Fier, Vikings rumble past Lakeview, 28-6

It's never easy to beat a good team twice in the same season. Lakeview found that out on Friday when Minneota avenged an earlier loss to the Lakers and captured the Section 5A crown.
Behind Zack Fier's 238 yards rushing and three touchdowns, Minneota (9-2) handled Lakeview 28-6 on a mild November day at Mattke Field on the Southwest Minneota State University campus. The win advanced the Vikings to the Class A state tournament where they finished as state runner-up a season ago.
"We didn't anything fancy. We wanted to run the ball more and keep it away from them," said Fier. "Our line played really well on both sides of the ball. They made some great blocks and that made it easier to run the ball."
Lakeview topped the Vikings 30-13 on Sept. 22 in Cottonwood in which they gained a season-low 132 yards on the ground.
This time, the Vikings ran for 329 yards and ate up the clock on every possession.
"We knew we could run the ball against Lakeview," said Minneota offensive coordinator Matt Myrvik. "We wanted to control the line of scrimmage and for the most part we were able to do that."
Minneota has dealt with numerous injuries this season and was missing its most experienced defensive back, Max Rost, the last time the teams met and Lakeview was able to pass for 152 yards and three touchdowns.
"We have dealt with a lot of injuries this year," Myrvik said. "So, a lot of younger kids had to step up and they gained valuable experience. Now when we are getting some of our (injured) players back, we have more depth than before. We are a different team now."
The Lakers were only able to muster 64 yards through the air in this contest.
"We wanted to keep the ball out of their hands," said sophomore linebacker Parker Bradley. "We knew they liked to pass so we worked together as a team and controlled the line of scrimmage."
Rost had three pass deflections and four solo tackles on defense.
Fier, a senior halfback, saved his best game of the year for the section title bout, averaging 9.2 yards per carry. Two of his carries went for over 50 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown in the third quarter that gave the Vikings a 21-6 lead.
"It was just a trap play up the middle and I cut it to the outside," Fier said. "We had a lot of good blocks downfield and I was able to get in."
The Vikings ran the ball 48 times, while throwing just three passes.
"That's okay with me," said Minneota quarterback Isaac Pohlen, who ran for 19 yards on four carries. "Whatever it takes as long as we win. The guys up front played really well and we were able to run the ball."
Pohlen's lone completion went for 26 yards to his tight end, Sawyer DeSmet late in the first half to keep a drive alive on a third-and-11 play.
"We made some changes up front and switched up the line a little," said DeSmet. "We subbed more people in and out to keep everyone fresh and that really helped."
The Vikings opened the scoring in the first quarter on a 6-yard run by Ryan Meagher, who finished with 60 yards in 10 carries. That score capped a 16-play, 74-yard drive, all on the ground.
Lakeview came right back and scored on a two-yard pass from Owen Louwagie to Nathan Fenske, but the Lakers were unable to convert the extra point.
Minneota then extended its lead to 13-6 on Fier's-3-yard TD run, set up by his own 68-yard scamper down the left sidelines.
Fier then added TD runs of 53 and 4 yards in the second to pad the lead. The 53-yard run came on the first play from scrimmage in the second half following a Lakeview punt. The play was a trap up the middle and Fier cut right and raced down the right sidelines to paydirt.
Destin Fier and Zack Fier had five tackles each for the Vikings. Rost and DeSmet had four apiece, and Joe Verschelde and Eli Gruenes three each.

Minneota 28, Lakeview 6
Lakeview.......................6 0 0 0 - 6
Minneota.......................7 6 8 7 - 28

Scoring Plays
Min - Ryan Meagher 6 run (Peyton Gillund kick)
Lake - Nathan Fenske 2 pass from Owen Louwagie (pass failed)
Min - Zack Fier 3 run (kick failed)
Min - Z.Fier 53 run (Z.Fier run)
Min - Z.Fier 4 run (Gillund kick)

Minneota Offensive Statistics
Total yards: Minneota 355, Lakeview 186 .... Passing yards: Minneota 26, Lakeview 64 ... Rushing yards: Minneota 329, Lakeview 122 ... First Downs: Minneota 19, Lakeview 10 ... Turnovers: Minneota 1, Lakeview 0 .... Penalties: Minneota 7-50, Lakeview 6-65.

Minneota Individuals
Passing (com-att-yds-td-int): Isaac Pohlen 1-3-26-0-1

Rushing (att-yds): Zack Fier 26-238, Ryan Meagher 10-60, Isaac Pohlen 4-19, Destin Fier 1-8, Anthony Rybinski 4-4, Lucas Rybinski 2-1, Max Rost 1-(-1).

Receiving: Sawyer DeSmet 1-26

Minneota Defensive Statistics
Tackles (solo-assist-total): Destin Fier 3-2-5, Zack Fier 2-3-5, Max Rost 4-0-4, Sawyer DeSmet 3-1-4, Joe Verschelde 2-1-3, Eli Gruenes 1-2-3, Peyton Gillund 2-0-2, Lucas Rybinski 1-1-2, Alex DePestel 1-1-2, Parker Bradley 1-1-2, Hudson Scholten 1-0-1, Keaton Jurrens 1-0-1

Tackles for Loss: Max Rost 1, Destin Fier 1, Sawyer DeSmet 1, Hudson Scholten 1

Punting (no-avg.): Peyton Gillund 1-32.0

Section 5A
Quarterfinals Oct. 25
(1) BOLD 26, (8) Lac qui Parle Valley 6
(4) Minneota 56, (5) Yellow Medicine East 14
(2) Dawson-Boyd 66, (7) MACCRAY 20
(3) Lakeview 50, (6) Canby 12

Semifinals Saturday
Minneota 21, BOLD 0
Lakeview 38, Dawson-Boyd 32

Final Friday, Nov. 4
at SMSU
Minneota 28, Lakeview 6

Class A State Tournament
Quarterfinals Friday, Nov. 11
Springfield vs. KMS
Deer River vs. Mahnomen-Waubun
Minneota vs. Breckenridge
Filmore Central vs. Lester Prairie

Semifinals Saturday
Nov. 19 at U.S. Bank Stadium
9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

Championship
Dec. 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium
10:03 a.m.