Vikings throttle YME, 43-6

Minneota scored touchdowns on the ground, through the air and on special teams en route to a 43-6 rout of Yellow Medicine East Friday night in Granite Falls.
The Vikings (2-0) started the game without four starters for illness or disciplinary reasons, but it made little difference as the defense limited YME to 134 total yards in the Camden Conference opener.
Minneota has now outscored its first two opponents 78-6.
"It's hard not to like what they did," said Minneota coach Chad Johnston.
The only score allowed by the Vikings' defense so far was when the Sting scored on a short pass with eight seconds left in the game.
Isaac Pohlen completed 7 of 18 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns for the Vikings. Zack Fier led the ground attack with 79 yards in six carries and one touchdown. AJ Josephson gained 54 yards and scored twice.
Peyton Gillund booted all five of his conversion kicks and is now 10-for-10 on the season.
Minneota opened the scoring after an impressive 13-play, 78-yard drive that included seven runs and six passes. Josephson capped the drive with a two-yard TD run.
"It took us a little while to adjust to what the defense was doing," said Johnston. "We were playing some guys that we expected to be role players and now they are playing the whole game and gaining some experience."
Josephson also scored the team's second touchdown, a five-yard scamper that capped a 24-yard drive started when Max Rost recovered a fumbled punt return.
The Vikings again scored twice in the second quarter when Pohlen connected with Cale Sorensen on scoring strikes of 20 and 33 yards, respectively, for a 29-0 halftime advantage.
Minneota then used some trickery to score in the third quarter. Josephson fielded a punt and faked the return, instead handing off to Rost on a reverse. Rost then scampered down the right sideline before cutting down the middle of the field and scoring on a 42-yard return.
The final score came when Fier scored from a yard out in the fourth quarter.
Jonah Gruenes led a stellar defense with nine tackles, including two for losses on hard hits that sent the ball carrier to the ground quickly.
"Jonah played a great game," Johnston remarked. "He played well on both sides of the ball. Jackson Esping also played a solid game on both sides of the ball."
Fier showed some power running, gaining several yards after contact and averaged over 13 yards per carry. He also had seven tackles on defense.
Sorensen finished with three receptions for 59 yards.
Minneota hosts Lac qui Parle Valley Friday at K.P. Kompelien Field.

Minneota 43, YME 6
Minneota......................................14 15 7 7 - 43
YME.............................................. 0 0 0 6 - 6

Scoring Plays
Min - AJ Josephson 3 run (Peyton Gillund kick)
Min - Josephson 5 run (Gillund kick)
Min - Cale Sorensen 20 pass from Isaac Pohlen (Andrew Lipinski pass from Pohlen)
Min - Sorensen 33 pass from Pohlen (Gillund kick)
Min - Rost 42 punt return (Gillund kick)
Min - Zack Fier 1 run (Gillund kick)
YME - Jackson 10 pass from Flaten (pass failed)

Team Totals
Total Plays: Minneota 45, YME 45. Total Yards: Minneota 272, YME 134. Passing Yards: Minneota 117, YME 61. Rushing Yards: Minneota 155, YME 73. First Downs: Minneota 15, YME 8. Turnovers: Minneota 0, YME 1. Penalties: Minneota 6-20, YME 4-13.

Minneota Statistics
RUSHING (att-yds): Zack Fier 6-79, AJ Josephson 11-54, Jonah Gruenes 4-9, Isaac Pohlen 2-7, Max Rost 1-4, Anthony Rybinski 1-2.

PASSING (com-att-yds-td-int): Pohlen 7-18-117-2-0

RECEIVING (rec-yds): Cale Sorensen 3-59, Rybinski 1-22, Gruenes 1-21, Josephson 1-8, Gillund 1-7.

TACKLES (solo-assists): Gruenes 3-6, Fier 2-5, Tucker Thooft 2-4, Josephson 1-5, Rost 1-0, Andrew Lipinski 1-2, Sorensen 1-0, Connor Sik 1-4, Jack Lacek 1-1, Michael Popowski 1-0, Tyler Schmidt 1-0, Ryan Meagher 1-0, Eli Gruenes 1-0, Rybinski 0-2, Hudson Scholten 0-3, Peyton Sheik 0-2, Jackson Esping 2-0, Ryan Dalager 1-0, Landon DeSmet 0-2, Lane Loyson 0-1, Branden Johnson 0-2, Alex DePestel 0-5.

PUNTING (no-avg.): Gillund 3-36.0

Contact Us

The Minneota Mascot
Address: 201 N. Jefferson
Minneota, MN 56264

Phone:(507) 872-6492