No. 3 Mound Westonka takes down No. 6 Fridley 28-21

The No. 3 Mound Westonka White Hawks defeated the No. 6 Fridley Tigers 28-21, Friday evening at Fridley High School.

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Fridley forced a punt to begin the game. The Tigers then marched down the field behind the run game. senior Devin Williams then scored on a push-pass to make it 7-0 Tigers with just over seven minutes left in the first quarter.

Later in the half, the White Hawks would answer back with a drive of their own. White Hawk senior Tyler Von Bank finished the drive with a rushing touchdown to make it 7-7 with 10:47 left in the second quarter.

The Tigers meticulously worked their way down the field during their final first-half drive. The drive ended when junior quarterback Myson Newton hit Williams on a quick route and Williams took it to the house to make it 13-7 Fridley with 28 seconds left in the half.

In the second half, White Hawk junior Tyler Albert had a long run to put the ball on Fridley’s 26-yard line. Senior quarterback Jake Gaylord would then end the drive with a long QB keeper to make it 14-13 White Hawks with 6:48 left in the quarter.

But, Fridley would immediately answer back. On the first play of the ensuing drive, senior running back Zachary Gotsch scored on a long run. The Tigers would covert the two-point conversion to make it 21-14 Fridley with 6:33 remaining in the third quarter.

The White Hawks would answer Fridley’s answer. Gaylord would hit Von Bank for a long reception. Then, Gaylord would have another long scramble to set up great field position. From there, Gaylord would score another rushing touchdown to make it 21-20 Tigers with 3.2 left in the third quarter.

In the fourth, Mound Westonka was putting a drive together but was faced with a 4th and 5. They went for it and Von Bank got it with a run to the outside. Later in the drive, the White Hawks were faced with a 4th and 11 from Fridley’s 19-yard line. This time Von Bank threw it to senior Jake Dallman, who caught a tipped ball for a touchdown catch to make it 26-21 White Hawks with 5:56 left in the game. Von Bank would then covert the two-point conversion with a run to make it 28-21.

On the ensuing Tiger drive, senior defensive back Joe Zachow would intercept a deep Fridley pass to give the White Hawks the ball back with only 3:21 remaining in the game.

Fridley was able to force a punt and get the ball back on their own 21-yard line with just over 1:30 left in the game. But, Mound Westonka shut them down to hold on for the win.