St. Louis Park football: Sophomore QB sparks win with 76-yard TD run

St. Louis Park found its first win of the season with a 35-28 win on Friday at Apple Valley.

First-quarter touchdowns by senior running back AJ Foster and sophomore quarterback Everett Arnold set the tone early.

Park safety Dominic Barth intercepted an Apple Valley pass early on to set up Foster’s 4-yard touchdown.

“We talked about a fast start and how we needed to score early,” Orioles head coach Jason Foster said. Barth returned to the lineup after missing the previous week with a concussion. “He didn’t miss a beat,” Foster said of Barth, who shared the team lead for solo tackles (5) and was second for total tackles (7).

Arnold rumbled 76 yards for his second touchdown of the season. He ran 12 times for 129 yards. He completed 8-of-13 passes for 67 yards with one interception.

“He’s so young we don’t want to put too much on his plate,” Foster said about the first-year starting quarterback who is only a sophomore. “He threw more than 20 times against Mankato East, then we were down late against Washburn, so he threw more, but we want to keep it simple to keep developing.”

Arnold completed 22-of-32 passes for 277 yards and one touchdown in a 20-15 loss to Washburn on Sept. 6. He was intercepted three times.

On Friday, AJ Foster had 15 carries for 52 yards with two touchdowns, while junior Mason Helfmann averaged 6.2 yards per carry, going 80 yards on 13 carries and one touchdown.

Helfmann and Foster each caught three passes for 17 and 25 yards, respectively.

Helfmann was again heavily involved in the defense, collecting nine tackles and the lone sack to lead the Orioles.

Helfmann continues to lead by example on both sides of the ball. Foster said they will use him sparingly as a ball carrier to keep him fresh for crucial points in the game.

“He’s fourth or fifth in the state in tackles, and we hang our hat on his defense,” Foster said. “We told him we aren’t giving him fewer carries, but we cannot remove him from our defense. He’s our best player, bar none. He catches the ball well and runs hard out of the backfield. His effort is phenomenal. If we can platoon and use him in spots, all the better for us. We had that conversation, and he’s a great player. His character speaks volumes, and I wish we had 22 Mason Helfmann’s.”

Park’s 6-foot-5 tight end Logan O’Dea caught a pair of passes for 25 yards, including a 16-yard gain.

Foster noted that the offensive line play created opportunities for the skilled positions to get open or gain positive yards.

“Can’t speak highly enough of the line,” Foster said. “We had some guys cramp up, so our JV guys are stepping up and performing. Now the key is to get everyone to buy in and do it for one another.”

Finn Brooberg forced a fumble and finished with four tackles. Tyler Eoff had five total tackles, while Hayden Kasica and Joshua Rickford each accounted for four.

Park kicker Jacob Berry made all five extra-point kicks in the Northstar East-Gold subdistrict game.

The Orioles will host another subdistrict foe in rival Robbinsdale Cooper on Friday, with kickoff at 7 p.m.

The rivalry game gives the Orioles another opportunity to show fans what this group can do after two losses to begin the season.

“The key was not shooting ourselves in the foot,” Foster said. “Maybe not lining up correctly or doing the little things not entirely correct.

“We had a good running attack against Washburn but lost 20-15 where we gave up a kick return touchdown and a pop-up pass on fourth down. The little things matter, and if we can limit those mistakes, we will come out on top.”

Park will celebrate Homecoming 2024 at St. Louis Park Stadium. A reminder for those who plan to help pack the stadium: Tickets are available online only until 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19. Those in eighth grade or younger must be accompanied by a paying adult and remain in the bleachers unless they are with an adult. No bags or outside food/drink are allowed, and entry will stop at the end of the second quarter.