Somewhere over the rainbow, the Panthers win in OT

 
APPLE VALLEY, MN - The 2010 High School Football season on the Minnesota Sports Broadcast Network started out with a bang, of thunder, then ended with the Eastview Lightning (0-1, 0-1 South Suburban Conference) not striking for the entire game. It was the Lakeville North Panthers (1-0, 1-0 SSC) and new Head Coach Brian Vossen getting the victory on the road to steal a game that was 0-0 going into Overtime.

Lakeville North started out the game receiving the ball off the kick-off and executed just two plays into the game before a fast moving thunderstorm made its way through Apple Valley, MN and the Eastview High School grounds. The storm produced strong winds, hail, and hard rain for about fifteen minutes and eventually delayed the game about thirty-five minutes. Once play resumed and both teams made it back to the field from out of the safety of their locker rooms, the game turned out to be a defensive battle all the way to the last play of Overtime.

Both Lakeville North and Eastview were working with almost completely new starters on offense and defense, which made for a learning curve for all players and coaches. On the offensive side of the ball, Lakeville North’s Junior Quarterback Trey Heid and Eastview’s Junior Quarterback Ryan Reger were making their first varsity starts from the play calling position. This put a lot of pressure on un-experienced backfields and rookie QBs to perform at a level that these State Quarterfinal participants from 2009 expect to possibly get back to this season.

The defensive side of the ball is were both teams shined this evening as both D-corps held their opponent to under 75 total yards of offense for the entire game. Eastview’s defense intercepted Trey Heid’s first pass attempt, as Senior Linebacker Tom Jerle pulled down the INT for the Lightning. Eastview also recovered a fumble on the first play of the 4th Quarter when 5’6” Senior Defensive Lineman Max Apple recovered the ball on the still wet field from the earlier rain. Eastview pitched the shutout through regulation time and for the entire game only allowed 73 total yards to go with seven sacks.

Lakeville North’s defense lead by first year Head Coach Brian Vossen, who served as the Defensive Coordinator last season, had his team in the right spots all night as he still called the defensive plays for his squad. The Panthers had nine tackles for a loss tonight and held the Lightning offense to just 65 yards from scrimmage for the contest. Lakeville North eventually got into the turnover game as well, when the team had three interceptions off Ryan Reger’s last four pass attempts during the 4th Quarter and Overtime. Senior Linebacker Sam Shreve started off the larceny when he pulled down a pick at the 10:00 minute mark of the 4th Quarter, which only increased the momentum of the Panther defense which had the Lightning offense reeling.

On the next Eastview offensive possession it was Senior Safety Al Erickson making up for lost time when he grabbed his first of two interceptions for the game. Erickson missed the entire 2009 Football Season when an ankle surgery put him on the sideline all year. The multi-sport star for the Panthers wasn’t done with the fruit picking for the night as it was Erickson who snatched the very next pass attempt by Reger in Overtime. Eastview started the OT with the ball and were forced in to a 3rd and Goal from the 9-yard line after two short rushing attempts. Erickson out jumped 6’4” Senior Wide Receiver Frank Veldman in the endzone to come down with the interception and put his team on the field with a chance to win.

Lakeville North’s offense still ran into a strong Eastview defense when they took the ball 1st and Goal from the 10-yard line for their Overtime attempt. Eastview had two sacks on the first to plays of the possession, the first one by our MSBN Player of the Game for the Eastview Lightning, Senior Defensive Lineman Cameron Cropsey. Cropsey flew around the field all night recording three sacks on the night and multiple more tackles for a loss. These sacks forced Lakeville North into a 3rd and Goal situation from the 22-yard line and an incomplete pass from Trey Heid had Coach Vossen and the strong visiting crowd from Lakeville North guessing as what to do next. Heid took the field again, but not under center, rather as the Field Goal Kicker and he didn’t let his team down when he connected on the 39-yard walk-off Field Goal to get the victory for the Panthers. The kick earned Heid the MSBN Player of the Game honors for Lakeville North and it put his team out to a good start in the new South Suburban Conference with a big victory on the road.

Eastview travels to Eden Prairie next week to take on the Eagles on Friday, September 10th. That game will be live on MnSportsNetwork.com as well as will be live on AM-1330 Relevant Radio in the Twin Cities Metro, a game sponsored by the Catholic Aid Association. This will start a season long MSBN Radio Game of the Week in partnership with Relevant Radio and the Catholic Aid Association. Check the MSBN Full Schedule for updates throughout the Fall and Winter Sports Seasons on MnSportsNetwork.com. Lakeville North will head home next Friday to host the Apple Valley Eagles (0-1, 0-1 SSC) who lost an Overtime game of their own tonight at home versus the Prior Lake Lakers (1-0, 1-0 SSC) by a field goal 17-14.

*MSBN Players of the Game:
Eastview - DL Cameron Cropsey - 3 sacks and multiple other tackles for loss
Lakeville North - QB/K Trey Heid - Game winning 39-yard Field Goal in OT

*Remember to vote for your favorite MSBN Player of the Game to be named our MSBN Player of the Week. Player of the Week voting begins on the Saturday following the HS Football week and goes until the start of the next week’s games.