By STUART GROSKREUTZ
September 8, 2011

Stillwater visits its longest-running rival on Friday when the Ponies travel to White Bear Lake for a Suburban East Conference football game. The Bears (1-0 SEC, 1-0) knocked off Roseville 28-13 in the season opener while Stillwater opened with a hard-fought 27-20 win over Woodbury. The Ponies improved to 51-37-2 all-time against White Bear Lake following last year's 39-28 triumph en route to their second straight conference championship. Stillwater has won four straight against the Bears and have won 24 of the last 27 games in the series - including 18 in a row from 1984-1999 - which dates back to 1917.

Quarterback Eric Gebeke, who is the defending 800-meter state champion in track and field, completed 3 of 9 passes for 32 yards with one touchdown and also carried 10 times for 87 yards and another score against the Raiders. Running back Shane Warner accounted for White Bear Lake's other two touchdowns while Ridge Sackman gained 67 yards on nine attempts to help lead an option attack that averaged 5.4 yards per carry.

"It's a typical White Bear Lake team, very disciplined, very physical and offensively focused on controlling the ball and establishing the line of scrimmage," Ponies coach Beau LaBore said. "They're using the option, but the difference this year is that in Week 1 they threw the ball more than they've thrown in 8 of the 10 years I've been in this conference. Gebeke throws the ball well and I think that's a lot of the reason they are willing to toss it a little bit more."

The Bears limited Roseville to just 152 total yards - including just three rushing yards - in their Week 1 victory. White Bear Lake's defense also forced three turnovers. One of the top players on defense is senior lineman Brian King, who plays bigger than his listed 5-foot-9, 198 pounds.

"Defensively they are also a little different and not in their customary defense, it's more of a 4-4 look that is more similar to what we saw with Woodbury and what our team calls its home base," LaBore said.

It's a small sample size, but Stillwater could enjoy an advantage in the punting department. On a calm opening night, Gebeke averaged just 22.5 yards on two punts while Stillwater's Austin Holmberg was an average of 10 yards per kick longer at 32.7.

Nate Ricci enjoyed a successful debut as quarterback for the Ponies in the opening while running and passing for a total of four touchdowns - each measuring 20 yards or more. The speedy junior completed 7 of 12 passes for 70 yards and also rushed for 68 yards on 16 attempts. Nick Anderson led Stillwater with 104 rushing yards - the second highest total in the league last week - on 22 attempts (4.7 avg.). Zach Krenz and Nate Law also carried the ball with success as the Ponies outgained Woodbury 299-192. One of the keys last week was a 3-0 turnover differential.

"As we reviewed the film we found that we were doing a lot of the big things pretty well, but we need to continue to hone some of the little details," LaBore said. "There are some looks on offense and special teams we haven't applied yet. We want to continue to add to what we're doing without losing sight of the things we want to focus on."

Zach Krenz led the Ponies defensively with seven solo tackles and two assists for 16 defensive points. Defensive end Sam Brynestad recovered two fumbles and added four total tackles to pace Stillwater with 18 points. Mike Wicker and Sebastian Borges added five solo tackles apiece as the Ponies limited Woodbury to just eight first downs and 192 yards.

With the exception of Mounds View and Cretin-Derham Hall, the Bears nearly cost Stillwater a chance at the conference title a year ago. Stillwater trailed 28-13 early in the second half before reeling off 26 unanswered points to rally for an 11-point victory.

"With them, we definitely have to play well defensively on first down and we have to stop the run," LaBore said. "Offensively it's kind of a similar formula for us. We want to establish the line of scrimmage, but we need to throw the ball more and be a little more effective in the passing game than we were in Week 1."