Vikings capture 5A football title

Not even a high-powered offense could penetrate the Minneota wall.

The Vikings (11-0) notched their eighth shutout of the season with a 20-0 victory over BOLD in the Section 5A championship Friday at Southwest Minnesota State University.

Minneota advances to the state tournament and will meet Mahnomen-Waubun in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 12 in Monticello.

"We were really pumped up for this game," said two-way lineman Jackson Esping, who had two tackles for losses among his five stops. "We heard that they were going to run for a lot of yards against us. But we played well as a team and made sure guy did their job."

BOLD (9-2) came into the game boasting a high-powered offense that averaged 39 points per game. Freshman running back Hudson Vosika had 250 yards on the ground in last week's semifinal win against Lakeview and has had a couple of 300-yard rushing games this season.

Vosika and the Warriors were stymied against this nearly impenetrable defense. Vosika broke one long run of 46 yards, but otherwise averaged only one yard per carry, finishing with 63 yards in 19 carries. The Warriors were held to 56 yards on the ground. 

Minneota has allowed only 25 points all season, although the starting defense has given up only one touchdown.

"It's about the kids doing their job and taking proper angles," said Minneota coach Chad Johnston. "It was all about pursuit and hustle."

Minneota broke a scoreless tie with a 14-play, 79-yard drive with quarterback Isaac Pohlen scoring from three yards out behind a strong block from senior center Cole Myhre with 5:47 remaining in the first half. Peyton Gillund converted the kick for a 7-0 lead.

Vosika, a fleet-footed freshman, then broke his long run in the second quarter and was headed for a score when senior linebacker Jonah Gruenes had the angle on him and tripped him up at the four-yard line.

Vosika was stopped for no gain on the next two carries. On third down, freshman quarterback Jack Gross threw incomplete, and the Warriors missed a field goal attempt.

"I wasn't sure if I was going to catch him or not," said Gruenes with a wide smile. "I thought I had a chance and it worked out."

Minneota scored its other two touchdowns in the third quarter. Max Rost intercepted a pass from Gross deep in BOLD territory and returned it to the 16. Gruenes then ran for 4 and 10 yards before Conner Sik took it in from two yards out for a 14-0 lead.

Sik finished with 132 yards rushing in a season-high 30 carries. Starting fullback AJ Josephson missed the game with a hamstring injury sustained in the section quarterfinals against Dawson-Boyd.

On its next possession, BOLD was held on down at the Minneota 35. Facing fourth-and-three, Vosika found a hole off left tackle and headed for it. But Gruenes saw the same hole and stopped Vosika for a three-yard loss.

"The defensive line did a great job containing up front," Gruenes said. "I saw that was the only place he could run, so I shifted over and plugged up the hole."

The Vikings then went 62 yards for a touchdown, capped by Pohlen's second touchdown of the game, this time from a yard out. The extra point kick was blocked by Connor Plumley. That key play in the five-play drive was a 51-yard pass from Pohlen to Rost. 

"Our main goal was to control the line of scrimmage," said two-way lineman Landon DeSmet. "We tried to get on their linebackers so we could get further downfield. And on defense, we knew (Vosika) was quick, so we tried to cut him low and it worked out."

BOLD was stopped on fourth down deep in Minneota territory for a third time in the fourth quarter. On fourth-and-goal from the Vikings' seven, Gross threw a pass in the corner of the end for Ryan King. Gillund ran in front of King and batted the pass away.

"Things could have been different," said Johnston, referring to the three fourth-down stops. "I think we eventually wore them down. The kids did a great job stopping a good team."

Minneota gained 343 total yards. Pohlen completed 6 of 9 passes for 143 yards. Rost caught four passes for 126 yards.  

Gross completed 10 of 17 passes for 152 yards. King caught eight passes for 113 yards.

Minneota 20, BOLD 0

BOLD..........................................................  0    0    0   0  -  0

Minneota.................................................... 0    7 13   0  - 20

Scoring Plays

Min - Isaac Pohlen 3 run (Peyton Gillund kick)

Min - Conner Sik 2 run (Gillund kick)

Min - Pohlen 1 run (kick blocked)

Team Totals

Total Plays: Minneota 63, BOLD 42. Total Yards: Minneota 343, BOLD 248. Passing Yards: Minneota 143, BOLD 152. Rushing Yards: Minneota 200, BOLD 56. First Downs: Minneota 16, BOLD 8. Turnovers: Minneota 2, BOLD 1. Penalties: Minneota 5-22, BOLD 2-14.

Minneota Statistics

RUSHING (att-yds): Conner Silk 30-132, Jonah Gruenes 9-42, Isaac Pohlen 6-21, Zack Fier 1-5, Anthony Rybinski 3-0.

PASSING (com-att-yds-td-int): Pohlen 6-9-143-0-1

RECEIVING (rec-yds): Rost 4-126, Gruens 1-9, Peyton Gillund 1-8

TACKLES (solo-assisted): Gillund 3-3, Gruenes 2-3, Rost 2-1, Jackson Esping 2-3, Cale Sorensen 2-0, Z.Fier 1-2, Rybinski 1-4, Jayden Gamrak 1-4, Hudson Scholten 1-2, Sik 0-2, Alex DePestel 0-1, Tucker Thooft 0-1, Tyler Schmidt 0-1.

TACKLES FOR LOSS: Esping 2

INTERCEPTIONS: Rost 1

PUNTING (no-avg.): Gillund 2-40.0