FINAL: No. 4 Ranked Stillwater Beats East Ridge 24-21

Stillwater jumped out to a 14 point lead against East Ridge on Friday night before the Ponies offense even touched the field.

No. 4-ranked Stillwater never looked back, beating East Ridge 24-21, on their way to a division leading 5-1 record in the Suburban East Conference.

Nate Ricci returned to the field this week and immediately had a big impact.

Ricci took the opening kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, after adding the extra point, the Ponies were up 7-0.

The Ponies defense came out and shut the Raptors down on their first possession of the game, forcing them to punt.

Ricci fielded the punt on the Ponies 25 yard line, and returned it 75 yards for his second touchdown in the first four minutes of the game.

But after two quick strikes, East Ridge regained their composure.

The Raptors scored 14 unanswered points to tie the Ponies with tough defense and two rushing touchdowns.

But with 3:30 left in the first half, the Ponies recaptured the lead on a touchdown pass from Ricci to Matt Anderson. The Ponies took a 21-14 lead into halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Ponies added to their lead when Danny Laudet connected on a 24-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter.

East Ridge responded by scoring a touchdown, narrowing the Ponies lead to 24-21, with three minutes left in the game. The Raptors defense stepped up and forced Stillwater into a three-and-out.

The Ponies defense came up with a big stop late in the fourth quarter, sealing a three-point victory for the Ponies.

UPDATED:

The Ponies ride a 4-1 record into Raptors Nest Stadium tonight to take on East Ridge (3-2). Kickoff is 7 p.m.

The Ponies come into tonight’s game with a 4-1 record, on top of the Suburban East Conference. Mounds View and White Bear Lake also have 4-1 records on the season.

The Ponies are coming off of a huge 17-14 win over Mounds View last week. East Ridge went on the road to beat Hastings 34-31 last week.

Click here to read the Stillwater Gazette's preview of tonight's game.

Stillwater Patch is proud to bring you a livestreaming video broadcast from Pony Stadium, courtesy of the Ponies Touchdown Club. Of course, we encourage folks to attend the game and show the athletes your support.

You can also click here to watch the livestream on the Ponies official team website. Play-by-play will be provided by KLBB's Tim Daigle. The broadcast will start about 30 minutes before game time.

Keep up with the Ponies this season by following @Ponies_Football on Twitter, or liking the Ponies Football Facebook page.

Click here to read stories about some of the Ponies volunteer efforts during the off-season.

You can also listen to the game on the radio by tuning into KLBB AM-1220. 

Schedule:

Aug. 31: at Woodbury 7 p.m. (W, 20-18)

Sept. 7: White Bear Lake 7 p.m. (W, 28-19)

Sept. 14: at Cretin Derham Hall 7 p.m. (L, 27-13)

Sept. 21: Forest Lake 7 p.m. (48-0)

Sept. 28: Mounds View 7 p.m. (17-14)

Oct. 5: at East Ridge 7 p.m.

Oct. 12: Roseville 7 p.m. (Senior Night)

Oct. 17: at Hastings 7 p.m.