnovers and botching two punts.

The Lakers' first touchdown came after a Nick Raddatz interception on Eden Prairie's first drive. Larson capped it with a 13-yard scoring pass to Jacob Simonson, but the Eagles weren't perturbed.

"We always kept our heads up, we never put our heads down," Spielman said. "It's just the whole grinding effect. Even though you're down, you're not out."

Said Grant, "I'd rather be ahead, but we don't really panic very often here."