Eden Prairie football rebounds with win

After losing at Edina 35-14 on Week 2 of the high school football season, Eden Prairie was much improved on Week 3 with a dominating 40-13 victory over Prior Lake.

“After the Edina game, we had renewed focus on the fundamentals,” EP head coach Mike Grant said.

Those fundamentals showed up in a good effort on defense and grind-it-out ball control on offense Sept. 12 against a big Prior Lake team.

“Prior Lake’s offensive line has a left tackle who is 340 pounds and their average along the line was about 270,” Grant said. The Lakers got their licks in the first half and trailed Eden Prairie 20-13 at intermission. But in the second half it was all Eden Prairie as Grant’s Eagles pulled away.

“We drove the field on Prior Lake three times in the first half,” Grant said. “One of the goals for the game was to avoid turnovers.”

With senior halfback Elijah Rumph carrying the ball 23 times for 155 yards and a touchdown, the Eagles controlled the clock against Prior Lake. Rumph scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run. Senior fullback Jeremy Fredericks scored touchdowns on 1- and 4-yard runs while gaining 83 yards on 15 carries. Blake Bidwell added 26 yards on three carries and Braden Cole had 18 yards on three carries.

Eagle junior quarterback Jackson Bakkum managed the offense skillfully, Grant noted. Bakkum connected on five of 10 attempts for 64 yards and threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Fahning.

“Jackson has two passes dropped that probably would have been touchdowns,” Grant said.

Defensive lineman Gavin Walden switched to offense for one carry and scored on a 3-yard run. Santos Bommareddy carried the ball one time, scoring his first varsity touchdown on an 18-yard run.

“One of the highlights of the game was when one of our defensive tackles, Abdirahman Osman, kicked the last extra point,” Grant said. “It was the first time he ever tried a kick at any level. He told me afterward that his heart was pounding. The fans went wild.”

Next for the Eagles is a Class 6A South District game against the Shakopee Sabers at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, at Shakopee West Middle School. Shakopee (3-0) will be a good test for Eden Prairie (2-1).

“Shakopee always creates problems for opponents with their option offense,” coach Grant said. “They are a top-10 team in the state, maybe a top-five. That’s the price of doing business in out district.”