Don’t look now, but Oluwatomi Animasaun and White Bear Lake are starting to get on a roll. After going winless in their first five games this season, the junior quarterback and his teammates have now won two in a row — following up an upset victory at Stillwater a week ago with a 24-7 home win over Roseville on Friday night. And it was Animasaun who led the way; rushing for one touchdown and throwing for two more. “Everyone has been a lot more bought in,” said Animasaun, who threw for 218 yards and rushed for 32. “We just have a different mindset. We’ve always known what we can be as a team. These past two weeks, we’ve been able to show it.” Animasaun gave his team an early lead, scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run on the game’s opening possession. But after a long kickoff return gave the Raiders the ball at the White Bear Lake 25-yard line to start their first offensive series, senior Javon Minor scored on a 24-yard touchdown run to tie the score 7-7. From there, each team missed a second-quarter field goal attempt after moving inside their opponents’ 15, keeping the score knotted. But just before halftime, Animasaun connected with senior Ben Lockwood on a 4-yard touchdown pass to put the Bears on top 14-7. “He’s very accurate,” White Bear Lake coach Ryan Bartlett said of his quarterback, who took over the starting job midway through last year. “And he’s starting to run the ball with more authority. That’s something we’ve really challenged him to do. “He’s really starting to know where to go with the football. Tonight, I felt was his best night of just throwing to the right spot on time.” The White Bear Lake defense then stepped up after halftime. Roseville moved the ball as far as the Bears’ 6 on the opening drive of the second half, but Minor was thrown for a 4-yard loss, forcing the Raiders into a 27-yard field goal attempt that was unsuccessful. Then, after pinning Roseville at its own 8 to start its next possession, a fumble recovery by senior Malik Doumbia gave White Bear Lake the ball at the 12, setting up a 27-yard field goal by senior Ernest Goodwin that extended his team’s lead to 17-7 with 9:14 to play. “That fumble recovery was huge,” Animasaun said. “I was sitting on the bench watching film and everyone on our sideline started screaming. It got us all really fired up.” Animasaun kept the fire burning later in the fourth quarter, connecting with junior Easton Miles on a 48-yard touchdown pass to make it a 17-point Bears’ lead. Roseville was able to move the ball much of the night. Minor finished with 24 carries for 153 yards, one week after rushing for 347 yards and five touchdowns in a win over Hopkins. But the Raiders were unable to come away with points. “Javon ran hard tonight,” said Roseville coach Andy Stephenson, whose team fell to 3-4. “Especially in the first half when he was breaking arm tackles. “The difference was they were able to capitalize on our mistakes and we couldn’t capitalize on some of theirs.” Which is why White Bear Lake will take a two-game winning streak into its regular-season finale at noon next Thursday in Osseo. “We believe that we can hang with every team we play,” Animasaun said. “We have all the components on our team to compete with anybody in the state. It’s just a matter of putting it all together.” Related Articles High School Sports | High school football: St. Agnes defense stifles St. Croix Lutheran in 21-0 High School Sports | High School Football Roundup: Edina scores twice in fourth to rally from 10-point deficit against Stillwater High School Sports | High school football: Week 7, Friday predictions High School Sports | High School football roundup: White Bear Lake surprises Stillwater High School Sports | High school football: Mounds View beats East Ridge to clinch share of sub-district title