Homecoming hopes dashed for Eagles in loss to Wayzata

Eden Prairie head coach Mike Grant was at a loss for words following his team’s 27-21 loss to Wayzata on Friday, spoiling the Eagles’ homecoming weekend.

“It’s hard to know what to say,” he said. “We’re fumbling snaps. We’re fumbling exchanges. We are what we are. We’re 2-and-3.”

Grant was referring to the Eagles’ record, which has dropped to an unfamiliar 2-3 on the season following the loss to the Trojans.

The disappointing night began on a high note, however, thanks to an electrifying interception return for a touchdown by the Eagles on the first series of the game.

Senior nose guard Gavin Walden applied pressure to Wayzata quarterback Oscar Shoap, forcing an errant throw and setting up linebacker James Anderson to come away with the interception. 

“Everything went silent when I saw the quarterback throwing the ball,” Anderson said afterward. “I caught it, and I just heard everyone going crazy. I mean, that’s probably the best feeling I think I’ve ever felt. That was awesome.”

Anderson raced 64 yards to the end zone to give the Eagles an early 7-0 lead, igniting the capacity crowd in attendance at Aerie Stadium in the process.

“To go out and get a stop early on and score to put us up 7-0 early on in the game, hear the crowd cheering, it was electric,” senior defensive back Max Kukla said. “And we should have carried that energy throughout the game, but we kind of let it simmer.”

What followed was a roller-coaster evening, marked by big plays from both teams as well as costly mistakes by the Eagles, who have been plagued by penalties, turnovers and mental errors in their three losses this season.

“We just got to be better, be more explosive on offense,” senior running back Elijah Rumph said. “So, back to the film tomorrow so we just look over the film and what we’ve got to improve on.”

Rumph had a big night rushing for Eden Prairie, churning out 161 yards on 24 carries and scoring a touchdown.

Those numbers could have even been more impressive if not for a holding call on the Eagles in the second quarter, nullifying Rumph’s 68-yard run to the Wayzata 1-yard line. 

“That’s just mental mistakes,” Grant said. “That’s what’s kept us (down), so we’ve got to somehow improve that.”

The Eagles were forced to punt following the holding call. Standing at his own 10-yard line, Eden Prairie punter Cole Stern averted disaster by fielding a high snap that otherwise would have flown into the end zone.

Stern fielded the snap and got off a 30-yard punt to avoid what likely would have been points for Wayzata.

The Trojans took the lead with a 24-yard field goal by Nate Negash, giving them a 10-7 advantage with 3:45 remaining in the second quarter.

But on the Eagles’ next offensive series, Rumph broke loose again, this time without any flags on the field.

A 56-yard touchdown run by Rumph, along with a Zac Weismann extra point, gave the Eagles a 14-10 lead with 2:13 remaining in the half.

On the following series, Wayzata began a drive at their own 20-yard line and drove 60 yards to the Eden Prairie 10-yard line.

With the Trojans set up with a first-and-goal, the Eden Prairie defense held firm on two consecutive plays.

After a stop by the Eagles’ defense on second down, Negash booted a 27-yard field goal as time expired.

At the half, the Eagles held a 14-13 lead.

“It’s just a few plays here and there. I mean, we were right there the entire game,” Kukla said.

Eden Prairie increased its lead with an impressive drive on the first series of the second half.

Following Aaron Kroese’s 12-yard kickoff return, giving the Eagles the ball at their own 34-yard line, Rumph picked up where he had left off in the first half.

Behind the Eagles’ offensive line, Rumph broke out with several big gains on the drive, bouncing outside to the left edge on consecutive plays.

Eden Prairie soon found itself deep in Wayzata territory.

Facing a fourth-and-four from the Wayzata 6-yard line, the Eagles turned to some creative play-calling.

Walden took the ball on a reverse, finding clear sailing around the left side for the touchdown and a 21-13 Eden Prairie lead with 6:38 remaining in the third quarter.

Wayzata roared back on the following series as Trojans quarterback Matthew Berklan found receiver Tony Ley for a 79-yard touchdown. 

The two-point conversion failed, but the Eagles’ lead was cut to 21-19 with 4:20 remaining in the third quarter.

The Trojans’ offense found its groove with short, efficient passing strikes, putting up 370 yards of total offense with 269 yards passing.

The Eagles had 227 yards in total offense, all of it on the ground with the exception of nine passing yards.

“We let up a couple deep balls, had a couple penalties that drew us back on offense,” Kukla said. “There might have been four or five plays that made the game end up the way it was.”

Eden Prairie stalled out on its next offensive series, but the Eagles’ defense created another takeaway when junior linebacker Luke Henry forced a fumble and recovered the loose ball.

Henry led the Eagles with seven solo tackles. Senior defensive back Vaughn Feely had six solo tackles and nine overall.

After the fumble recovery, Eden Prairie found themselves with a first-and-10 at the Wayzata 37-yard line with 11:10 remaining in the fourth quarter.

A pair of penalties kept the Eagles from getting into close scoring range.

Facing a fourth-and-15 situation on the Wayzata 19-yard line, Eden Prairie quarterback Jackson Bakkum was intercepted by the Trojans’ Cooper Cleaveland, who returned the ball to the Eden Prairie 42-yard line.

Wayzata took advantage of the short field, and on a third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Shoap scored on a quarterback sneak over center.

With a successful two-point conversion, Wayzata took a 27-21 lead with 5:41 remaining.

“We have to make stops; that’s our job,” Kukla said when asked about the short field Wayzata was given on the scoring drive. “We let them score five times, whether it was a field goal or a touchdown. So our defense has to be better.”

Eden Prairie’s next possession, with 5:33 remaining in regulation, didn’t go far. Bakkum’s fourth-down pass from the Eagles’ 40-yard line to senior receiver Max Lorenson fell incomplete, and the Eagles turned the ball over on downs.

Wayzata ran out the clock to secure the victory.

The loss is the Eagles’ second in as many weeks and leaves the team and its coach searching for answers.

“All you can do is come to work,” Grant said. “You know, work at it, right? So we’ve got to come back tomorrow and try to get better in films.”

Eden Prairie finds itself in an unfamiliar position, with fewer wins than losses. Grant’s message to his players is to keep working to improve.

“We’ve got to get better,” he told them after the game, seeing potential in the young roster.

“We’re good enough to be 5-and-0, we really are,” Grant said. “But we’re not. We are what we are.”

The road doesn’t get any easier for Eden Prairie. The Eagles host undefeated and third-ranked Minnetonka next week.

“They’re a good team, obviously,” Anderson said. “And we just have to go in and have the same mindset we’ve had all season, that we’re still a tough team to beat, and just work hard in practice.”