Stillwater throttles East Ridge 16-0

Stillwater’s Dominic Krenz scored the only touchdown of the first half on a 1-yard run in the second quarter. He added a 5-yard rushing score in the third quarter. Photo: JEFF WHEELER • jeff.wheeler@startribune.com

His Stillwater football team ahead in the closing seconds of a rare victory against East Ridge, coach Beau LaBore called for the Ponies’ photographer to snap a scoreboard picture.

Asked what his program’s first victory against the Raptors since 2012 meant, LaBore reflected in silence for six seconds, during which time he turned to savor the red lights indicating Stillwater 16 and fourth-ranked East Ridge 0.

The Ponies’ road victory Wednesday capped the regular season with a share of the Metro East District title.

“We’ve had some close games with these guys, and they always seemed to find a way,” LaBore said. “You can talk all you want about if-this-then-that with kids, but we knew we had to come out and get a couple stops.”

Photo gallery: Stillwater at East Ridge

More than just getting stops, Stillwater’s defense attacked. The unit scored the game’s first points on sophomore Charlie Gleason’s end zone sack for a safety. The defense struck again in the second quarter with a sack to force a fumble. Stillwater recovered at the East Ridge 12-yard line. The offense capped a short drive with a Dominic Krenz touchdown run.

A second Krenz touchdown run turned a 9-0 halftime lead into a 16-0 advantage.

“Our kids kind of roll with momentum pretty well,” LaBore said. “You can tell by our scores.”

And how.

Stillwater’s remarkable peaks and valleys this season include averaging 44 points per game in its first three victories, and two losses in which the Ponies were outscored by a combined 94-0.

“We had some opportunities in both of those losses,” LaBore said.

East Ridge (4-1) coach Dan Fritze could relate. His team committed four turnovers Wednesday and missed a touchdown chance just before halftime when a receiver dropped the ball in the end zone.

“If we make that a one-score game, it could have been different,” Fritze said. “It was one little thing so many times.”

Stillwater’s defense crowded the line of scrimmage to stop the run and got pressure from the edges.

“If we get off schedule at all, we’re in trouble,” Fritze said. “Their defense was very physical and we had a hard time with that.”

First report

Stillwater used a safety and two rushing touchdowns by junior Dominic Krenz to defeat East Ridge 16-0 on Wednesday in the teams' final game of the regular season.

The Ponies (4-2) built a 9-0 lead at halftime. Sophomore Charlie Gleason opened the scoring when he tackled the East Ridge quarterback in the end zone for a safety early in the second quarter.

Krenz scored his first touchdown from a yard out with 5:20 left in the quarter. He ran for a 5-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

The Raptors (4-1) were threatening to score in the fourth quarter before a lost fumble ended the drive inside the Stillwater 10-yard line.

Check back later for more on the game.

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