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Gridders Keep Foot on the Gas

By Tom Schardin, 09/30/14, 7:00AM CDT

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It didn't take long for the Prior Lake football team to make its presence felt Sept. 19.

The No. 8-ranked Lakers scored 24 points in the first quarter and put the game away midway though the second stanza in a 34-0 yawner at Apple Valley in South Suburban Conference play.

The only drama in this game was whether the Lakers' second-team defense would preserve the shutout in the fourth quarter. The Eagles had the ball deep in Prior Lake territory a couple times, but couldn't score.

The Lakers improved to 4-1 overall with their third straight win and will return to SSC action Oct. 3 at Eagan (2-3) at 7 p.m.

Prior Lake went into the Apple Valley game off a huge 10-7 road win at No. 9 Lakeville North in Week 4. But the Lakers were not about to let down against the Eagles, who went into the game off a 50-0 SSC win over Farmington.

Sophomore Jacob Hitz ran 39 yards for a touchdown with 22 seconds left in the first quarter to put Prior Lake up 24-0. At the 7:33 mark of the second quarter, senior Lucas Olson connected with senior Sam Schultze on a 19-yard scoring strike for a 31-0 lead.

The Lakers managed just three second-half points, a 25-yard field goal from senior Tyler Hanson in the third quarter. Hanson also booted a 34-yarder for a 10-0 lead.

Olson opened the Lakers' scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run. Junior Andrew Owodunni followed Hanson's first field goal with a 1-yard scoring run for a 17-0 lead. He also had a 65-yard run on Prior Lake's first possession to set up the first score.

Some of the Lakers' starters were on the bench by halftime and nearly all of them were off the field late in the third quarter. Prior Lake's defense forced two turnovers in the first quarter and both led to points.

Last week at Lakeville North, the Lakers had five takeaways.

Following the Eagan game, the Lakers close out the regular season with two SSC home games - versus winless Farmington Oct. 10 and against Eastview (2-3) Oct. 15.

Two more wins and the Lakers are a lock for no worse than the No. 2 seed in the first round of the Class 6A, Section 6 playoffs.

To see more photos of the Lakers at Apple Valley, go to Scoreboard's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.874445099247508.1073742224.197190936972931&type=3.