For the first time in two years, Lakeville residents of all ages were able to gather and get loud as the community’s two high school football teams battled for bragging rights.

They were heard.

“I missed out on this my sophomore year and obviously last year we didn’t have the fans (because of COVID-19 precautions),” said Lakeville South linebacker Zach Juckel, whose team won 12-0 at Lakeville North on Sept. 10. “Just having this many people come out to watch a football game makes it that much more special.”

Postgame, players from both teams greeted each other and took photos with their families to document an event that had been sorely missed – an emotional North-South football game taking place in a packed stadium.

Last year, “people were robbed of the opportunity,” Lakeville North coach Brian Vossen said. “Listen, there have been far bigger things in the world in the last year than high school football, but to get an atmosphere like this where sometimes it’s so loud you can’t hear, it’s exciting.”

Considering it’s only Week 2 of the high school season, the North-South game wasn’t the be-all and end-all for either team. But with the Minnesota State High School League assigning most of the top Class 6A programs to the same district, it’s good preparation for a grueling stretch ahead. Lakeville South (2-0), ranked first in Class 6A, plays No. 2-ranked Eden Prairie in its home opener at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 17. South and Eden Prairie were two of the three Class 6A teams to go undefeated last season.

The other 2020 Class 6A unbeaten was Rosemount, which is home against Lakeville North (1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday.

“Two years ago we were here and did the same thing (winning at Lakeville North),” Lakeville South coach Ben Burk said. “We had to show our kids what that was like. We try to teach what it’s like to play here, what it’s like to play in front of a hostile crowd, what it’s like to play when expectations are super-high. It’s great preparation because we’re going to play more games down the road that matter like this one does.”

South won last week’s game by employing the most tried-and-true of football formulas – running the ball successfully and preventing the opponent from doing the same. The Cougars didn’t get the explosive plays fans have become accustomed to seeing from them, but they rushed for 254 yards while holding North to 151 offensive yards.

The Cougars’ first drive ended with a turnover on downs deep in North territory, but they reached the end zone on their second possession, scoring on quarterback Camden Dean’s 1-yard run just before halftime. Ian Segna scored on a 6-yard run in the third quarter.

Lakeville North moved into Lakeville South’s end of the field in the third, but an interception by South defensive back Joey Ulmen ended the drive.

South breezed to a 50-14 victory over Park of Cottage Grove in its opening game, but Burk said the Cougars had some defensive issues to address. “The difference was huge growth from our defense,” he said. “It was a phenomenal effort, both from our defense and our coaches.

“We started school (last) week. Traditionally that’s a bad practice day but I thought our effort that day was great. They were hungry, and that showed me a lot.”

Juckel said he and his teammates on defense are fine with the attention the Cougars’ high-scoring Power-T offense generates, even if it means people sometimes overlook the defense.

“Our offense is used to putting up so many points that sometimes people sleep on our defense,” Juckel said. “It’s like, ‘They gave up 28 points but they’re going to win because of the Power-T.’

“The shutout’s on the board, and it’s so great in a rivalry game.”

Lakeville North’s offensive game plan was no mystery – hammer away with 205-pound running back Gavyn Schraufnagel and 215-pound quarterback Jackson Hanson carrying the ball behind a big, experienced line. South held Schraufnagel to 59 yards rushing and Hanson to 31. Hanson completed six of 10 passes for 45 yards but was intercepted twice.

“We knew they were a downhill running team and we just tried our best to be more physical,” Juckel said. “We played four down linemen, basically just pressured their line really hard and had our linebackers filling super-hard. They’re not really an outside running team so we knew they had to run up the middle. Once we kind of shut down the outside we rallied to the middle and it all worked out really well.”

Burk said for as long as he has been at Lakeville South the Cougars have committed their best athletes to defense because teams have to stop the run to have success in Class 6A. Teams in the largest class also have to hit as hard in the fourth quarter as the first, he added.

“We wanted to be the most physical team,” he said. “We showed the video from (the Lakeville North game) two years ago, and that was what got us over the top in the third quarter and into the fourth. That’s what we were expecting to do tonight. When we play another great team, it’s kind of an ego thing for us to make sure we’re the most physical.”

Lakeville North, after allowing 69 points combined in its previous two games against Lakeville South, was able to prevent big gains. But South still averaged 4.5 yards a carry, with Carson Hansen rushing for 87 yards and Josh Jacobson adding 73.

“If you go back three years (to North’s state championship season in 2018) we had a large and very physical defense that had lots of success against their offense,” Vossen said. “The last two years, at times we couldn’t match them in terms of size and speed. I thought we did a better of job with that this year. We have to keep them out of the end zone, but keeping them from getting any of those 70-yard traps, that’s a big deal.”

South’s Juckel had 12 tackles, six unassisted, and Ryder Patterson intercepted a pass for the Cougars. Linebacker Trey Johnson had 15 tackles for Lakeville North, while Jackson Young and Hayden Oster had 11 each.

Juckel called the South victory an important step, but just one step.

“Pitching the shutout is pretty special for our defense right now,” he said. “It’s really something we needed going into the tough schedule ahead of us. Any win in a rivalry game is fun, but it’s not our main goal. Celebrate tonight and tomorrow and then you’re working for the next week.

North’s Vossen said he was pleased with his team’s effort last week and is optimistic about the Panthers’ future.

“You certainly want to end up on the winning side, but every time you’re tested you get tougher and you get better,” he said. “We told our kids, ‘Let’s not let Week 2 define our season. Let’s worry about Week 9 and 10.’ I have to believe we’ll be a team people won’t want to see in the playoffs. But we need to keep getting better.”