Success has danced around the edges of the Prior Lake football team all season, sauntering in closely, then slipping away just as the Lakers reached for it.

So why should Friday’s game against Woodbury have been any different?

The Lakers played a terrific first half, then spent the second half acting as if they owed penance for their good fortune and tried to gift-wrap the game for the Royals. Fortunately for them, Woodbury’s back story was much the same and Prior Lake sneaked away with a 19-12 victory in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs.

“We made a lot of mistakes, and sometimes, in a playoff game like this, you can’t come back from it,” said Prior Lake coach Matt Gegenheimer. “So we’re pretty fortunate.”

Both teams spent the first half looking like the talented outfits predicted at the season’s outset.

Woodbury took a 6-0 lead on a 1-yard run by 6-3, 255-pound fullback Jalen Morrison late in the first quarter. Prior Lake responded 22 seconds later when running back Jordan Johnson sidestepped a tackle and raced 53 yards untouched to the end zone, giving the Lakers a 7-6 lead.

Johnson did it again in the second quarter, going 69 yards for a touchdown and a 14-6 lead. A field goal made it 17-6 before a late 53-yard touchdown reception by Woodbury’s Jeremiah Codden cut the Lakers’ lead to 17-12 at the break.

Jordan had 139 yards rushing and two touchdowns before halftime. “The best half I’ve ever had,” he said. “I was just running as hard as I could.

In the second half, Prior Lake (5-4) managed a safety in the third quarter and had numerous opportunities but failed to take advantage. The Lakers’ last four possessions: fumble, turnover on downs (at the Woodbury one-yard-line), fumble, fumble. All ended in deep in Woodbury territory and included a stretch in which they ran seven plays inside the Royals 4-yard line on consecutive drives and came away with no points.

“That’s something we’re working on,” said junior running back/defensive back Preston Jelen, who had one of the fourth-quarter fumbles. “We’ve lost two games this season in the final minutes and on defense we were saying, ‘We are not letting this happen again.’ ”

Woodbury (4-5) could not do anything with the chances it was given, however, as the Prior Lake defense came to the rescue time and again.

“We had our chances,” Royals coach Andy Hill said. “We were right there. Give Prior Lake credit. That was the hardest-hitting team we played all year.”

Prior Lake squandered plenty of opportunities but made the most of just enough of them to emerge with 19-12 victory over Woodbury.

The Lakers got touchdown runs of 53 and 69 yards from Jordan Johnson in the first half on Friday to take a 17-12 halftime lead.

Prior Lake got a second-half safety but wasted numerous chances to extended the lead, including seven plays inside the Woodbury 4-yard line that resulted in zero points.

Woodbury forced two fumbles late in the fourth quarter but failed to capitalize. The Royals finished the season 4-5. Prior Lake improved to 5-4.

Check back later for more on the game.

Key to the game: Prior Lake’s second-half defense. While the offense sputtered and turned the ball over repeatedly, the Lakers’ defense stepped up and shut down the Woodbury offense. The Royals managed just 88 yards and three first downs in the second half and crossed the 50-yard line just once.

Big play: After Woodbury stopped the Lakers fourth down at the one, the Lakers’ defense forced the Royals’ quarterback into an intentional grounding call while in the end zone. The ensuing safety resulted in two crucial points and sapped Woodbury’s momentum.

The quote: “If you want to win the 6A playoffs, you can’t make the kinds of mistakes we made tonight and expect to win. But we’ve made those mistakes before and lost. I feel our team has processed that and learned from it and we’re stronger for it.” — Prior Lake coach Matt Gegenheimer

Worth knowing: Prior Lake started all but one of its second-half drives inside the Woodbury 40-yard line but could not score.

JIM PAULSEN