The skies grew darker as Friday afternoon moved on, seemingly carrying the promise of an eventful evening as the Eden Prairie Eagles made the long trek to St. Michael-Albertville in conference play.

The No. 6-ranked Eagles were coming off an impressive upset win over then-No. 4-ranked Edina the previous week.

If the weather was touch-and-go through most of the night, so too was Eden Prairie’s margin for victory.

After taking an early lead, the Eagles allowed the STMA to draw close in the second half, while the Knights’ second-half surge coincided with a deluge of rain that continued through most of the game.

In the end, it was the Eagles who rode the storm out and quickly sought refuge in the visitors’ locker room under the bleachers before boarding the buses back to Eden Prairie.

In a game that seemed to start out lopsided, the final result was the culmination of an Eagles team that had to pull itself together after losing its way through much of the third quarter.

Eden Prairie escaped with the win by overcoming mental mistakes and penalties that have plagued the team much of this season.

“I mean, I always like blowouts,” Ethan Sather said with a laugh when asked if he thought summoning mental toughness may have been a more impressive way to victory.

“Having a game like that in the rain with the boys, senior year, there’s nothing better than that,” he added.

It was certainly another piece to stack in the win column for the Eagles, whose only loss so far this season was to defending state champion and No. 1-ranked Maple Grove in Week 2.

“We tell our kids, ‘If you want to be champions, you have to play these games and play all four quarters and play great,'” Eden Prairie head coach Mike Grant said as he stood in the pouring rain after the game.

If the Eagles didn’t play like champions for four quarters, they demonstrated the requisite discipline and maturity to shake off a healthy challenge from STMA in the second half.

“Everyone was angry that we weren’t winning the game,” sophomore running back Owen Konrad said of the Eagles’ underperformance in the middle of the game. “We’re still angry, because we know we could play 100 times better than that.”

Konrad led the Eagles for the fourth time in as many games, rushing for 158 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns.

Over the course of four games, Konrad has rushed for 587 yards on 60 carries and five touchdowns, averaging 9.8 yards per carry.

“I’ve been taught to just go 100% every play, no matter what the score,” he said after the win.

The Eagles took command on the opening series. STMA received the kickoff but on a third-and-four from the Eden Prairie 43-yard line, Eagles senior Andrew Johnson forced a fumble, recovered by senior Isaiah Kelly.

Eden Prairie wasted no time on the ensuing drive, going 60 yards in five plays, highlighted by a nine-yard run by Konrad and a 35-yard completion from quarterback Jackson Bakkum to receiver Cooper Fahning to the STMA 17-yard line.

Junior Windlan Hall ripped off a nine-yard run to the STMA 8-yard line, setting up Johnson’s three-yard touchdown run two plays later.

The two-point conversion failed, and Eden Prairie had an early 6-0 lead.

Bakkum completed 4 of 7 passes for 63 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

In the second quarter, Bakkum connected with senior tight end Braden Minta on a 10-yard strike for the Eagles’ second touchdown of the game.

Bakkum looked impressive, throwing the ball on a rope to find Minta, a big target at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds.

The score capped a 10-play, 65-yard drive. Another two-point conversion failed, and Eden Prairie had a 12-0 lead with 7:05 remaining in the first half.

STMA got a spark on its next series when quarterback Ty Haring found Cooper Henson for a 70-yard touchdown, narrowing the Eagles’ lead to 12-7 with 6:04 remaining in the half.

“I think St. Michael is a really good football team,” Grant said. “They do a lot of really good things. They’re a proud team. They’ve been champions in the past and they do a lot of things right.”

The Eagles’ defense created opportunities before the end of the half. Senior linebacker Luke Henry forced and recovered a fumble, giving the offense a first-and-goal at the STMA 3-yard line.

Johnson punched the ball through for his second touchdown and an 18-7 Eden Prairie lead.

The Knights got the ball back with 1:02 remaining in the half and drove 51 yards in nine plays, culminating in a 33-yard field goal as time expired.

The points allowed STMA to draw within one score of the Eagles and seemed to shift momentum in their direction at intermission.

“They had a little scheme going for our game,” Hall said. “We just had to get our rhythm right, read what they were doing and make plays.”

The Eagles went three-and-out on their first offensive series of the second half, giving the Knights good field position at the Eden Prairie 48-yard line.

STMA drove 41 yards in nine plays, including six straight rushes by running back Wyatt Mosher.

But the Eagles’ defense held at its own 7-yard line, leaving the Knights to kick their second field goal of the game from 22 yards.

Eden Prairie held a precarious 18-13 lead but appeared flat until the Knights’ field goal with 5:42 remaining in the third quarter.

“The penalties killed us one after another again,” Grant said. “So we’ve got to figure out how to avoid penalties. But (STMA) made some plays.”

Mother Nature also made a significant play during the drive, opening the night skies and releasing a drenching downpour that continued for most of the contest.

Undaunted by weather patterns, Eden Prairie found its way back on the next series when Konrad broke loose for 46 yards and a touchdown, capping an eight-play, 81-yard drive.

“We had one big play, and it just started from there,” Konrad said.

Konrad’s touchdown gave the Eagles a 24-13 lead with 1:54 remaining in the third quarter. And just as critical, it shifted momentum back in Eden Prairie’s favor.

“The big play was that run Owen made down there that put us up,” Grant said. “Owen’s playing well, so we’re getting a lot of production from a bunch of guys on offense, so that’s good.”

The Eagles’ defense came away with a big stop on the following series.

Starting at their own 32-yard line, the Knights drove 40 yards to the Eden Prairie 28.

On fourth-and-19, Haring’s pass to the end zone was broken up at the last second by Hall, who made a lunging knockdown on the throw.

Hall’s stop gave the Eagles possession, building on their emerging dominance.

“That was huge,” Sather said. “Windlan, all of our corners played so well in this game.”

Defensively, Eden Prairie was led by Johnson, who had five solo tackles and three assists to go with his forced fumble; senior linebacker Luke Elliott had eight assisted tackles.

Kelly had four solo tackles with three assists and a recovered fumble. Henry had four solo tackles, an assist and the forced fumble that he recovered himself.

On the series following Hall’s knockdown, the Eagles delivered their most impressive offensive series, which started on their own 28-yard line with 11:00 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Ten plays and 72 yards later, Konrad romped in from the 7-yard line for a commanding 30-13 Eden Prairie lead with 4:57 remaining in the game.

The drive was punctuated by a 19-yard run by Konrad from the Eagles’ 44-yard line. The sophomore bounced off a litany of attempted tackles by STMA defenders to gain the yards and move the chains.

“The backs really, really helped push our O-line, helped motivate us,” Sather said. “I’m really happy with how we responded.”

The play – and the drive – left no doubt about the final outcome.

The Eagles closed out the game with a 25-yard touchdown run by Hall on their final offensive series.

To complement Konrad’s 158 yards, Hall finished with 64 yards on 10 carries and one score. Johnson posted 53 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns.

“Our running backs ran so hard, I can’t even thank them enough,” Sather said. “They carried us this game. I’m so happy. And Jackson (Bakkum) had such a great game.”

The 37-13 victory lifts Eden Prairie to 3-1 on the season as they face another test on Friday when they travel to Minnetonka to take on the No. 2-ranked Skippers.

And as they do each and every week, Grant and his staff will study the performance, correct mistakes, and plan for their next opponent in a formidable schedule.

“I’m going to watch the film, the penalties are killing us,” he said. “We’ve got to clean that up.”