Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor

Minus a glitch in the PA system during the playing of the National Anthem, it seemed like everything worked perfectly for the Ranger football team on Friday night. There is the simple matter of pointing to the scoreboard that read Forest Lake: 46, Mounds View: 7, or there is the more detailed approach of looking at how Forest Lake dominated the Mustangs from start to finish. This was not a case where the game was closer than the score would indicate, because the 39 point differential sounds about right.

Mounds View opened the game with good field position, but the Ranger defense shut them down in convincing fashion. With little time gone in the first quarter, the Forest Lake offense took over, and then truly took over.

With the ball on the Mustang 44-yard line, Ranger quarterback Matt Hansmann turned a second down and five into his own, personal track meet as he raced past the Forest Lake sideline into the end zone.

ìWe had a theme during the week for practice, and that was ëconfidence,íî senior captain Tyler Kleinhuizen said afterward. ìI would say we definitely went and fulfilled that.î

Yes indeed, Forest Lake looked confident. After another defensive stop, Hansmann and Co. got the ball back and picked up right where they left off.

This time, Hansmann ran wide and held his pitch until the Mounds View defense committed in his direction. The lateral went to senior running back Trip Schultz, and now it was his turn to rumble down the sideline. He was stopped before making it 12-0, but that would happen soon enough.

After Schultz plowed his way through a series of arm tackles for his first touchdown of the night, Hansmann converted on the 2-point conversion to make it 14-0, with nearly three minutes still remaining in the first quarter.

Assistant coach Jeff Wilson, who handles the offense, said that after watching film of Mounds View, the Ranger coaching staff believed there were plenty of opportunities waiting for Forest Lake.

ìWe kind of ran what we wanted to run when we got out there,î he said. ìThe kids played well; the line really came out and blocked well.î

There was a slight pause in the touchdown parade, but later in the second quarter it was Forest Lakeís ball, and their opposition would continue to struggle with the speed of Hansmann and the power of Schultz.

Hansmann blazed down the sideline for a 50-yard gain, and by this point it was starting to feel like it was only a matter of time before the Rangers would score again, and score often.

Schultz took this one in from the 5-yard line, and with the extra point the score was 21-0.

After the defense forced Mounds View to go three and out, there was a certain sameness to the game.

Forest Lake scores, Mounds View doesnít.

Aided by a couple of nice plays by Sasina Sikahema, the Rangers moved down the field, where Hansmann would plunge into the end zone on second and goal, putting Forest Lake up 28-0 at the end of the first half.

THE SECOND HALF

If Mounds View was hoping to make a monumental comeback in the third quarter, those hopes were crushed within the first minute of the second half.

Junior Mitch Koenig basically sealed the deal with a kickoff return to the Mustangís 25-yard line. From the 14-yard line, Schultz scored his third touchdown on a first and ten, and the score was 34-0, with 54 seconds gone in the quarter.

ìI was seeing holes,î Schultz said while standing between the 250 pound Kleinhuizen and the 240 pound Schwartz. ìThese big boys up front were making stuff (open) for me.î

And they werenít done.

But first, out of nowhere, Mounds View looked great on offense, and with a solid mix of running and passing, the Mustangs scored their only touchdown of the game on a 3-yard run by Michael Duncombe.

But that would be all for the Mustangs.

Hansmann would crank out yardage, junior Dillon Grant would contribute, and Schultz would score his fourth touchdown on a third and goal.

A final score was put on the board when senior Krister Ralles fell on a loose ball in the end zone, and the 46-7 score was simply waiting to become official.

ìReally, in my opinion, that was a make or break week for us,î head coach Matt Cleary said.

ìAnd thatís the team that I knew is down in there,î he said about his squad. ìThis is a good football team, you know, and Mounds View is not a bad football team. They came in 2-0.î

With the win, Forest Lake joined three other teams at 2-1 in the Suburban East Conference, behind undefeated Cretin-Derham Hall. Woodbury will host the Rangers on Friday at 7 p.m.

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