Defense Leads Spring Lake Park to Football Win Over Cooper

In what the football team described as an off night offensively, the Panthers banked their success Friday at Robbinsdale Cooper on field position and defense.

It worked.

Spring Lake Park left Barbara A. Lehman Stadium with a 16-0 win in a North Suburban Conference showdown, thanks in large part to pinning the Hawks deep in their own end and creating timely turnovers when it mattered most.

“Cooper came out flying to the ball, and our defense shut them out,” said Panthers quarterback Noah Waiwaiole, who entered the game in the first quarter when starter Brandon Jones left with an injury.

The Panthers (6-1, 5-1 North Suburban Conference) took a 14-0 lead heading into halftime thanks to two rushing touchdowns by running back Spencer Stachowski. His one-yard score on 4th and inches gave Spring Lake Park a 7-0 lead, and he followed it up with a two-yard rushing touchdown just before halftime.

That was all the Panthers needed, as Cooper struggled to move the ball all night. When they did threaten, the Hawks stalled because of aggressive play by the Spring Lake Park defense. The Hawks (3-4, 3-4) had three turnovers in the game, including a lost fumble and interceptions by Panthers senior Jordan Spahr and sophomore Ejodamen Ejiya.

“They executed—a team that makes the least amount of mistakes is going to win,” Cooper coach Willie Howard said. “They came out and ran Spring Lake Park football the way we knew they were going to run it, and they were able to execute. We weren’t able to make more plays.”

To ice the game, the Panthers picked up a safety on a botched punt snap with 4:41 remaining.

Spring Lake Park will face Fridley on Wednesday to end the regular season.