We’re going to join together and be the brotherhood we should be and we’re all going to do our 111’s. We’re going to go hard in practice every rep.”

Kaleb Conley, senior lineman

We’ve got to get back to work.”

Park head coach Rick Fryklund

Park hosts Stillwater (5-2) on Thursday, Oct. 19. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Cottage Grove.

A solid rally left Park in contention at the half.

But in a disastrous third quarter it all went slip, sliding away – literally.

Park rallied from 14-0 down early in the second quarter to trail just 14-10 at the half. But back-to-back disasters in the kicking game help propel host Mounds View to a 36-14 victory. Park muffed consecutive punts in the third quarter, leading directly to two Mounds View touchdowns and a safety and that was pretty much the ball game.

The loss dropped Park to 3-4 this fall and heading into the regular season finale against a potent Stillwater team. Ranked seventh in Class 6A, the Ponies dropped a 14-7 decision to Edina Friday night so they’re likely to come in angry as well as talented.

Park hosts Stillwater (5-2) on Thursday, Oct. 19. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Cottage Grove.

The Ponies rattled off five wins since a 35-14 season-opening loss to third-ranked Lakeville North. But Stillwater has been in a dogfight almost every game since this season, winning 28-25, 28-20, 21-17, 21-17 and then 38-14 against White Bear Lake.

Stillwater moved the ball well against Edina but had trouble finding the end zone. The Ponies relay heavily on their passing attack to gain yards and score touchdowns. Quarterback Nick Kinney has completed 56 percent of his passes for 1,550 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. The leading rusher, Emilio Rosario Matias has gained 305 yards this season.

The Mounds View loss was Park’s second straight lopsided defeat after starting the season 3-2. It came on a miserable wet night and the weather greatly affected the outcome for the Wolfpack. Park muffed two straight punts, leading directly to 16 Mounds View points as the game quickly spiraled out of reach.

“We’ve got to get back to work,” said Park head coach Rick Fryklund. “We were right there at halftime, 14 to 10 or whatever it was and unfortunately the third quarter those special teams play. I know that a lot of people probably think that bad snap and the safety was in error but our punter was heady enough to get the safety down there, so I commended him for making a really smart play.”

“(We) obviously got to get better on the special teams,” Fryklund said. “Who knows what the game would have been like without those two bad snaps. So that’s 14 points. It could look a little bit different.”

Mounds View took a 14-0 lead in the second quarter after a scoreless opening period. Park bounced back with a 22-yard scoring pass from Miskir Esayas to Dominic Batts, followed by a 23-yard field goal from Matthew Kamande in the closing minute of the second period and trailed just 14-10 at the break.

Mounds View grabbed a 21-10 lead to start the third quarter on a long pass from Tyler Nystrom to Jacob Sampson and Park never really recovered. The Mustangs outscored Park 22-0 after the break.

Park just couldn’t move the ball on the ground Friday, rushing for just 27 yards on 27 attempts, including losing 33 yards on a safety on a botched punt attempt in the third quarter. Senior running back Brett Salmonson carried 16 times for 50 yards.

Asked what coach Fryklund said following the game, Salmonson said, “He said we’re a brotherhood and it’s not over yet. “We have to stay locked in in practice. Play like we mean it. I don’t know how else to put it. If you want to be here, if you want to be on the team, play like you mean it. And if we all do that, if we all play like we actually be here we’re going to win next week.”

Neither Wolfpack quarterback Ben Pederson nor Esayas had much success moving the chains through the air, either, combining to go just 6-of-16 for 114 yards. Pederson was just 2 of 11 for 70 yards while Esayas was 4 of 5 for 44 yards. Receiver Skyler Morgan caught two passes for 70 yards with a long of 52 yards, but he was disqualified in the first half.

Mounds View outgained Park 276 to 141 in total yards.

Salmonson led the Wolfpack defense with five tackles, nine assists and a tackle for loss. Keon Moody had 10 total stops, Bryan Wright six, Fiyinfoluwa Taiwo and David Laturnus five each.

“We just had some missed assignments, guys not doing their 111’s and that really killed us, ” said senior lineman Kaleb Conley. “We’re going to join together and be the brotherhood we should be and we’re all going to do our 111’s. We’re going to go hard in practice every rep.”