The Prior Lake Lakers provided their most complete offensive performance of the season, riding two long touchdown passes from quarterback Drew Brinkman and three powerful scoring runs by running back Dylan Hawley to knock off No. 6 Shakopee 38–28 on Oct. 3 at Dan Patch Stadium.
The win gave the Lakers a long-awaited Homecoming victory over their rivals and moved them back to .500 on the season. It marked Prior Lake’s first Homecoming win against Shakopee since a 44–0 rout in 2006—the only other time the schools have met for Homecoming—and the most points the Lakers have scored in a Homecoming game since defeating Eagan 44–3 in 2017.
With the result, Prior Lake improved to 3–3 overall (3–1 Metro South), while Shakopee fell to 4–2 overall (2–2 Metro South).
Any notion of a low-scoring grind vanished on the third play from scrimmage. Brinkman flipped a wide-receiver screen to wide receiver Aiden Mbinda, who knifed through traffic and sprinted 76 yards for a touchdown just 55 seconds into the contest. Kicker Daniel Vannett’s point after touchdown made it 7–0 Lakers.
Shakopee answered behind its triple-option attack, as quarterback Jake Courts faked a handoff and dashed 23 yards to tie the game at 7–7 with 7:35 remaining in the first quarter. The Lakers countered immediately thanks to a big return from kick returner Griffen Nordrum into Saber territory. Five plays later, Hawley broke a tackle at the five and dove across for an 8-yard touchdown run to put Prior Lake back in front 14–7 with 5:51 left in the quarter after Vannett’s extra point.
A precision kickoff pinned the Sabers deep, and though the defense had a three-and-out lined up, a roughing-the-punter penalty extended the drive. Prior Lake still carried a 14–7 lead into the second quarter.
Shakopee leveled the score as running back Joseph Taye powered in from three yards out to make it 14–14 with 11:37 remaining in the half. The Lakers’ response defined the quarter: facing 3rd-and-13 at midfield, Brinkman scrambled left and beat the pursuit to the sticks. A few plays later, a defensive pass interference on a fade to wide receiver Colten Gunderson set up short yardage, and Hawley converted on fourth down before finishing the march with a 4-yard bruiser—dragging defenders over the goal line—to put Prior Lake back on top 21–14 with 4:46 left in the half.
Linebacker Jackson Didion stalled the next Saber series with a 3rd-and-11 sack. On fourth down, Shakopee tried a fake punt, but linebacker Sean Nadeau snuffed it out and made a tackle near the line of scrimmage to give Prior Lake a short field.
Mbinda then gained solid yards on a toss play on the very next snap and drew a late hit out of bounds to move the ball inside the red zone. It looked as though the Lakers might punch in another touchdown before halftime, but on 3rd-and-2 at the six-yard line, a bobbled snap sent the ball bouncing around in the backfield. Players from both teams dove for it—several missing as it ricocheted off a maze of feet—before Gunderson somehow emerged from the scrum with the football in the middle of four or five Shakopee defenders. The improbable recovery kept the possession alive long enough for Vannett to drill a 29-yard field goal with three seconds remaining in the half, extending the Lakers’ lead to 24–14 at halftime.
Shakopee threatened to open the half, sparked by a long run from running back Judah Forsberg but defensive lineman Skyler Werner hustled the play down from behind to save six points. On fourth-and-three at the Prior Lake 25, Nadeau made a shoestring tackle to turn it over on downs.
Three snaps later, Brinkman threw to running back Luke Watkins on a swing pass. Watkins stiff-armed a defender, tight-roped the sideline, and outran the secondary for a 72-yard touchdown to push the lead to 31–14 Lakers with 7:42 remaining in the third quarter.
The defense stacked stops from there, with safety Cole Brinkman racking up tackles for loss.
With the Lakers lined up to punt in the closing seconds of the quarter, Shakopee was flagged for 12 men on the field, gifting Prior Lake a fresh set of downs to drain clock into the fourth.
Hawley punctuated the night with a 9-yard rumble—his third touchdown—dragging defenders from the three-yard line into the end zone to make it 38–14 with 2:41 remaining in regulation.
Shakopee added two late touchdowns and recovered an onside kick to trim the final margin, but the Lakers held firm for a 38–28 Homecoming victory.
Noteworthy Stats vs. Shakopee
QB Drew Brinkman — 6-for-9, 177 yds, 2 TD
RB Dylan Hawley — 11 carries, 59 yds, 3 TD
WR Aiden Mbinda — 4 receptions, 98 yds, TD
RB Luke Watkins — 1 reception, 72 yds, TD
LB Ryan Block — 9 tackles
LB Brady Gegenheimer — 8 tackles
S Cole Brinkman — 7 tackles, 3 TFL
DL Prince Faulk — 7 tackles
CB Griffin Marshall — 7 tackles
LB Jackson Didion — 5 tackles, sack
Next Up: Lakeville South
It won’t get any easier this week as Prior Lake travels to face fifth-ranked Lakeville South on Friday, Oct. 10, at Lakeville South High School.
The Cougars enter the matchup 5–1 overall (3–1 Metro South) and currently sit No. 5 in the latest Star Tribune Class 6A poll. Lakeville South is led by head coach Ben Burk, who has guided the program since 2019 after taking over for Tyler Krebs. Burk briefly accepted the head coaching position at Cretin-Derham Hall this past offseason before reconsidering and deciding to remain at Lakeville South, citing his connection to the school and community.
The teams last met during the 2022 season, when Lakeville South edged Prior Lake 21–17 at Dan Patch Stadium.
This season, the Cougars have leaned on their signature T-formation rushing attack, a ground-heavy scheme featuring three running backs aligned behind the quarterback. The look creates constant misdirection through fakes and ball-handling to keep defenses guessing which runner has the ball.
Lakeville South opened the year with a 34–7 win over Mounds View, then fell to Shakopee 16–12 in Week 2. Since then, the Cougars have won four straight, defeating Lakeville North (28–14), Farmington (35–6), Eagan (31–8) and Edina (30–28).
The offense is headlined by running backs Nic Swanson and Griffen Dean, who have combined for more than 1,000 yards on the ground. Swanson has rushed for 645 yards and nine touchdowns, while Dean has added 425 yards and three scores.
At quarterback, Gavin Stewart has handled the majority of snaps, completing 8 of 12 passes for 81 yards, a touchdown, and one interception. He’s also contributed 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Drake Fritz has seen limited action, going 1-for-5 passing for 20 yards and a touchdown.
Dean also leads the team in receiving with five catches for 61 yards, while wide receiver Henry Hauge has contributed three receptions for 20 yards and a touchdown.
Friday’s game carries significant playoff seeding implications, as both programs enter with identical 3–1 marks in Metro South/Section 3 play. Seeding will be finalized following next Wednesday’s games and brackets will be announced next Thursday Oct. 16 at 10 am on Randy Shaver’s Prep Football Podcast on YouTube.
