Rangers stomp Royals 34-6, move to 4-2

The Forest Lake football team won its third consecutive game Friday night, where the Rangers topped the Woodbury Royals on the road by a final score of 34-6 on Oct. 4. The team accumulated 315 total yards of offense in the win, as junior quarterback Connor Johnson and sophomore running back Mack Jurkovich once again led the offense to a big and successful night. The defense also played a significant role in the four-score victory, as the Rangers secured three interceptions and held the Royals offense to just six total points, a season-best for Forest Lake.

“We felt great heading in with the week of preparation we had,” head coach Brad Beeskow said. “I felt strongly about how the kids attacked the week leading up to the game. We expected to play well coming off the big homecoming win versus Stillwater. I was really happy with how we prepared, and I’m more happy to see the result. Our defense played really, really well.”

Johnson scored the first Ranger touchdown of the night from three-yards out to give his team an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter, before the defense got one of its many stops of the night to set Forest Lake up in scoring position. Senior Asher Lubovich, a forward on the Forest Lake boys soccer team and this season’s kicker for the Rangers, nailed a 27-yard field goal to put his team up 10-0 after a stalled offensive drive.

The Royals then got themselves a timely score on a six-yard passing touchdown to open up the second quarter, but failed to make the extra point attempt, resulting in a 10-6 score. Lubovich knocked in his second field goal of the night from 30-yards out the following possession, pushing the Rangers’ lead to a touchdown advantage at 13-6.

A defensive stop from Forest Lake yet again allowed the offense to carve out a scoring drive, as a 48-yard touchdown run by Jurkovich further extended its lead to a 20-6 score at halftime.

With a two-score lead thanks to the strong efforts across the board by the defense, Beeskow notes what helped his unit play so fundamentally sound.

“We just did a great job of sticking to our roles [on defense] and just keeping things simple,” Beeskow said. “ The defensive line did a solid job of holding the line of scrimmage and getting off their blocks, and the linebackers were able to secure things at the second level and not let plays get past them, which was huge for us.”

“All in all, we did the things we needed to do at each and every position group, it was an all-around effort. Our secondary also played great in terms of the interceptions they grabbed and taking the football away. Turnovers are always a big factor, and it’s awesome to see when those things go your way.”

The Rangers kept its foot on the gas in the second half, as the defense didn’t allow a single more point through the final two quarters. The group, playing lights out, seemingly managed to outscore the Royals offense in the late stages, as senior defensive back Connor McPhee picked off the Woodbury quarterback to record a 30-yard pick-six midway through the third.

In response to the takeaway and house call, the Forest Lake offense also wasn’t done working its magic and saved one of its most explosive plays of the game for the final quarter of play, with Johnson launching a 60-yard bomb to junior tight end Jacob Rehfeld to cement the Rangers’ 34-6 win and to improve to a 4-2 record.

The Rangers continued its balanced offensive attack in addition to winning the turnover battle, as Johnson finished the night going 4-for-7 passing for 89 yards and a touchdown, including a score on the ground. Junior halfback Kevin Ndirangu tallied 56 total yards on ten carries, while Jurkovich led the rushing attack with an impressive 156 yard and a touchdown. Rehfeld made the most of his opportunities and wound up scoring on his only reception of the night. Defensively, McPhee, sophomore Ndifor Tamukong and senior defensive back Leo Meyer each grabbed interceptions, and junior University of Minnesota commit Howie Johnson got himself a sack.

“It’s a young group,” Beeskow said, regarding his playmakers. “Every skill position player for us is either a junior or a sophomore, and then we have a few senior guys upfront for us leading the charge.”

“For those guys to just get better each and every week has been really good for us, we try to balance the football out within the offense and we lean on a handful of guys with that and we do a great job of spreading it out to about six different guys each week. We expect them to all block well and to play well, and that’s what they’ve been doing and it’s super exciting knowing we have that at our disposal.”

Riding a three game win streak, the squad clinched a share of the Metro East district title following the road victory, tying with Mounds View. Forest Lake will now match up with Eagan this Friday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. at Forest Lake Area High School. Eagan is another 4-2 program aiming to make noise in Class 6A, but the Rangers’ confidence is high after a trio of notable wins.

“It’s senior night, so we’re really looking forward to honoring our seniors and playing really well for them. We know Eagan is a super good opponent, we’ve played them a few years in a row here now and have been able to get to know their staff and players,” Beeskow said.

“It’s about which teams execute and take care of the football, it’s going to be a big physical battle. I think it comes down to learning some of the good things you’ve done throughout the year, building on that, and taking some of those mistakes you’ve made and correcting them throughout the year as well.”