Dave Nelson, addressing the Minnetonka football team after a 9-7 win on Sept. 21, waiting for defensive coordinator Greg Clough to come down from the press box said:
"His perfect score would probably be 2-0," said Nelson of Clough.
"Yeah, 2-0 would be great. 9-7 against a great team like Prior Lake, that's pretty good, too," Clough said in a post-game interview.
One play -- Clough took the blame for a missed defensive call -- was all Minnetonka surrendered defensively, holding Prior Lake under 150 total yards of offense.
A 9-7 lead in the final minutes, the Skippers twice needed holds defensively.
Prior Lake, taking over on the Minnetonka 43 with 4:06 to play, got to Skipper 27, facing 3rd-and-4 were pushed back on a high snap. Linebacker Elliot Ische sacked Lakers quarterback Colin O'Connor on fourth down.
A final Prior Lake possession in the last minute ended on a Carvon Gurley sack and a pass short of the first-down marker.
"I feel like we came together as a team. Last week we played a lot more as individuals. We were more focused on getting each other's backs, and not about doing our own jobs to help the team. Tonight we made plays, we executed our game plan perfectly. It was just an amazing job," Minnetonka senior outside linebacker Hunter Wehling said.
For Wehling, a team captain, and third-year varsity member, after missing two games, being back on the field, helping Minnetonka improve to 3-1 felt good.
Many times Clough called Wehling's number on blitzes, something both the coach and player believe is a strength of the Skippers.
"Minnetonka defense, all physical. We want to come out and play hard, tackle hard and play our butts off all game long," Wehling said.
"I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how important it was to get Hunter back in the line-up. He's a huge part of what we do defensively. A leader, a two-year starter. He helped us immensely tonight," Clough said.
After allowing three first-half rushing touchdowns, 199 total yards on the ground to Maple Grove star back Evan Hull in a week three loss, a bounce back week was indeed needed for the Minnetonka defense.
"We never lost faith in this group. It was a big night for us to rally together as a group. We came unglued a bit last week, but tonight we played as one," Clough said.
Minnetonka pitched the shutout for three quarters, a 9-0 lead with 12 minutes to play.
A 44-yard field goal from Grant Altman -- the ball bouncing off the crossbar and over -- was the game's lone score until a Brendon Voorhees 51-yard catch and run from Aaron Syverson extended the score to 9-0 on the final play of the third quarter.
A low snap resulted in just a nine-point lead, something that could have loomed large after Prior Lake hit a 71-yard touchdown from O'Connor to Spencer Marlier to cut the deficit to 9-7.
A one-score game, Minnetonka's defense showed they are ready for what's to come in weeks ahead with the likes of Edina, Eden Prairie, Burnsville, and Lakeville South next week for Homecoming.
"We tell our kids every week that every game is a big game. In this district, no game is a week off. Prior Lake was a great football team. We're going to play another great football next week and three more after that. You take them one at a time," Clough said.
Syverson was 19-for-28 for 179 yards with Tamar Hopkins rushing the ball 20 times for 54 yards for Minnetonka.
The Skippers had four total sacks with Wehling recovering a fumble on the opening drive of the game.