Just doing our job is what made the difference.””

Park head coach Rick Fryklund

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The Wolfpack host Mounds View (4-2) Friday with a 7 p.m. kickoff, then play at Stillwater (3-3) on Thursday, Oct. 17.

Park played its best game of the season, and this time it was the defense which rose to the occasion.
A week after giving up 57 points and 507 yards in offense to Hopkins, the Wolfpack took down visiting Eastview 28-16 with a combination of solid play on both sides of the ball.
Park held Eastview to just 195 total yards, 5 of 11 third down attempts, and forced two turnovers. Eastview managed just 109 yards rushing and 86 yards passing against an aggressive Wolfpack defense.
“Alignment and assignment makes a big difference,” said Park head coach Rick Fryklund. “And we went as simple as we could and those guys that we had in, I think we had six guys in the four spots this evening, so we just rotated them to keep them fresh and asked them to be as physical as they possibly could while doing their job and it paid some dividends for us. Just doing our job is what made the difference.”
Park’s offense did its part as well, gaining 381 total yards including almost a dead even ratio of 189 yards passing to 192 rushing.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak and put the Wolfpack in a position to finish the season with a winning record with two games remaining in the regular season.
Park junior running back Kody Aikens ran 25 times for 152 yards and a touchdown, capped by a game-clinching 43-yard touchdown scamper late in the fourth quarter. Senior quarterback Miskir Esayas completed 12 of 20 passes for 189 yards and a score and ran for two touchdowns in the second quarter.
“I think by far it was the best game of the season, because we really had to battle and it really showed how hard we were willing to work to win the game,” said Aikens.
After a scoreless first quarter, Park took a 14-0 lead with 5:25 remaining in the second quarter and seemed to be ready to take that lead into the locker room at the half before giving up a touchdown with just six seconds left in the first half.
The Wolfpack then took a 21-7 lead in the third quarter as Esayas hit wide out Dominic Batts with a 20-yard scoring strike.
Eastview scored the next nine points, however, on a touchdown and a safety, closing to 21-16 in the fourth quarter and making at least a few of the Park fans nervous.
But trailing 21-16 and facing a fourth-and-two at the 49-yard line, the Lightning self-destructed. Eastview was called for a false start and after the five-yard penalty they opted to kick the ball back to Park.
And the Wolfpack took advantage, dominating the last nine minutes of the game. Running behind a fired-up offense line, Park’s Zach Carr and Aikens powered ahead for one big run after another, with Aikens eventually breaking free for a 43-yard touchdown with 3:29 left to salt the game away.
“It was fun to watch our offense assert itself on that final drive when we had to have that,” Fryklund agreed. “The lesson that I hope, and I told them, is about consistency. That this is clearly the most complete game that they have played all year and we’re going to continue to build on that next week when we play Mounds View.”
Batts led the Wolfpack receivers with 5 catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. Carr had one catch for 46 yards. Naod Tewelde hauled in 3 receptions for 29 yards. Matthew Kamande has one catch for 24 yards and Bryan Wright had 2 catches for 13 yards.
Carr had two interceptions and three tackles for the Park defense. Defensive lineman Jarius Boston had a little bit of everything defensively, with three solo stops, an assist, a sack and two tackles for losses. Lance Hayes had six total tackles and a tackle for a loss. Gheritt Museus, EJ Lange Jr. and Aikens had five total tackles each.
For the post game, coach Frylund sent most of the defensive stars over to be interviewed.
“I thought as a defense we aligned well, we played well, we played smart, we didn’t make mental mistakes, or a lot of penalties which killed us in previous games,” said Park defensive lineman Jesse Wright. “There was definitely a change in practices this week. We locked in a lot more. And we brought it this week.”
“We stayed disciplined the entire time,” said junior lineman Gheritt Museus. “I mean we worked hard the entire time and sidelines stayed high. We really locked in more mentally this week. And we’re sick of losing. We focused more on the win this week and working hard in practice.”
“I think I would say it was the best (win) because of what we have been going through, losing three games in a row, the way we bounced back, did our assignments, stayed disciplined and not letting the little things bring us down” said junior Jairus Boston, who had a standout game on the defensive line.
“I felt like this week, all it came down to was how we practiced,” said linebacker Aidan Boche. “We came into the week of practice knowing that we have to earn it this week and we kicked butt at practice, so we kicked butt in game. And I feel like that’s what it really came down to. As a defensive player I feel like the defense carried out the duties the entire game and never got down on ourselves when things happened, when we got scored on. And we came out and we had a great night defensively.”
“It feels great, it feels great to finally get a win,” said junior lineman Robert Schmitzer. “Going forward it definitely gives us momentum. Because after the three-loss streak it definitely builds our momentum going into next week, going into the next few games.”
Finally, the penalties which have haunted the Wolfpack at times this season were almost non-existent Thursday. Park was whistled just four times for 14 yards.
Park meets a pair of old Suburban East Conference rivals Mounds View and 10th-ranked Stillwater in its final two regular season games. The Wolfpack host Mounds View (4-2) Friday with a 7 p.m. kickoff, then play at Stillwater (3-3) on Thursday, Oct. 17. Mounds View blasted East Ridge 35-14 on Friday, holding the Raptors to just 90 yards in rushing and 208 total yards.
Metro-Maroon standings
Division Overall
Buffalo 5-0 5-1
Roseville 3-2 3-3
Hopkins 3-2 3-3
Park 2-3 2-4
Eastview 2-3 2-4
Burnsville 0-5 0-6

Last week’s results: Park 28, Eastview 16; Buffalo 38, Burnsville 12; Roseville 55, Hopkins 35.