By RAY RICHARDSON
September 03, 2011

Why not get the drama out of the way on the first weekend of the high school football season?

Beau LaBore was making his Stillwater coaching debut Friday night against Suburban East Conference rival Woodbury, his employer the previous five years.

Of course, LaBore wanted to get off to a good start in front of the Stillwater home crowd. To do it against his former team added to the excitement of the season opener and made Stillwater's 27-20 victory at Ponies Field even more satisfying.

"You could tell it was a big week for Coach," Stillwater quarterback Nate Ricci said. "He was a little tense. It was obviously a special game for him."

LaBore had to wait an extra 20 minutes to get his first win at Stillwater after the stadium lights were knocked out because of a transformer meltdown in nearby Lake Elmo. Stillwater was trying to run out the clock with 1:57 remaining when the stadium went dark.

When the lights were restored, all Ricci and his teammates needed to do was pick up 9 yards on two plays to get a first down and allow LaBore to take a deep breath and exhale.

"I'm real happy this game is over with, to be honest with you," LaBore said. "It was a little hard to approach this game when you love guys on both sides. I'm glad our guys persevered and made this happen."

LaBore took a few minutes before the game to talk with Woodbury coach Andy Hill and some of his former players. After the chats, LaBore said he was able to concentrate more on the game.

Ricci and the Stillwater defense, which recovered three fumbles, made sure it was a successful debut.

Defensive end Sam Brynestad recovered a fumble off a fake reverse at Woodbury's 46-yard line with 3:22 remaining to stop a potential game-tying drive. Woodbury never got the ball back.

Before Brynestad's key play, Ricci ran for two touchdowns and passed for two more to help run an effective Stillwater offense. Ricci fired a 20-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Weess with 4:19 left to give Stillwater a 27-20 lead.

"There was a lot of pressure on us as players to perform tonight because of what this game meant to Coach," Stillwater running back Nick Anderson said. "There was a lot of drama going into this one. We wanted to help him get off to a good start."

It might have been tough for LaBore to not get caught up in the moment. Early in the third quarter, with a 21-14 lead, he opted to go for a first down on fourth and 1 from the Ponies' 32. Anderson was stopped for no gain on the play, giving Woodbury good field position.

Five plays later, backup quarterback Joe Wood ran 3 yards for a touchdown to cut Stillwater's lead to 21-20. That was the last time LaBore got adventurous with his play calling.

"It was more of a coaching staff mistake than anything," he said. "We didn't have the right personnel on the field for that play. We'll take ownership of that one."

Hill was spared from second-guessing when Stillwater's Sam Pearson missed a 35-yard field-goal attempt as the half ended.

Trailing 21-14, Woodbury got the ball at its 17 with 38 seconds left in the half after a Stillwater punt. Instead of a kneel-down to run out the clock, Hill tried to move the ball on two plays. The third resulted in Julius Wilson's fumble on a pitch from quarterback Sawyer Moon in a shotgun formation, giving the Ponies a chance to expand their lead going into the locker room.

Hill was the most relieved man in the stadium after Ricci misfired on a pass in the end zone and Pearson followed with his missed kick.

Both offenses were sharp after the opening kickoff. Stillwater and Woodbury scored touchdowns on their first two possessions to set up a 14-14 tie at the end of the first quarter.

Ricci scored on runs of 22 and 24 yards. He also threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Register with 4:04 left in the second quarter to break the tie.