Sports

St. Michael-Albertville Offense Clicks in Win over Big Lake

Finally, the St. Michael-Albertville offense gave the Knights' coaching staff something to breathe a bit easier about in a 43-13 romp over Big Lake.

For head coach Jared Essler, Friday night was about two months in the making. 

With so many key components back on offense, Essler and the St. Michael-Albertville coaching staff figured the offense would be the key to the Knights' success in 2012. 

Cole Krutzig, fresh off an all-conference performance in 2011, is back at quarterback. Ryan Lyzhoft, arguably the Knights' best all-around athlete, is there to carry the ball and catch passes in the slot. The Knights' receiving corps, though inexperienced, is tall, lean and mean. 

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And then there's Bennie Wilson, who can pulverize his way to yards from the fullback spot. 

But the Knights were held scoreless in its home-opener vs. Cambridge, and the special teams and defense scored three times in a 43-6 trouncing of Duluth East. 

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So when things finally clicked in Friday's 43-13 route over the Big Lake Hornets, the coaching staff was visibly pumped.

The Knights threw for 189 yards, and picked up nearly 150 more on the ground. Moreover, the offense was incredibly efficient, racking up more than 14 yards per play via the air, and nearly six yards per play on the ground. 

Krutzig hit 11 of 13 passes and had two scores for a near-perfect quarterback rating. Chris Kartes and Noah Evans split carries, filling in for the injured Lyzhoft. And the Knights' offensive line got the push it was missing, especailly in Week One. 

Now, that offense will be the key in the Knights' first rivalry game, set for Friday night at Rogers High. For the first time in a couple of years, St. Michael-Albertville will be expected, by some pundits, to win. 

"We don't really care about labels, particularly going into a season," Essler said of his squad, who some pointed to as the Mississippi 8's best in preseason interviews. "We know we have work to do, but we're solid in some key spots. It's a matter of staying healthy and performing." 

As disappointing as a 9-0 loss to Cambridge was, the Knights are rolling off 86 points in the last two games. And not to be outdone, the defense and special teams have been stellar. 

The Knights have three touchdowns off the special teams side in the last two games. The defense has been the definition of bend, but don't break, allowing more than 250 yards through the air to Big Lake, but completely shutting out the Hornets in the second half.

The Knights with a win would pull a half-game ahead of Rogers to 3-1 in the conference and, more importantly, keep pace with a red hot Monticello squad that its currently 3-0 and will be favored to knock off Big Lake in their rivalry game this week. 

But the focus, of course, will be improving each week en route to the Section 6-5A playoff. 

"We'll see a lot of these teams in the postseason, so it's going to be interesting the first time around," Essler said. 

The Knights and Royals kick off at 7 p.m. at Rogers High School Friday night. 


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