The Road to the Prep Bowl gets underway Tuesday, October 22 as high school football teams, including the St. Louis Park Orioles begin their quest for a state tournament berth. Here's a preview the Section 5AAAAA bracket.
Quarterfinal play begins as the St. Louis Park Orioles host the Irondale Knights. The Knights armor hasn't been shining bright as they head into section play with a 2-6 record and have lost their last five games, including a 54-13 drubbing by the Hopkins Royals. Irondale is led by quarterback Griffin Bourassa who also gained 321 rushing yards this season. The Orioles are on a roll, ending the regular season with a two game winning streak to even their record at 4-4. They have been successful with Alexander Hager getting most of the snaps in the backfield with Sajid Nathim and Tobyous Davenport out due to injuries. Hager has made the most of the opportunity, rushing for five touchdowns in the final two games. He could add more against the Knights.
Now comes the bad news. The winning team will have to face the top seeded Spring Lake Park Panthers. The Panthers enter section play with a 6-2 record and have won five consecutive games, including a 49-14 win against St. Louis Park September 20. Spring Lake Park is a team that likes to run run run. Quarterback Zach Dunbar has 674 rushing yards and running back Henry Dennis added 642. Add this up and that's 1,316 yards combined. They're one of the favorites for the section title.
Over in the lower bracket, it's been a sunk ship for the sixth seeded Park Center Pirates since they finished the regular season 0-8. Their opponent will be the third seeded Minneapolis Southwest Lakers, one of two schools from the Minneapolis City Conference that's never been to the state tournament since the advent of the state tournament era in 1972. The other school, Minneapolis South. The Lakers, who lost their final regular season game to the unbeaten Fridley Tigers 34-7 are led by running back TK Marshall, who will wear green and gold next season at North Dakota State. Marshall is having a stellar season with 1,464 rushing yards and entered the end zone 20 times. Can the Lakers Marshall Plan lead Southwest to a potential state tournament berth?
But wait. There's the second seeded Cooper Hawks, the third section team with a 6-2 record and coming off a 57-6 rout of the DeLaSalle Islanders. The Hawks are led by The Brothers Russell, Joe is the quarterback and Sherrod is the running back. Like Spring Lake Park, Cooper is a run oriented team with Terrence Matthews also contributing in the backfield. When Joe Russell sends the ball through the air, his top target is Cornelius Wooten who led the Hawks with nine touchdowns. Mix in a strong defense and there's another section favorite.
Could a Hawks-Panthers rematch be possible or will Southwest head north for the section final November 1? Keep your eye on this section. It could be a three team race.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
SLP Orioles End Regular Season With Senior Night Win
Wednesday night was Senior Night for the St. Louis Park Orioles football team and it was a tale of two seniors Aaron Ellingson, who passed for two touchdowns and Alex Hager ran for two more to lead the Orioles to a 28-7 win over the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars.
After their first three drives went 0-3 on fourth down, the fourth time would turn out to be the charm for St. Louis Park as Hager ran 21 yards up the middle to put the Orioles ahead 7-0 with 2:11 left in the first quarter.
St. Louis Park would score the second quarter's lone touchdown came after Deontez Ross recovered a fumbled Jefferson punt returned. The Orioles regained possession and Ellingson fired a 29 yard pass to Cole Ewald and he put the Orioles ahead 14-0. The Jaguars would lose quarterback Carter Hanson after he got injured following a Tony Stadler sack. But the good news for fans who made the trip from Bloomington, Hanson would return in the second half.
The Orioles would extend the lead to 20 when Jefferson turned the ball over on downs at their own 17 yard line and Ellingson struck quickly with a 17 yard touchdown pass to McCabe Dvorak. There would be no shutout on this chilly Wednesday night as the Jaguars, deep in their own territory most of the game used a little trickery. Hanson pitched the ball to Manny Montgomery and he threw a beautiful pass to Hunter Burgess and he hauled it into the end zone for an 81 yard touchdown. St. Louis Park concluded the scoring on Hager's second touchdown of the game a 19 yard run with no time remaining.
St. Louis Park ended the regular season at 4-4 and Bloomington Jefferson finished with a record of 2-6. Section play begins Tuesday, October 22.
After their first three drives went 0-3 on fourth down, the fourth time would turn out to be the charm for St. Louis Park as Hager ran 21 yards up the middle to put the Orioles ahead 7-0 with 2:11 left in the first quarter.
St. Louis Park would score the second quarter's lone touchdown came after Deontez Ross recovered a fumbled Jefferson punt returned. The Orioles regained possession and Ellingson fired a 29 yard pass to Cole Ewald and he put the Orioles ahead 14-0. The Jaguars would lose quarterback Carter Hanson after he got injured following a Tony Stadler sack. But the good news for fans who made the trip from Bloomington, Hanson would return in the second half.
The Orioles would extend the lead to 20 when Jefferson turned the ball over on downs at their own 17 yard line and Ellingson struck quickly with a 17 yard touchdown pass to McCabe Dvorak. There would be no shutout on this chilly Wednesday night as the Jaguars, deep in their own territory most of the game used a little trickery. Hanson pitched the ball to Manny Montgomery and he threw a beautiful pass to Hunter Burgess and he hauled it into the end zone for an 81 yard touchdown. St. Louis Park concluded the scoring on Hager's second touchdown of the game a 19 yard run with no time remaining.
St. Louis Park ended the regular season at 4-4 and Bloomington Jefferson finished with a record of 2-6. Section play begins Tuesday, October 22.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
SLP Orioles Sweep BSM Red Knights
The St. Louis Park Orioles volleyball team's regular season wrapped up Tuesday night with a three set sweep of their city rival the Benilde-St. Margarets Red Knights at Haben Center on the BSM campus.
In the first set, the Red Knights scored the first two points and the Orioles vaulted into the lead with three straight points. They would go on an 8-0 run that was keyed by outstanding front line play from Raegan Alexander and a Kendall Coley kill which would lead them to a 25-13 win.
To the second set as BSM and St. Louis Park played pretty close throughout the set as neither team would go on a big run with ties at 19, 20, 21 and 22 before the Orioles scored the last three points to win 25-22.
The third set would be a complete team set for St. Louis Park. It was a combination of a Coley kill , service aces from Elsa Bergland and Makaila Winward and Alexander's outstanding front line play that held off a Red Knight rally to led them to a 25-20 win. There were seven ties and the Red Knights did take the lead by the Orioles would clinch the set on a Faith Johnson kill.
St. Louis Park head coach Whitney Meierotto-Simon was interviewed prior to the start of the match about the team's most successful regular season in years. "The girls work really hard in practice," she said.
One of the keys to the Orioles success is Winward, the senior setter. According to Meierotto-Simon "She's done a good job spreading the offense."
Another top player the Oriole head coach mentioned was outside hitter Hannah Howell. "She's done a real good job of carrying our offense this season."
St. Louis Park ended their season with a record of 21-6 and enters Section 6AAA tournament play next week. Section play begins Tuesday, October 22. If the Orioles get a first round bye, they will host a quarterfinal game on Thursday, October 24. Meierotto-Simon said the Orioles could be one of the top contenders along with Bloomington Jefferson.
BSM lost their third straight match and finished their regular season at 18-10. The Red Knights also begin section play on October 22.
In the first set, the Red Knights scored the first two points and the Orioles vaulted into the lead with three straight points. They would go on an 8-0 run that was keyed by outstanding front line play from Raegan Alexander and a Kendall Coley kill which would lead them to a 25-13 win.
To the second set as BSM and St. Louis Park played pretty close throughout the set as neither team would go on a big run with ties at 19, 20, 21 and 22 before the Orioles scored the last three points to win 25-22.
The third set would be a complete team set for St. Louis Park. It was a combination of a Coley kill , service aces from Elsa Bergland and Makaila Winward and Alexander's outstanding front line play that held off a Red Knight rally to led them to a 25-20 win. There were seven ties and the Red Knights did take the lead by the Orioles would clinch the set on a Faith Johnson kill.
St. Louis Park head coach Whitney Meierotto-Simon was interviewed prior to the start of the match about the team's most successful regular season in years. "The girls work really hard in practice," she said.
One of the keys to the Orioles success is Winward, the senior setter. According to Meierotto-Simon "She's done a good job spreading the offense."
Another top player the Oriole head coach mentioned was outside hitter Hannah Howell. "She's done a real good job of carrying our offense this season."
St. Louis Park ended their season with a record of 21-6 and enters Section 6AAA tournament play next week. Section play begins Tuesday, October 22. If the Orioles get a first round bye, they will host a quarterfinal game on Thursday, October 24. Meierotto-Simon said the Orioles could be one of the top contenders along with Bloomington Jefferson.
BSM lost their third straight match and finished their regular season at 18-10. The Red Knights also begin section play on October 22.
Monday, October 14, 2019
Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars-SLP Orioles Football Preview
Two former Lake Blue Conference rivals battle Wednesday night to wrap up the Minnesota high school football regular season as the St. Louis Park Orioles host the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars.
This season marks the 50th year for Jefferson football. The Jaguars inaugural season was 1970 with Bruno Waldner as the team's first head coach. Jefferson and St. Louis Park met on October 21 and the Orioles, under the leadership of head coach Rob Roy, beat the Jaguars 28-8. St. Louis Park's quarterback Brian Glover scored two touchdowns and Blair Wachutka also crossed the goal line. Defense also factored as Dave Carlson intercepted a pass from Jefferson quarterback John Anderson and ran for a touchdown. The Jaguars finished 6-3 in 1970 and there was no section play or state tournament until 1972.
Now back to the present. Last Friday, the Orioles routed the DeLaSalle Islanders 41-0 as snowflakes were flying above the turf field. Though St. Louis Park had a depleted backfield with Sajid Nathim out with a torn ACL and Tobyous Davenport departing the game in the first quarter due to an injury, the running game would get a huge boost from senior Alex Hager as he ran 13 times for 121 yards and made three trips to the end zone. Quarterback Aaron Ellingson threw two touchdown passes to McCabe Dvorak and McCabe's brother Will relieved Ellingson with the game decided in the fourth quarter to conclude the scoring. Freshman Tyree Shorter also got playing time with six carries for 18 yards.
On defense, Christian Artega and Darrell Kemp had nine tackles apiece. The Orioles also recorded three sacks.
Jefferson ended a three game losing streak last Friday with a 12-7 win over the Henry Sibley Warriors. They were down 7-6 in the fourth quarter until Manny Montgomery scored on a two run run with :29 in regulation time. The Jaguars season hasn't been mighty, heading into the regular season's final week with a 2-5 record. Three of their five losses were to powerhouses Benilde-St. Margaret's. Cooper and Chaska.
The keys to the game for St. Louis Park are for the running game to continue its momentum and for the defense to put pressure on Jefferson quarterback Carter Hanson. Jefferson's keys to the game are for the offensive line to create opportunities to run the ball and for Hanson to get into a good passing rhythm.
The good news is that the weather will be warmer than last Friday with Wednesday's high around 50. But bundle up if it gets chilly late in the game. Game time is 7 PM.
This season marks the 50th year for Jefferson football. The Jaguars inaugural season was 1970 with Bruno Waldner as the team's first head coach. Jefferson and St. Louis Park met on October 21 and the Orioles, under the leadership of head coach Rob Roy, beat the Jaguars 28-8. St. Louis Park's quarterback Brian Glover scored two touchdowns and Blair Wachutka also crossed the goal line. Defense also factored as Dave Carlson intercepted a pass from Jefferson quarterback John Anderson and ran for a touchdown. The Jaguars finished 6-3 in 1970 and there was no section play or state tournament until 1972.
Now back to the present. Last Friday, the Orioles routed the DeLaSalle Islanders 41-0 as snowflakes were flying above the turf field. Though St. Louis Park had a depleted backfield with Sajid Nathim out with a torn ACL and Tobyous Davenport departing the game in the first quarter due to an injury, the running game would get a huge boost from senior Alex Hager as he ran 13 times for 121 yards and made three trips to the end zone. Quarterback Aaron Ellingson threw two touchdown passes to McCabe Dvorak and McCabe's brother Will relieved Ellingson with the game decided in the fourth quarter to conclude the scoring. Freshman Tyree Shorter also got playing time with six carries for 18 yards.
On defense, Christian Artega and Darrell Kemp had nine tackles apiece. The Orioles also recorded three sacks.
Jefferson ended a three game losing streak last Friday with a 12-7 win over the Henry Sibley Warriors. They were down 7-6 in the fourth quarter until Manny Montgomery scored on a two run run with :29 in regulation time. The Jaguars season hasn't been mighty, heading into the regular season's final week with a 2-5 record. Three of their five losses were to powerhouses Benilde-St. Margaret's. Cooper and Chaska.
The keys to the game for St. Louis Park are for the running game to continue its momentum and for the defense to put pressure on Jefferson quarterback Carter Hanson. Jefferson's keys to the game are for the offensive line to create opportunities to run the ball and for Hanson to get into a good passing rhythm.
The good news is that the weather will be warmer than last Friday with Wednesday's high around 50. But bundle up if it gets chilly late in the game. Game time is 7 PM.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
A Royal Shocker in St. Louis Park
On a cold and windy Saturday afternoon, the sixth seeded Hopkins Royals continued their momentum from their quarterfinal win last Thursday with two goals from Evan Komschlies that led them to a 2-1 upset of the host St. Louis Park Orioles in the semifinals of the Section 6AA Boys Soccer Tournament,
The Royals, with three wins entering semifinal play, would take the lead on Komschlies' header following a corner kick and they would lead 1-0 at halftime.
Hopkins would go up by two in the second half as Komschlies would score his second goal in a flurry of action near St. Louis Park goalkeeper Beau Finley, who replaced starting netminder Luis Benitez Matias. The Orioles would strike back :20 later as Nick Riley fed Alex Ruiz-Shimada and he sent the ball injto the net to cut the lead to one. No matter how many opportunities St. Louis Park had to send the game into overtime, the Hopkins defense would play very strong to prevent scoring chances.
The Royals improved their record to 4-11-3 and will face either Wayzata or Minneapolis Washburn for the Section 6AA title on Tuesday, October 15 at 7 PM. The Orioles ended their season with a record of 12-2-1.
The Royals, with three wins entering semifinal play, would take the lead on Komschlies' header following a corner kick and they would lead 1-0 at halftime.
Hopkins would go up by two in the second half as Komschlies would score his second goal in a flurry of action near St. Louis Park goalkeeper Beau Finley, who replaced starting netminder Luis Benitez Matias. The Orioles would strike back :20 later as Nick Riley fed Alex Ruiz-Shimada and he sent the ball injto the net to cut the lead to one. No matter how many opportunities St. Louis Park had to send the game into overtime, the Hopkins defense would play very strong to prevent scoring chances.
The Royals improved their record to 4-11-3 and will face either Wayzata or Minneapolis Washburn for the Section 6AA title on Tuesday, October 15 at 7 PM. The Orioles ended their season with a record of 12-2-1.
Friday, October 11, 2019
DeLaSalle Demolition
Friday night was cold, windy and snowy but it didn't stop a small throng of fans from seeing Alexander Hager score three touchdowns to lead the host St. Louis Park Orioles to a 41-0 demolishing of the DeLaSalle Islanders.
The Orioles entered the game without their leading rusher Sajid Nathim, who tore his ACL last week against Chanhassen, leaving them shorthanded in the backfield. Nathim's replacement, Tobyous Davenport would leave the game near the end of a scoreless first quarter due to an injury as well as Khalid Powell, who was taken to Children's hospital in an ambulance.
With Nathim and Davenport sidelined, who would St. Louis Park use to run the ball? The answer would be Hager as he would help put the game away in the second quarter with two touchdowns. The first would come on a 30 yard run up the middle and the second would come after Henry Bendickson sacked Islander quarterback Brandon Hoban on fourth down, setting up first and goal at the DeLaSalle seven yard line. On the first play of the drive, Hager headed into the end zone to put the Orioles ahead 14-0. They would go up by 22 on quarterback Aaron Ellingson's 10 yard touchdown pass to McCabe Dvorak with :27.9 left in the first half and it would be the halftime margin.
St. Louis Park would score two more touchdowns in the third quarter as the Ellingson to McCabe Dvorak combination prevailed again, scoring on a five yard pass completion. Hager would reach the end zone for his third touchdown but it was called back due to a penalty. He would later score on a 10 yard run to increase the lead to 35.
As the game headed into running time in the fourth quarter, the Oriole reserves got into the game. William Dvorak replaced Ellingson at quarterback and he scored the game's final touchdown on a one yard keeper run bolstered by several runs from freshman Tyree Shorter.
The Orioles improved their record to 3-4 and end their regular season on Wednesday, October 16 as they host the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars at 7 PM. The Islanders, with 30 players on their roster, also conclude their season on the 15th hosting the Cooper Hawks at 7 PM.
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Six Goals and All Well for SLP Orioles
It was a wet Thursday night in St. Louis Park as the host Orioles opened quarterfinal play in the Section 6AA Boys Soccer Tournament with four goals from Randy Mayele that led them to a 6-1 win over the Cooper Hawks.
St. Louis Park would set the table 5:00 into the game as Thomas Salanzadeh faced a three player Cooper wall for a free kick and he lined it into the net. The Orioles would go up by two as Daniel Lainsbury headed in a rebound from a missed Nick Riley shot. Then it would be Mayele's turn in the St. Louis Park spotlight as he would score the next two goals. The last one would come with :05.2 remaining in the first half following a collision with Hawks goalkeeper Matthew Wood that sent the ball to the net. Wood would leave the game and be replaced by Jayden Hove. St. Louis Park led 4-0 at halftime.
With an insurmountable lead going into the second half, Oriole head coach Chato changed goalkeepers, replacing Beau Finley with Luis Benitez Matias. But it was Mayele who displayed speed and outstanding footwork as he would get the hat trick with his third goal coming from the center slot. The St. Louis Park senior would pick up his fourth goal following a pass from Thomas Salamzadeh. There would be no shutout for the second seeded Orioles when James Sondo would score from the right side of the net with 7:59 to conclude the scoring.
St. Louis Park improved their record to 12-1-1 and will host the Section 6AA semifinal game against the Hopkins Royals on Saturday, October 12 at 3 PM. The sixth seeded Royals upset the third seeded Minneapolis Southwest Lakers 1-0 in overtime.
Cooper concluded their season with a 3-12 record.
St. Louis Park would set the table 5:00 into the game as Thomas Salanzadeh faced a three player Cooper wall for a free kick and he lined it into the net. The Orioles would go up by two as Daniel Lainsbury headed in a rebound from a missed Nick Riley shot. Then it would be Mayele's turn in the St. Louis Park spotlight as he would score the next two goals. The last one would come with :05.2 remaining in the first half following a collision with Hawks goalkeeper Matthew Wood that sent the ball to the net. Wood would leave the game and be replaced by Jayden Hove. St. Louis Park led 4-0 at halftime.
With an insurmountable lead going into the second half, Oriole head coach Chato changed goalkeepers, replacing Beau Finley with Luis Benitez Matias. But it was Mayele who displayed speed and outstanding footwork as he would get the hat trick with his third goal coming from the center slot. The St. Louis Park senior would pick up his fourth goal following a pass from Thomas Salamzadeh. There would be no shutout for the second seeded Orioles when James Sondo would score from the right side of the net with 7:59 to conclude the scoring.
St. Louis Park improved their record to 12-1-1 and will host the Section 6AA semifinal game against the Hopkins Royals on Saturday, October 12 at 3 PM. The sixth seeded Royals upset the third seeded Minneapolis Southwest Lakers 1-0 in overtime.
Cooper concluded their season with a 3-12 record.
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