Spring Lake Park defeats Chanhassen in Minnesota high school football Class 5A Prep Bowl: Live score recap

The Panthers took home their first state championship since 1991 thanks to an interception on the final drive

Chanhassen players celebrate the 2023 Class 5A championship / Jeff Lawler

MINNEAPOLIS – The 2025 MSHSL Class 5A Prep Bowl was set up for someone to have a storybook ending. 

In the fourth quarter, Spring Lake Park Panther punter Calen Truckenbrod pinned the Chanhassen Storm at their own one-yard line with a punt. The Storm trailed by three points. They had one minute, 20 seconds and no timeouts to drive deep into Panthers territory. 

The Storm drove to the Panthers’ 33-yard line, and on 4th-and-10 with 11 seconds left, Chanhassen quarterback Nathan Ramler threw a ball over the middle and into the hands of senior Spring Lake Park linebacker Cade Skelly for the interception. 

“I haven’t had a pick in my career so far,” Skelly said. “I was always disappointed about when I was going to get my pick, and I guess there it was. It couldn’t be any better than that.”

It was a play a career in the making for Skelly and a win 34 years in the waiting for Spring Lake Park. The Panthers (13-0) defeated the Storm (11-2) 24-21 to win the Class 5A state championship. It’s the second one in school history after they won the 1991 Class A title. 

The Panthers had four-win seasons in 2023 and 2024. This year, they went undefeated in the regular season and grew into a team people saw as a contender. The Panthers survived challenges from the top teams in the playoffs, and the Spring Lake Park community followed as the Panthers had a chance to end a state championship drought on Saturday.

Head coach John Stewart’s email inbox was full of messages from people he did not know. He had a text from one of the team captains of the ‘91 team. He had voicemails from phone numbers he did not recognize. One was from a teacher at Spring Lake Park who retired 26 years ago. 

“We have seven alumni coaches on staff, and some of those guys were in school when he was teaching, and they just thought that was the coolest thing that he would make a phone call to say, 'Go Panthers,’” Stewart said.

The Panthers needed all the support they could get against a talented Chanhassen team. The teams traded touchdowns through much of the first half. Spring Lake Park junior quarterback Nolan Roach ran for touchdowns of 38 and 53 yards, and Chanhassen’s Ramler ran for a touchdown and connected with tight end Kade Bush for a 14-14 game. 

Roach only completed two passes in the game. One was an interception, but the other was a 38-yard touchdown to Kaden Konkler to give the Panthers a 21-14 lead. Roach finished with 57 passing yards and 162 rushing yards. 

Chanhassen had the ball inside the 10-yard line just before halftime, but Spring Lake Park defensive lineman Braden Hemquist sacked Ramler and forced a fumble, which teammate Isaac Olson recovered to keep Chanhassen off the scoreboard.

Both defenses improved in the second half. Chanhassen scored to cut the lead to 24-21 with a 10-yard run from Peyton Ramsey. 

The teams traded punts, and on Chanhassen’s second to last possession, Spring Lake Park defensive lineman Jamal Smith pressured Ramler twice and forced incompletions. The Panthers defensive line pressured Ramler in critical moments throughout the game. 

“In practice all year, they give us fits when we have to go against them, and I’ll be honest, it’s fun to watch them give other people fits for a little while,” Stewart said. 

For Chanhassen, the loss ended the Storm's attempts at a second state championship. They won in 2023, and they were hoping to finish the season with a title for a strong senior class. 

“I met my best friends playing football,” Ramler said. “I’m so glad they let me hang out with them.”

Nineteen starters are seniors for the Panthers. They had never made it to the state tournament, yet they completed an undefeated season to cap off their careers.

“We’ve challenged them every week to say that they need to give their best every week, and they have,” Stewart said. “We went through a gauntlet of a state tournament. [ …] This morning, the talk was, ‘Last week you gave your best, and this week we’re going to ask you to do it and have a better best today,’ and they did.”

Spring Lake Park defeats Chanhassen in Minnesota high school football Class 5A Prep Bowl: Live score recap

Chanhassen won the coin toss and chose to differ to the second half. The Panthers will start with the ball.

First Quarter Updates

Spring Lake Park receives the kickoff, and the game is underway.

The Storm defense forces the Panthers to punt. Spring Lake Park only went backwards on the drive after a pitch missed its target and rolled backwards — 10:26 1Q

Chanhassen punts after Kade Bush drops a pass that would've been good for a first down. The Panthers return it to just inside Storm territory — 9:04 1Q

TOUCHDOWN SPRING LAKE PARK! Quarterback Nolan Roach runs for a 38-yard touchdown. He faked a handoff and ran untouched around the edge of the defense — SLP 7, Chanhassen 0 — 7:34 1Q

TOUCHDOWN CHANHASSEN! Quarterback Nathan Ramler runs for a 1-yard touchdown to finish an 8-play, 77-yard scoring drive for the Storm. Running back Peyton Ramsey ran for a couple big gains on the drive — SLP 7, Chanhassen 7 — 4:47 1Q

END OF FIRST QUARTER: Spring Lake Park 7, Chanhassen 7

Second Quarter Updates

INTERCEPTION BY CHANHASSEN! On 4th-and-14, Spring Lake Park quarterback Roach threw an interception to Logan Smith, who returned it 27 yards to the Chanhassen 46-yard line — 11:45 2Q

FUMBLE RECOVERED BY SPRING LAKE PARK! Chanhassen's Bush fumbled during a run, and Chase Warner recovered for the Panthers. They will start a drive at their 41-yard line — 9:48 2Q

TOUCHDOWN SPRING LAKE PARK! Roach runs for a 47-yard touchdown. He hade two defenders miss and then hit the hole for a long run — SLP 14, Chanhassen 7 — 9:28 2Q

TOUCHDOWN CHANHASSEN! On fourth down, Ramler finds Bush open in the middle of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown. That's an 80-yard drive for the Storm — SLP 14, Chanhassen 14 — 3:53 2Q

TOUCHDOWN SPRING LAKE PARK! Roach finds Kaden Konkler in the end zone for a 38-yard touchdown pass. That's a 67 yard drive in five plays — SLP 21, Chanhassen 14 — 2:16 2Q

Chanhassen is inside the Panthers' 10-yard line with 35 seconds remaining in the first half. It is third down.

FUMBLE RECOVERED BY SPRING LAKE PARK! The Panthers pass rush gets to Ramler, who fumbles while getting sacked by Braden Hemquist, and Isaac Olson recovers. That ends a scoring opportunity for the Storm, and Spring Lake Park will take a knee to get to halftime.

HALFTIME: Spring Lake Park 21, Chanhassen 14

Halftime Team Stats

Spring Lake Park
Rush Yards: 155
Pass Yards: 57
Turnovers: 1

Chanhassen
Rush Yards: 68
Pass Yards: 132
Turnovers: 2

Third Quarter Updates

Chanhassen receives the second-half kickoff, and the game is back underway.

The Storm punt on the opening drive of the second half after a 19-yard drive. The Panthers will take over on their own 10-yard line — 9:36 3Q

FIELD GOAL SPRING LAKE PARK! Sam Wolde hits a 25-yard field goal. The Panthers took seven minutes off the clock during the 81-yard drive — Spring Lake Park 24, Chanhassen 14 — 1:59 3Q

END OF THIRD QUARTER: Spring Lake Park 24, Chanhassen 14

Fourth Quarter Updates

TOUCHDOWN CHANHASSEN! Peyton Ramsey runs for a 10-yard touchdown on 4th-and-1. The Storm put together a 65-yard drive to cut into the Panthers' lead — Spring Lake Park 24, Chanhassen 21 — 10:36 4Q

The Chanhassen defense forces Spring Lake Park to punt. Roach's pitch wasn't a good one, and the Panthers lost yards on 3rd-and-6. The Storm will have the ball at their own 7-yard line trailing by three with 6:51 remaining.

Now Chanhassen punts after its drive only gains two yards. Bush dropped his third pass of the game that would've given the Storm a first down, and then they were called for a false start on 3rd-and-4. Spring Lake Park will ahve the ball at its 32-yard line — 5:54 4Q

Chanhassen's defense holds, and the Panthers punt after three run plays. The Storm have the ball at their 36-yard line — 3:30 4Q

Chanhassen can't convert on 4th-and-7, and the Panthers will try to run out the clock with 1:43 remaining. The Storm have two timeouts. Spring Lake Park defensive lineman Jamal Smith pressured Ramler two plays in a row to force an incompletion.

The Panthers decide to throw on third down, and they can't complete the pass, so the clock stops. Panthers punter Calen Truckenbrod pins the Storm on their own 1-yard line with 1:20 remaining and no timeout.

Chanhassen is driving, and a SLP penalty adds 15 yards to the drive. The Storm have the ball at the Panthers' 33-yard line with 22 seconds remaining.

INTERCEPTION BY SPRING LAKE PARK! Ramler's pass is intercepted by Cade Skelly, and the Panthers will be Class 5A state champions. On 4th-and-10 from the Spring Lake Park 33-yard line, Ramler tried to find a receiver over the middle, but Skelly was there.

FINAL: Spring Lake Park 24, Chanhassen 21

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