When asked if there would be another Homecoming game loss, senior Captain Tim Slater said, “No. Absolutely not. No.” The Red Knights did not disappoint in a 57-28 win with their combination of tenacious defense and a dominant running game, including a 54 yard sprint for a touchdown by junior Chase Mlnarik.
Thanks to a defense that gave up only seven points in the second half and 240 yards on the ground from senior Nate Hansen, the Red Knights easily handled St. Louis Park on Homecoming night.
Looking toward the rest of the season, Coach Pat Krieger said, “the key to our success is how well we run the ball.” The offense had no problem with that, accumulating six rushing touchdowns from four different players. To go along with the impressive display of running, junior quarterback Ben Krebsbach threw for two touchdowns.
The decisive victory was considered redemption from last year’s disappointing Homecoming loss to Irondale, which Slater called, “just plain embarrassing.” It helped that it was against one of the team’s biggest rivals, which added extra motivation to capture bragging rights as to who the best team in St. Louis Park was.
The team was also given an extra drive to win the boys’ homecoming game. About two weeks prior to the game, an unidentified group of people broke into the BSM football shed and destroyed most of our equipment including, several blocking and tackling pads, hand shields, and dummies. This resulted in an extra stir in negative emotion, as well as $4,000 in damages. “This made us upset, but we wouldn’t let us affect us in practice,” said Hansen, “we were even more determined to win.”
Junior Center John Cotter knew exactly who the victor would be after the opening drive, coming to the bench yelling, “This is our city!” multiple times to the crowd. The rest of the team felt the same way, and showed it in their relentless play throughout the night.
The defense, which struggled early in the game, had a major turning point when they stopped the Orioles on the goal line to force a turnover in the second half. From that moment on, St. Louis Park’s offense didn’t score the rest of the game.
Other highlights from the game include a 33 yard pass from Krebsbach to senior Charlie Perrine, and a 44 yard touchdown run by senior captain Zack Arostegui.
In order to continue winning, Coach Krieger says, “we need consistency in doing things well. With that consistency, will come victory.” Hopefully, this consistency will lead the Red Knights to a berth in the State Tournament.
