Ponies Crush Rangers for Key Road Victory

All the odds looked tough for Stillwater to bounce back after a tough defeat last week to Cretin-Derham Hall.

Not only was it a lopsided defeat, but the Ponies had to play without starting quarterback Nate Ricci, who is out with a sprained ankle.

With it all against them, the Ponies came away with an impressive 27-7 win against Forest Lake on the road.

Stillwater was led by running back Nick Anderson, who found the endzone three times, highlighted his third quarter touchdown, where he scampered in from for a 14-yard score to give the Ponies a 20-7 lead.

“Offensive line did great and bounced back really well from the Cretin game where we all didn’t perform to our standards,” Anderson said. “We came back and wanted to run the ball and put it in the endzone.”

On the Ponies opening drive, Anderson plunged in from the 3 to give Stillwater a 7-0 lead.

A large part of that drive was on the shoulders of Zach Krenz, who had a big 27-yard run and put the Ponies within striking distance.

Anderson and the Ponies wasted no time the next time they got the ball.

Again, beginning the drive inside Rangers territory, Stillwater was able to get the ball inside the red zone and capitalized with an Anderson 1-yard touchdown carry.

After Rangers quarterback JT Jurasin cut the lead in half late in the second quarter, Stillwater had to come out with some positives to open the third quarter.

Starting from their own 20, the Ponies used a 14-play drive, 13 of them on the ground as Anderson put home his final score of the from 14-yards out, keeping his balance after being tripped up and diving in for a touchdown.

“Our pulling guards did a great job and our running backs just blew up the linebackers,” Anderson said. “It helped separate myself from the defensive line.”

“Nick’s a great athlete and he’s learning a lot about how to take care of the ball,” Ponies coach Beau LaBore added. “Offensive line had flashes of greatness tonight.”

The first drive of the second half was a sign of things to come for Stillwater.

Without its starting quarterback and Aaron Romportl, who essentially missed all of two-a-day practices, under center, the Ponies resorted to the older, more traditional Ponies, running the ball on nearly every offensive possession and using a no-huddle to keep Forest Lake’s defense from substituting.

It helped Stillwater control the clock and keep a tired Rangers defense on the field and eventual wore on the home team.

“Tires them out, takes the life out of them,” Anderson said. “That’s the way we wanted to do it in the second half.”

For LaBore, it was the most opportune time to get points back on the board.

“To come out in the second half, have a couple long drives, get some quick stops, is exactly what we asked for at halftime and the guys delivered,” LaBore said.

On the opposite end was the Rangers, which was within striking distance after halftime, but had a hard time getting the ball back in their offenses hands for the final 24 minutes of play.

They needed a stop to open the second half, but just could not find a way to get the Ponies powerful rushing attack off the field.

“We felt that if we could get a three-and-out to start the second and get a score, we would be in for a good ballgame,” Rangers coach Paul Kendrick said. “That is the thing that our defense has struggled with all yea. To get a three-and-out and get off the field. As the game goes on, that tends to tire the guys out.”

In the fourth quarter, Romportl showed his arm off on a big fourth down play, hitting Austin Holmberg on a skinny post for a 20-yard touchdown to give the Ponies a 27-7 lead.

The junior impressed both his teammates and his coach in handling the keys to the offense.

“He did a great job, stepping into some big shoes with Nate Ricci being out,” Anderson said.

“He handled the situation well,” LaBore added. “It’s never easy to make a first start especially as a junior. He had some big shoes to fill and he did a nice job overall.”

With the win, Stillwater improves to 3-1 on the season and will take on rival Mounds View, which has found a way to end the Ponies season for three straight seasons, and has a three-game winning streak over them as well.

If Stillwater wants to stay in the SEC championship mix, this game is a must win.