Top-ranked Eden Prairie did not play nicely with others in a 21-3 victory against No. 2 Lakeville North.
The Eagles refused to share in Friday’s Class 6A quarterfinal at Spring Lake Park High School. The Panthers punted away their first possession of the third quarter and did not see the ball again until 9:08 remained in the fourth quarter — a span of more than 10 minutes of game time.
Eden Prairie (11-0) kept Lakeville North (9-2) in a vise throughout its signature 16-play drive and advances to the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
“I’d go to look at their play drives, and it was pages and pages long,” North coach Brian Vossen said. “It’s a slow bleed. They got us.”
Eden Prairie used its powerful running game and some special teams good fortune to build a 15-3 halftime lead.
Lakeville North struck first, turning over the Eagles on downs at the Panthers 2-yard line. Later, the Panthers got a 30-yard field goal from Drew Kolander for a 3-0 lead in the second quarter.
Then the top-ranked Eagles showed their stuff. Running back Dominic Heim ran for a 19-yard touchdown on fourth down for a 7-3 lead.
“It’s easy to play running back when you’re not even touched until it’s a linebacker or safety,” Heim said.
Eagles coach Mike Grant said, “Our offensive line is really good and really smart. They knocked them off the ball.”
Lakeville North’s ensuing drive ended with a punt attempt, but a dropped snap gave Eden Prairie a fresh set of down from the Panthers 17-yard line. The short drive ended with a second Heim scoring run and two-point conversion for a 15-3 lead.
“They were already going downhill emotionally,” Heim said. “So that was huge for momentum.”
Vossen added, “Short fields are always tough.”
So are long, punishing drives.
Vossen tipped his cap to Eden Prairie.
“They do a great job blocking, and their running backs do a nice job of being patient and reading holes,” Vossen said. “It seemed like when they went out, we went in and vice versa. That’s a good football team. We gave them all we had.”