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Mounds View quarterback comes up big in 17-7 victory over White Bear Lake

By JIM PAULSEN, Star Tribune, 09/06/19, 5:00PM CDT

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With the Mustangs trailing in the fourth quarter, Cole Stenstrom turned potential disaster into points to give his team lead for good.


Mounds View quarterback Cole Stenstrom (16) rushed for the go-ahead touchdown in the second half of the game on Friday. Photo: ALEX KORMANN • alex.kormann@startribune.com

For Cole Stenstrom, all those hours in the weight room — the squats and deadlifts and sweat and self-talk — paid off on one crucial play in Mounds View’s 17-7 victory over White Bear Lake.

Trailing 7-3 early in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs had largely put their mistake-prone first-half performance behind them and had driven to the White Bear Lake 4-yard line. But the mistake bug bit again, this time a fumbled snap from center.

The ball rolled loose for 5 yards before Stenstrom, a third-year starter for Mounds View, picked it up. He weaved through a throng of players from both teams, getting to the 2-yard line before it appeared he would be stopped.

Nope. Stenstrom drove through two Bears defenders and into the end zone for a touchdown. It put Mounds View ahead 10-7, a lead it never lost.

“I was just trying to make a play from a mishap,” Stenstrom said. “It comes down to how much time we’ve put into the weight room. It’s all that squatting and cleaning.”

For the first two quarters, neither team did much of anything right. Drives were largely non-existen because of mistakes and penalties. With the score 0-0, halftime seemed merciful.

First report

Cole Stenstrom’s night had been inconsistent at best, but the senior quarterback made the biggest play of the game when he had to in Mounds View’s 17-7 victory over White Bear Lake.

Trailing 7-3 early in the fourth quarter Friday, Stenstrom turned potential disaster into points when he picked up misplayed snap and weaved four yards into the end zone early in the fourth quarter for give the Mustangs the lead for good.

After a scoreless first half at Mounds View in which the busiest group on the field was the officials, both teams looked much more polished after halftime.

Mounds View broke the scoreless tie with a 33-yard field goal by Ben Samuel early in the third quarter.

White Bear Lake answered two possessions later with a seven-play, 56-yard drive that ended in a six-yard touchdown run by Jeff Odamtten.

Stenstrom connected with Jack Roeber for a 34-yard touchdown with 3:07 left in the fourth quarter for the final margin of victory.

Check back later for more on the game.

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