Elk River Elks Run Past Rogers Royals

 The Rogers defense couldn't play keep away against Cade Osterman as the Elk River quarterback ran for three touchdowns to lead the Elks to a 35-14 win over the Royals Friday night at Jerry Schremf Field in Elk River.  

The Royals got the inter battle off to a good start when Kalvin Eull broke a couple of Elk tackles and ran 33 yards into the end zone.  The Elks would bounce back facing a third down and nine.  Osterman kept the ball and ran down the left sideline 49 yards to tie the game at seven.  

Osterman would reach the end zone again in the second quarter as he scampered down the field like cars going through the construction on Highway 169 and scored a 76 yard touchdown.  They would extend their lead on Myles Gordon's four yard touchdown run.  But Rogers was not out of it yet.  Anthony Powell would run 69 yards into the end zone with :06.4 left in the first half and the Elks led 21-14 at halftime.  

Neither team would tally in the third quarter though Osterman left the game due to an injury and was replaced by Darioh Balisidya.  There would be good news for the red and black clad fans.  Osterman's injury was not serious and he did return to the game.  His presence was vital to the Elks in the fourth quarter when it looked like he scored on an eight yard run but he came up short of the goal line.  The next play would result in his third touchdown on the game.  Elk River would wrap up the scoring on a 32 yard run up the middle from Logan Bunker and he put the game out of reach for Rogers.  The Royals headed closer to the end zone on two pass interference penalties by the Elks but they lost the ball in the end zone and Elk River would down the ball twice to end the game.  

At half time, member of the 1982 Elk River team were honored.  They played in the Class AA semifinals and lost to eventual champion Stillwater.  

The Elks improved their record to 5-0 and will host the Moorhead Spuds in their Homecoming game Friday, October 7 at 7 PM.  The Royals fell to 2-3 and will also be home on the 7th against the Brainerd Warriors at 7 PM.  

SLP Orioles-Orono Spartans Football Preview

 For the second straight week, the St. Louis Park Oriole football team will be on the road.  Friday night they will head to Pesonen Stadium in Long Lake to take on the Orono Spartans.

Last Saturday the Orioles headed to Benilde-St. Margaret's and they were victorious in the Battle of St. Louis Park 33-28.  Jimmy Hager scored the winning touchdown with :30 in regulation and rushed for a season high 163 yards to spoil the Red Knights Homecoming.  His best game since Week Two when he rushed for 158 yards and entered the end zone.  Stefano Giovannelli caught only two passes and they were both for touchdowns.  

Defense also factored into the equation as Tony Kruse intercepted two Nirvaan Yogarajah passes, the first was a 53 yard touchdown.  Zach Helfmann recorded 11 tackles.  \

The key to the game for the Orioles is to stay focused and for Hager to have a solid running game.  

This season, there have likely been a lot of long faces in Long Lake since the Orono Spartans enter Week five with a record of 1-3.  The Spartans three losses have been to Holy Angels, Waconia and last week to the fifth ranked team in Class AAAAA the Chanhassen Storm 10-7.  The Spartans were up 7-3 in the fourth quarter until Storm quarterback Grant Muffenbier scored on a one yard touchdown run that would be the game winner.  The bright spot for Orono was junior running back Liam Rodgers who had his best output since the opener against the Cooper Hawks, rushing 26 times for 191 yards.  On defense, Nash Tichy had 11 tackles.  

The key to the game for the Spartans is for quarterback Charles Kraus to get into a rhythm.  He has not had a game this season where he has completed more than 50% of his passes.  

It will be a favorable weather picture with a high in the low 70s but you might want to bring a jacket since the temperature my cool down in the second half.  Game time is 7 PM.  

SLP Orioles Win Football Battle of St. Louis Park

The battle lines were being drawn for Benilde St. Margaret's Homecoming football game against its intercity rival the St. Louis Park Orioles but it was Jimmy Hager who scored the game winning touchdown with :30 to play to lead the Orioles to a 33-28 win Saturday afternoon.  

The Orioles would score the lone touchdown of the first quarter on a 14 yard pass from Declan Gaines to Stefano Giovannelli.  

In the second quarter, the Red Knights would even the score when Naarvann Yogarajah threw aa 20 yard left side touchdown pass to Jack Shull and both teams went into the locker rooms even at seven.  

If you arrived for the game at halftime, you didn't miss a lot of third quarter scoring.  BSM would take the lead on a 11 touchdown pass from Yogarajah to Luke Guggenberger.  The Red Knights would get the ball back after a shotgun snap to Gaines went awry that William Frattalone recovered at the Oriole one yard line and on the next play, Yogarajah kept the ball and entered the end zone.  The Orioles would bounce back as the Gaines to Giovannelli combination would prevail for a second time, which would be a 37 yard touchdown.  BSM would counter :18 later on Yogarajah's pass to Khalif Brown on the left sideline and he scampered down the field for a 70 yard touchdown.   St. Louis Park would come close to BSM on a 67 yard touchdown pass to Javaris Ellis and AJ Foater's two point conversion cut the Red Knight lead to 28-21.

Defense would be the key for the Orioles in the fourth quarter.  The Red Knights had the ball and Yogarajah's pass was intercepted by Tony Kruse.  He went into cruise control and went 53 yards for a touchdown to to cut the lead to 28-27.  BSM had a chance to send the red and white clad fans home happy on Homecoming but Yogarajah's pass was intercepted by Kruse that gave the ball back to St. Louis Park.  Facing a fourth down conversion, Hager would come up big to give the Orioles first and goal, followed by a four yard touchdown run with :30 left in the game.  The Red Knights had another chance to win the game with :01 remaining but after a couple of laterals following a Yogarajah pass, they would come up short to end the game.  

St. Louis Park improved their record to 2-2 and will head to Long Lake next Friday, September 30 to face the Orono Spartans at Pesonen Stadium at 7 PM.  BSM fell to -04 and they will also return to action on the 30th as they head to Richfield for a 7 PM game with the Holy Angels Stars.  

SLP Orioles-Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights Football Preview

 It's a rarity for both St. Louis Park schools to play a Saturday afternoon football game as the St. Louis Park Orioles head to Benilde-St. Margaret's to battle the Red Knights.  

The Orioles enter Week 4 with a record of 1-2.  Last week against the Two Rivers Warriors, a team who came into the game scoring only eight points in two games,  St. Louis Park came up empty on their final drive and lost to Two Rivers 20-15.  All the scoring was done in the first half that started with a 77 yard touchdown pass from Declan Gaines to Stefano Giovannelli and a rushing touchdown from Jimmy Hager.  Hager had 28 carries for 75 yards.  On the defensive side, Bryson Huntley recorded 15 tackles.  

The key to the game for the Orioles is to take care of the football and cut down on turnovers.  Also the Gaines to Giovannelli combination can also be a factor.  

This season, the Red Knights armor hasn't been shining as much as they head into their Homecoming game with a record of 0-3.  Bear in mind that two of their three losses have come to Class 5A powers Spring Lake Park and Chaska.  Last week, BSM fell to the Chaska Hawks 28-7.  Hawks quarterback Jammarius Courtney ran for four touchdowns.  The Red Knights lone touchdown came from Luke Guggenberger, who caught 11 passes for 121 yards.  

The keys to the game for the Red Knights is for quarterback Nirvaan Yogarajah to have a big game and for the defense to put pressure on games.  

After a wet Friday night, the weather picture for Saturday is expected to be much better with the high temperature close to 70 degrees.  Game time is 12 noon.  

SLP Orioles Pound Park Center Pirates

There was no Saturday morning confusion for the host St. Louis Park Orioles as Vesna Dennison,  Halima Bigirindavyi and Lucia Versailles scored two goals apiece to lead them to a 9-1 rout of the Park Center Pirates.  

The Orioles got their first goal when Anna Williams made a centering pass to Bigirindavyi and she sent the ball to the net.  They would go up by two on Dennison's penalty kick goal.  St. Louis Park wasn't finished yet.  They would increase their lead to three after the ball deflected off a Pirate and into the net.  Versailles was credited with the goal.  It would be a four goal lead when Alicia Margalli fed Maren Wilsey and put it past Park Center goalkeeper Nefertari Moor.  The Orioles would capitalize on Moor played out of the net, enabling Dennison to find an opening and build their halftime lead to six.  

It wouldn't take long for St. Louis Park to further distance themselves from Park Center in the second half.  Sophia Dvorak was awarded a corner kick and getting into position was Versailles who received the kick and put the ball into the net.  Even the reserves got into the scoring column as Jana Faust would tally :53 later.  Birgirindavyi would round out the Oriole scoring.  

St. Louis Park improved their record to 2-5-1 and embark on a four game road trip Monday, September 19 at 7 PM in Chaska against the Hawks.  Park Center fell to 0-6 and will also be in action on the 19th when they head up Highway 65 to Spring Lake Park for a 7 PM game with the Panthers.  

It's Win Number One for Two Rivers Warriors

 Two Rivers football fans would head home over the Mendota Bridge happy when Adam Suchy scored the game winning touchdown with 1:30 left to lead the Warriors to a 20-15 win over the host St. Louis Park Orioles Friday night.  

The Warriors, who came into Friday's game scoring eight points in two games, got off to a tough start on their first drive.  A bad snap to quarterback Nate Schaffer was recovered in the end zone and resulted in an Oriole safety.  St. Louis Park would go up by nine on Declan Gaines' 77 yard touchdown pass to Stefano Giovannelli.  Two Rivers would conclude the first quarter scoring on Mason Moynihan's seven yard touchdown run.  

Both teams would tally in the second quarter.  The Warriors would vault into the lead when Schaffer passed to Suchy.  He broke an Oriole tackle and scampered 54 yards for a touchdown.  The Orioles would go back in front on Jimmy Hager's three yard touchdown run and they led 15-14 at halftime.  

Neither team would score in the third quarter.  Heading into the fourth quarter, Two Rivers would follow up a key fourth down conversion with Suchy's second touchdown, a 27 yard pass from Schaffer.  St. Louis Park would get the ball, looking to wrap up the win.  But Gaines' pass was intercepted by Jonny Youness.  The Warriors did not run out the clock and would eventually punt the ball back to the Orioles and give them another chance to become victorious.  Unfortunately, it didn't happen as they were stopped past midfield.  

Two Rivers improved their record to 1-2 and will host the Hill-Murray Pioneers on Friday, September 23 at 7 PM.  St. Louis Park fell to 1-2 and will head to Benilde-St. Margaret's on Saturday, September 24 for a noon game with the Red Knights.  

Friday night's game was a Tackle Cancer Game to raise money for the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund.  The total amount raised was $524.  

Battle of St. Louis Park Soccer a Split Decision

 Thursday night was The Battle of St. Louis Park Soccer as the St. Louis Park Orioles hosted their city rival the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights with the girls routing the Orioles 6-1 and the boys holding off BSM 2-1.  

First up was the girls game where Kiya Gilliand broke open a close game with two goals in a four goal second half to lead the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights to a 6-1 victory over the St. Louis Park Orioles.  

The Red Knights would take the early lead when Nicolette Bisson made a left side pass to Lauren Hillins and she would connect.  They would go up by two on Grace Horejsi's center slot goal.  The Orioles would end the shutout as a result of BSM goalkeeper Clara Luger playing far out of the crease.  Vesna Dennison headed downfield, saw the opening on Luger's right side and sent the ball past the goal line.  The Red Knights led 2-1 at halftime.  

BSM would put the game away in the second half with four unanswered goals.  Siena Carver would score from the left side and Gilliand would tally twice, the second goal on a rebound.  Brooklyn Miller would wrap up the Red Knight scoring as she received a pass from Kayla Smart and sent it to the net.  

The Red Knights, ranked fifth in Class AA improved their record to 4-3-2 and will head up I-35 on Saturday, September 17 to take on the Hermantown Hawks at 3 PM.  The Orioles fell to 1-6-1 and will also be in action on the 17th, hosting the Park Center Pirates at 11 AM. 

Since Anson Opara took over for Chato as head coach of the Orioles soccer team, they have gone 4-1-2 since the season opening loss to Wayzata.  Opara and the Orioles got a big win Thursday night as they upset the fifth ranked team in class AA, the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights 2-1.  

St. Louis Park got on the scoreboard when Robel Tefara, making his first start of the season, lined an indirect free kick into the net.  BSM would tie the game on Matthew Robinson's goal from the far right side of the net.  The Orioles would regain the lead on Abdi Abdullahi's goal with 14:34 left in the first half and it would eventually be the game winner since both teams would play solid defense the remainder of the game.  

The Orioles improved their record to 4-2-2 and will return to action on Monday, September 19 as they head to Chaska for a 5 PM game against the Hawks.  The Red Knights fell to 4-2-1 and return to action on Saturday, September 17 as they head to Minneapolis Southwest to face the Lakers at 3 PM.  It was the first game this season where BSM has given up two goals.