High school football: Stillwater shows itself to be complete in win over Mounds View

Oct. 16—Stillwater continues to live up to its current No. 3 ranking in Class 6A. The Ponies are strong across the board, and any weaknesses are hard to find.

Mounds View certainly didn't uncover any Friday. The Ponies delivered a complete performance in their 49-13 victory over the Mustangs in Mounds View to move to 7-0 on the season.

"This has just been amazing — 7-0 is a dream come true, and I'm loving it," Stillwater star running back Edwards O'Keefe said. "I think everything is just great. We have great team chemistry, we're doing good on the field, everything is just flowing together really well."

O'Keefe established himself on the ground early, notching a pair of short rushing touchdowns. From there, the Ponies were able to mix in a healthy dose of play-action as Max Shikenjanski spread the ball around to his vast array of receiving threats.

Shikenjanski hit Thomas Jacobs for a 13-yard score on a 3rd-and-8 to put the Ponies up 21-7 in the second quarter. Then, facing a 4th-and-4 in the final minute of the half, Shikenjanski found Landon Weyer for a 24-yard score on what appeared to be a blown coverage to give Stillwater a 21-point advantage heading into the half.

O'Keefe finished with 15 carries for 85 yards and three scores. Shikenjanski completed 11 of his 19 passing attempts for 193 yards and a pair of touchdown passes. Jacobs had five receptions for 85 yards and a score. Weyer added 93 yards of total offense to go with his touchdown.

Stillwater's running game currently complements the passing attack, and vice versa. Stillwater coach Beau LaBore said the ability to do both gives the Ponies a chance in any game.

"I think it works really well. Max Shik at QB, he's lethal back there," O'Keefe said. "I think this whole time we've been working, getting better and better at it, and I think we're just so close to perfection. We're still working for it, and we're still getting better every week, but I think we're right next to where we want to be."

Mounds View (3-4) scored on the game's opening drive, as Mustangs quarterback Owen Wark completed his first five passes on the opening drive, including a 10-yard scoring strike to Dylan Wheeler to give Mounds View an early lead. But the Ponies' defense put on the clamps after that.

Stillwater's Austin Buck intercepted Wark on Mounds View's next possession, which set up O'Keefe's first touchdown. Wark was under heavy pressure on most of his dropbacks throughout the evening, and the Mustangs' running game was essentially non-existent against the Ponies' defensive front.

Stillwater has won five of its last six games by double-figures. And in the lone exception — a 35-28 win over White Bear Lake — the Ponies led by 21 with five minutes to play. They're getting better every game and doing what they're supposed to do on a weekly basis. O'Keefe noted the Ponies head into each week with the mindset of attempting to go 1-0.

"Our guys buy into the three phases of the game, and they know that we've got a lot of things that they want to accomplish, and we'll just keep trying to knock one thing off at a time," LaBore said. "When you tell kids that you want to get better every single day and that you're not worried about the opponent as much as yourself, sometimes some kids hear it, sometimes some of them don't. But we've had a lot of kids buy into what we're trying to do, and they're seeing some of the fruits of their labor. Hopefully they'll keep the same mentality going forward."

Stillwater will meet Eden Prairie in its regular season finale Thursday in a measuring stick contest heading into the postseason. The Eagles have a loss — albeit to top-ranked Lakeville South — but are ranked second, one spot ahead of the unbeaten Ponies.

Stillwater locked up the Metro Maroon-North subdistrict title, but Eden Prairie competed in the Metro Gold this fall, which featured many of the state's perennial powers.

"Our guys get a chance to see what the top of the mountain is. They get a chance to play the gold standard," LaBore said. "(The Eagles) have been tested all year long, they've had to play a grueling schedule and they've stood up to it. We know what an unbelievable challenge this is going to be for us, and we're going to get back to work (Saturday) morning and see what we can put together."

The Ponies did win their only other maroon-gold crossover game to date, a 7-0 victory over Centennial, who entered this week's slate ranked No. 5 in the state. After that contest, Cougars coach Mike Diggins raved about how strong of a team Stillwater was.

And the Ponies have proved it ever since.

"It's just great seeing our goals come true," O'Keefe said. "Subdistrict (title) is cool and all, but we all know we're gunning for state. That's what's really on our minds right now."