There would be no late-game heroics needed this time around.

Prior Lake set the tone early with a suffocating defense, leaving Eagan quarterback Sam Zenner running for cover instead of through open holes for most of Friday night, and defeated Eagan 20-14 to advance to the Class 6A quarterfinals for the third time in the past four years.

The Lakers held the Wildcats to less than 200 yards of offense in winning the section crossover matchup at Dan Patch Stadium in Prior Lake.

During the regular season, Prior Lake (9-1) needed a touchdown run and two-point conversion by running back Alex Hart with 2:16 left in the game to edge Eagan 15-14. In the rematch, Hart was leading a defensive unit from his linebacker position that kept Zenner scrambling just to get back to the line of scrimmage every time he touched the ball.

“We knew they had exceptional athletes from the first time we played them,” Prior Lake coach Matt Gegenheimer said. “Our guys we’re really focused on taking good angles, and making good tackles.”

Zenner was limited to 1 yard on 11 carries in the first half while Prior Lake was building a 17-0 lead. He entered the game with over 1,300 yards rushing, and accounting for more than 70 percent of the Wildcats’ offense. Eagan (5-5) had 13 yards of offense at the intermission.

“That was the best half our defense has played all year,” Hart said. “We gave up a couple of big plays in the second half, and we’ll have to work on that.”

Those big plays were by Zenner, who rushed for 100 yards on 19 carries. He ran 88 yards for a score on the first play of the third quarter, and moved to wide receiver to catch a 30-yard touchdown pass with 54 seconds left in the game.

Prior Lake built a 17-0 lead on a 59-yard punt return by sophomore Jacob Hitz, a 2-yard run by junior Andrew Owodunni and 26-yard field goal by Tyler Hanson on the last play of the first half. Hanson added a second field goal early in the fourth quarter.

“We preach to our kids about starting fast,” Gegenheimer said. “I’m proud of the way they came out to start the game. They put 17 points up in the first half, and that was big.”

RON HAGGSTROM