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St. Louis Park erases 14-point deficit to defeat DeLaSalle

By Ricky Campbell, SportsEngine, 10/18/17, 10:30AM CDT

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Quarterback Jonny Sorenson put the Orioles on his back as they closed out the regular season winning three straight.



Wideout Semaj Mitchell (3) and quarterback Jonny Sorenson (17) celebrates their touchdown connection in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter of St. Louis Park's 28-20 victory over DeLaSalle. Photo by Trevor Squire, SportsEngine

St. Louis Park’s passing game, led by quarterback Jonny Sorenson, was being stifled Wednesday night in the Orioles’ season finale at DeLaSalle High School. Sorenson was having trouble connecting with his receivers, and there were a couple dropped passes, too.

In fact, Sorenson’s first three passes on Nicollet Island fell to the ground, incomplete, while the Islanders put up two scores within the first 13 minutes of the game.

So Sorenson and the Orioles turned to their run game -- Sorenson carried the ball 10 times in the first half for 74 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns -- and then, in the second half, turned to that passing game that has kept opposing defensive backs on their heels all season.

Sorenson finished the night with 239 yards of total offense, two passing touchdowns and a 29-yard keeper that put the Orioles on the board en route to a 28-20 win over Suburban Red subdistrict foe DeLaSalle (4-4, 1-4) -- a team that had captured both previous season-ending games between the two squads.

St. Louis Park (5-3, 3-2) coach Ben Wolfe said that although his team started off sluggish, and even though they went into the locker room at halftime down 20-14, they made the proper adjustments at the break. It was all they needed.

“We came back in the locker room and just didn’t feel like 20 points was what it was going to be to win the game,” Wolfe said. “It was about getting back to the game plan.”

After working all angles of the Islander defense, Sorenson put in a 3-yard run and a good point-after, putting the Orioles up by a point as the third quarter ticked to a close.

The dagger, however, came with 1:37 left in the game. After marching down the field on the backs of 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior receiver and defensive back Akili Farris and 5-foot-10 junior running back Aaron Sledge, Sorenson threw a floating 19-yard pass to Semaj Mitchell, who was all alone in the end zone.

“[Coach] just said, ‘Trust the process,’” Sorenson said. “It’s something we’ve been working on all week. Everyone did their job.”

Farris finished the night with 62 total offensive yards, including seven carries in the second half for 44 yards. Sledge contributed 14 carries for 34 yards and a 1-yard TD in the second quarter.

Wolfe said after the game that Sorenson wasn’t liking what he was seeing on the field, so he encouraged teammates and instructed them how the team could improve. Whether it’s on the field or on the sideline, Sorenson is one of those players who a coach points to as a strong leader.

“He’s one of our captains and he just embodies that whole thing,” Wolfe said. “He keeps a level head. You know that with a guy like that under center, you’ll always have a chance.”


Evan Francois (left) outruns the Orioles' Karl Ordorff (right) in the Islanders' 28-20 loss. Photo by Trevor Squire, SportsEngine

First Report

St. Louis Park beat Suburban Red subdistrict foe DeLaSalle 28-20 in the regular season finale Wednesday night at DeLaSalle High School with senior quarterback Jonny Sorenson completing 10 of 15 passes for 114 yards, a passing TD, 125 yards on the ground and a pair of rushing TDs.

For the first time in three years, St. Louis Park (5-3, 3-2) topped DeLaSalle to end the regular season. Sorenson, who finished the regular season with 1,461 yards, sealed the victory with a 19-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Semaj Mitchell, his fourth of the season.

Leading the way for the Islanders (4-4, 1-4) was running back Sage Booker, who carried the ball 15 times for 47 yards. Booker contributed one touchdown off a recovered fumble on a punt return. Quarterback Da’San Frazier was 9 for 12 passing with 81 yards and a touchdown.

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