Minneota’s Zack Fier runs through a large hole created by his teammates against Breckenridge on Friday night in the Class A quarterfinals in Alexandria.Peyton Gillund celebrates his 17-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter.

Vikings cruise into state semifinals

Face Filmore Central Nov. 20 at U.S. Bank Stadium

If you aren't able to throw a ball over a wall, chances are even less you will be able to run through a wall.
Breckenridge found that out Friday night on a cold and windy evening that featured snow flurries throughout. The Cowboys are primarily a running team, but were only able to muster 77 yards on the ground against Minneota's vaunted defense and were crushed 35-7 in the Class A state opener in Alexandria.
The Vikings (10-2) have been gaining steam throughout the playoffs with several of their injured players returning and have been dominating opposing teams.
The Vikings, last year's Class A state runners-up, will now meet Filmore Central in the state semifinals at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Breckenridge, which had past opposing teams during the season and in the playoffs, averaged only 2.5 yards per carry against the Vikings.
"We have made a few personnel changes on both sides of the ball and we are really playing the best we have all season in the playoffs," said senior linebacker/running back Anthony Rybinski, who had nine tackles. "Against Breckenridge, we controlled the line of scrimmage and we stuck with our game plan."
The Cowboys' lone score came on a 94-yard kickoff return by Paul Armitage in the opening quarter to tie the game, 7-7. That was the only time in the game that Breckenridge threatened.
Meanwhile, the Vikings' offense was chewing up big yards on the ground, led by senior Zack Fier, who ran for 141 yards in 26 carries. Ryan Meagher added 90 yards in only eight carries.
"The linemen have been playing extremely well, so it gives us bigger running lanes," said Fier. "We have been playing better every week because we have been getting guys back from injury. We have something to prove to the people that didn't give us a chance to make it to state this year.Minneota, which has established a solid running attack in recent weeks, threw only three passes in the Section 3A championship against Lakeview. In this state opener, the Vikings went to the air again just three times, with Isaac Pohlen completing all three attempts, including a 17-yard scoring strike to Peyton Gillund.
The Vikings scored first after forcing Breckenridge to punt on its first possession. The punt into the wind was only 11 yards and the Vikings started their first drive on the Cowboys' 44. Five players later, Fier scored from 20 yards away, outracing three defenders to the right corner of the end zone. Gillund booted the conversion for a 7-0 lead.
Armitage then momentarily bobbled Gillund's deep kickoff at the seven before bursting through a big hole up the middle, then cutting to the left and scampering down the left sidelines untouched for tying score.
Minneota regained the lead shortly after that when Anthony Rybinski scored from four yards out on third-and-goal. The conversion was unsuccessful and the Vikings led 13-6 after the first quarter.
The Vikings padded their lead in the second quarter when Meagher broke off right tackle for a 16-yard touchdown run, capping a five-play drive that started on the Cowboys' 40 after Zack Fier recovered a fumble.
"We saw on film that some of the Breckenridge players carry the ball loose and can cough up the ball," said Minneota coach Chad Johnston. "I thought we executed well on defense and controlled the line of scrimmage. They like to roll out, so we had our defensive ends show discipline and stay in their lane, so when (Breckenridge) rolled out, they had a defensive end in their face."
Minneota recorded only five solo tackles in the game, while amassing 50 assisted tackles.
"We want the kids to rally to the ball," said Johnston. "Breckenridge had a big back so it took more than one kid to bring him down. But we like to see a lot of our jerseys around the ball carrier."
Neither team scored in the third quarter, but the Vikings reached the end zone twice more in the final quarter.
After Eli Gruenes recovered a fumble for the Vikings on the Breckenridge 23 with 1:09 left in the third quarter, the Vikings took only four plays before scoring early in the fourth quarter when Pohlen found Gillund all alone in the left corner of the end zone for TD toss and a 28-7 advantage.
The final score of the contest came when Breckenridge line up to punt, but the snap sailed over the punter's head and the Vikings got the ball on the 13. On first down, Meagher scooted into the end zone untouched.
While Breckenridge ran the ball on nearly every play, Filmore Central has more of a propensity to throw the ball, which will test the Vikings' secondary.
"They throw about 60 percent of the time," said Johnston. "They run a lot of four-receiver sets. We're going to have to try and make the quarterback feel uncomfortable back there."
Filmore Central defeated Lester Prairie 18-16 in the other semifinal game last Saturday.

Minneota 35, Breckenridge 7
Breckenridge...........................................................7 0 0 0 - 7
Minneota...............................................................13 0 8 14 - 35

Scoring Plays
Min - Zack Fier 20 run (Peyton Gillund kick)
Breck - Paul Armistead 94 kickoff return (Bailey Evans kick)
Min - Anthony Rybinski 4 run (pass failed)
Min - Ryan Meagher 16 run (Isaac Pohlen run)
Min - Gillund 17 pass from Pohlen (Gillund kick)
Min - Meagher 13 run (Gullund kick)

Minneota Offensive Statistics
Total yards: Minneota 285, Breckenridge 77 .... Passing yards: Minneota 33, Breckenridge 0 ... Rushing yards: Minneota 252, Breckenridge 77 ... First Downs: Minneota 19, Breckenridge 1 ... Turnovers: Minneota 0, Breckenridge 2 .... Penalties: Minneota 5-25, Breckenridge 1-5.

Minneota Individual Statistics
Passing (com-att-yds-td-int): Isaac Pohlen 3-3-33-1-0

Rushing (att-yds): Zack Fier 26-141, Ryan Meagher 8-90, Brock Fier 3-17, Anthony Rybinski 2-10, Lucas Rybinski 2-4, Max Rost 1-2

Receiving: Peyton Gillund 2-25, Max Rost 1-8

Minneota Defensive Statistics
Tackles (solo-assist-total): Parker Bradley 2-9-11, Anthony Rybinski 0-9-9, Zack Fier 0-5-5, Eli Gruenes 0-5-5, Hudson Scholten 0-5-5, Alex DePestel 0-3-3, Destin Fier 1-2-3, Jackson Lacek 1-1-2, Keaton Jurrens 0-2-2, Sawyer DeSmet 0-2-2, Max Rost 1-0-1, Peyton Gillund 0-1-1, T. Peterson 0-1-1, Peyton Sheik 0-1-1, H.Carstensen 0-1-1, K.Neyens 0-1-1, Carson Javers 0-1-1, Brock Fier 0-1-1
umble Recoveries: Zack Fier 1, Eli Gruenes 1.
Punting (no-avg.): Peyton Gillund 1-29.0

Class A State Tournament
Quarterfinals Friday, Nov. 11
Springfield 28, KMS 6
Deer River 26, Mahnomen-Waubun 14
Minneota 35, Breckenridge 7
Filmore Central 18, Lester Prairie 16

Semifinals Saturday
Nov. 19 at U.S. Bank Stadium
Springfield vs. Deer River, 9 a.m.
Minneota vs. Filmore Central, 11:30 a.m.

Championship
Dec. 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium

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