Fridley quarterback Kaleb Blaha (7) tried to avoid St. Anthony's Jonathan Kieren (21) as he ran with the ball in the second half. Photo: ANTHONY SOUFFLE • anthony.souffle@startribune.com
Talking to quarterback Kaleb Blaha and receiver Micah Niewald just minutes after Fridley improved to 5-0 with a bruising 20-7 victory over nearby rival St. Anthony there was no sign they had just won their biggest game of the season.
“It’s just one game to us,” said Blaha, who ran for a touchdown and passed for 129 yards. “We’re trying to take this season week-by-week. We’re 1-0 this week.”
The speedy Niewald, whose 54-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter gave Fridley a two-score cushion, had a similarly matter-of-fact assessment.
“Every player takes their roles and we executed our roles today,” Niewald said. “We weren’t nervous or anything. It’s just one game.”
The two teams went into the game with similar backgrounds. Both were undefeated and ranked in the top 10 in Class 4A. Fridley had been averaging 55 points per game and St. Anthony nearly as much, 46.
Photo gallery: Fridley vs. St. Anthony
It was a defensive struggle for three quarters. Fridley went on top 7-0 with a 6-yard touchdown run by Michael Ude on the game’s opening drive.
St. Anthony responded, moving to the Fridley 2-yard line on its opening possession. But the Huskies fumbled, setting in motion a defensive struggle until Niewald’s touchdown.
Scoring as frequently as it has, Fridley’s offense had overshadowed the defense through the first four weeks. But it was the Tigers’ defense that set to tone, shutting down St. Anthony’s Jonathan Kieren, who had already rushed for 1,000 yards in just four games. Kieren still managed to rush for 180 yards, but 81 of those came a touchdown run late in the fourth quarter with Fridley leading comfortably 20-0.
“We try to be a complete team,” Tigers coach Justin Reese said. “If our offense is not scoring, we look to our defense. Right now, the sky’s the limit.”
St. Anthony coach Todd Niklaus said Fridley’s defense was the difference. “They’re fast. No one has played us like that all season.”
With both teams in the same district, Niklaus said he expected to see Fridlay again in the postseason.
“They were better than us,” he said. “But we’ll play them again. And, like I told Justin [Reese], I’d rather win the second game.”
First report
In a game between two teams noted for putting up big offense numbers, Fridley’s defense made a strong statement in a 20-7 victory over St. Anthony.
Both teams were undefeated and ranked in the top 10 in Class 4A heading into the game Friday at St. Anthony. Fridley was averaging 55 points per game, St. Anthony 46.
Fridley took a 7-0 lead in its opening drive on a a 6-yard run by Michael Ude and it looked like the offenses were off and running.
However, that was the game’s only scoring until the fourth quarter when Fridley scored twice in a three-minute span on a 54-yard run by Micah Niewald and a 15-yard scamper by quarterback Kaleb Blaha, bumping the Fridley lead to 20-0.
St. Anthony running back Jonathan Kieren, held in check for much of the night, broke free for an 81-yard run for the Huskies’ only points.
Check back later for more on the game.
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