St. Paul Central gave Fridley a "wake-up call" in its 35-point victory over the Tigers last year, Fridley coach Justin Reese said.

This year, Fridley responded to the challenge, defeating the Minutemen 19-13 at Griffin Stadium in St. Paul on Friday night.

The Tigers (3-0) scored a touchdown on offense, defense, and special teams and held off a late drive by St. Paul Central (2-1), a Twin City District Maroon Division rival.

"We're ranked No. 5 in the state for a reason," Reese said, noting the team's position in the latest Class 4A Associated Press high school football poll. "We showed that we're where we deserve to be."

Fridley benefited from three St. Paul Central turnovers, two of which led to touchdowns.

Tigers running back Prince Okolie rushed for a 4-yard TD in the first quarter, after a fumble recovery by Frank Valteirrez gave Fridley the ball at the St. Paul Central 19-yard line. Nate Soto returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown as time expired in the first half that gave Fridley a 13-6 lead.

"I knew right away it was going to be a touchdown with the open field I saw," Soto said.

St. Paul Central remained competitive despite the turnovers, thanks in part to running back Xavier Davis. The senior scored a 14-yard touchdown in the first half to cap an 80-yard drive. He rushed for the game-tying touchdown early in the second half, four plays after he returned a kickoff 65 yards.

The Minutemen intercepted passes on the Tigers' first two drives of the game and recovered a fumble in the second half but did not convert the turnovers into points. The team struggled with miscues throughout the game, including the interception and fumble, as well as a muffed punt deep in its own territory.

"You just can't make the mistakes that we made in the area of the field that we made them and think you're going to win a game," St. Paul Central coach Scott Howell said. "It's just not going to happen."

Howell said he saw a heart in Fridley that he did not see in his team's 49-14 win over the Tigers a year ago.

"Last year we jumped on them right away and they just they kind of folded," he said, whereas this year, "they came right back and punched us right back in the mouth. That's something they didn't do last year."

The Minutemen had a chance to tie the game or take the lead late, despite their mistakes. The team took over at its own 30-yard line with 3:40 remaining in the game and drove to the Fridley 30-yard line but could not convert on fourth-and-2.

Fridley's Jonathan Arzola returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, as the Tigers defeated St. Paul Central 19-13.

Fridley (3-0) scored 13 points off three St. Paul Central turnovers, including a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown by Nate Soto as time expired in the first half. Prince Okolie also rushed for a 4-yard touchdown for the Fridley.

The victory came a year after Fridley, ranked fifth in the latest Associated Press Class 4A high school football poll, lost 49-14 to St. Paul Central (2-1), a Twin City Maroon subdistrict rival.

St. Paul Central struggled with miscues for much of the night, including a pair of muffed punts and a fumble. Xavier Davis led the Minutemen with two rushing touchdowns and a 66-yard kickoff return to start the second half.

St. Paul Central drove 40 yards to the Fridley 30-yard line with less than a minute remaining in the game, but the Tigers forced a turnover on downs.

The game was delayed during halftime by inclement weather for about 45 minutes.

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