Dan Pietruszewski’s superb performance powered South St. Paul past Hill-Murray and helped the Packers preserve a perfect Metro East Conference record.

The quarterback scored three touchdowns, helping the Packers finish undefeated in the league with a 28-14 victory at Hill-Murray High School on Friday. 

“Our quarterback was amazing tonight,” Packers’ senior running back Jaden Bjorklund said. “He made a lot of great plays for us tonight.”

South St. Paul’s run-heavy offense relies on Pietruszewski to make the correct read on option plays and the junior proved he could, finishing with 112 rushing yards and helping the Packers (7-1, 7-0) maintain a consistent ground attack that kept Hill-Murray’s offense off the field.

Pietruszewski gained more than 40 yards on the opening drive, which ended with him lowering his shoulder and plowing in the end zone for 4-yard touchdown run. However, he was especially effective in the fourth quarter with South St. Paul holding onto a 21-14 lead.

Pietruszewski picked up a crucial yards on a fourth down deep in Pioneers’ territory to extend a Packers’ drive and several plays later, he ran the same sneak to score his third touchdown, rushing in from 1 yard out.

“He did everything we wanted him to,” South St. Paul coach Chad Sexauer said. “He’s a tough kid, runs hard and makes the right reads for us and is a big reason what we are playing well.”

Pietruszewski said he feels great about playing a key role in the victory.

“It feels good to play like this and to do so against a conference team, one we will probably see in sections,” he said.

Running back Marshawn Wilson helped Hill-Murray (3-4, 3-4) keep pace in the first half. Wilson scored a 40-yard touchdown in the first quarter and had a 63-yard run in the second. He finished the game with 115 yards rushing but found no room to run after halftime with the Packers clamping down on defense.

“He is a guy that we had to stop, because he can score whenever he touches the ball,” Sexauer said. “We executed against him more in the second, and it really showed.”

South St. Paul lost its season opener to Chanhassen 27-13 on Aug. 22, but responded by winning seven consecutive games -- all in conference play.

The Packers, ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press' Class 4A poll, get a bye next week before section play begins.

“It’s pretty good timing,” Bjorklund said. “Go undefeated in the conference and we get some time to get healthy. We will be ready to go.”

Junior quarterback Dan Pietruszewski scored three touchdowns to lead South St. Paul to a 28-14 victory over Hill-Murray in a Metro East Conference game at Hill-Murray High School on Friday.

The Packers (7-1), ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press' Class 4A poll, finished league play 7-0 and have next week off. Their next game will be in the section tournament.

Hill-Murray (3-4) travels to Tartan on Wednesday.

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