Minneota crushes Mayer Lutheran 54-21

Mayer Lutheran Coach Dean Aurich summed up his team’s 54-21 loss to Minneota in the state semifinals with one simple sentence.
“Minneota was a good team and they took it to us,” Coach Aurich said.
Then he added, “You’ve got to give Minneota credit. They were physically better than us today!”
Minneota wasted no time scoring and came out firing with a 16-yard kickoff run by Skylar Gilbertson, 18-yard pass from Alex Pohlen to Isaac Hennen, then a 13-yard run by Hennen for two straight first downs.
On third and 13 at the 32, Pohlen threw an incomplete pass but there was a flag against Mayer Lutheran.
It was a 15-yard penalty to give Minneota a first down on the 17 yard line. From there Isaac Hennen plowed 17 yards off left tackle for a touchdown at 9:54 of the first period.
Pohlen kicked the extra point for a 7-0 Viking lead — but at that point nobody would know how bad it would get.
Minneota Coach Chad Johnston was asked, “What went right today?” He burst out with a controlled laughed and with a big smile on his face said, “Kinda, EVERYTHING!”
On the ensuing kickoff, Mayer Lutheran ran the fall to their own 43 with Tanner Sterzinger making the tackle for the Vikings.
The Viking line was stiff on the first play and tackled quarterback Braden Noenning for a loss. The Crusaders were unable to get a first down and punted from the 41-yard line.
And the Vikings were off to the races again.
Using pin-point passing to Isaac Hennen, a 40-yard run by that same Hennen  and a break-away run through the left side of the line by, you guessed it, Isaac Hennen, and Minneota was at the Crusaders 22-yard line.
From there Pohlen hooked up with Cole Sanow for a touchdown and 13-0 lead at 6:44
“The offense we run can be complex enough, but when you haven’t played us before, it’s hard to prepare for us,” said Coach Johnston.
And the fact that five guys up front were blowing holes wide open ... well, that made it a hay day for the Vikings backfield.
“It’s great to have a line like that in front of you,” said Isaac Hennen.
“It all starts with our center Ty Lipinski. Then Ethan Krier and Mitchell Rost on one side and Cole VanOverbeke and Trent Esping on the other, they were opening holes all day,” Hennen added.
Mayer Lutheran tried to get something going with a spectacular 24-yard catch by Mayer Lutheran’s Kenson Boelke at the Viking 29 to set the Crusaders up in dangerous territory.
They got a first down at the Minneota 16, but a Noenning pass was picked off by Brant Buysse on the two-yard line and Minneota had stopped the Crusader rally.
A screen pass to Skylar Gilbertson went for 22 yards gave the Vikings another first down on the their own 47. Sanow broke through the crusader line for 16 yards and suddenly the Vikings were on the 37 of Mayer Lutheran.
Another pass to Isaac Hennen for 13 yards put the ball on the Crusader 24 with yet, another first down.
A 20-yard touchdown pass from Pohlen to Thomas Hennen made it 19-0 at 2:08 of the first quarter and Pohlen kicked the point for a 20-0 lead. It was an 88-yard drive in two minutes and 35 seconds.
While Minneota was finished scoring in the first quarter — there was a lot more to come in the second period.
Minneota had 12 first downs in first quarter, Isaac Hennen had 87 yards rushing and Pohlen threw for 114 yards and two touchdowns.
Pohlen, too, was quick to credit the boys up front. “Our line was doing a great job,” he said.
And the defense was confusing Mayer Lutheran.
They fumbled a snap that ended a drive and they had to punt
Mayer’s line stiffened, led by Kaleb Winter and Minneota needed a big play.
And they got it.
Pohlen tucked the ball in and ran down the right sideline for 16 yards and a first down at midfield.
Mitchell Rost and Ethan Krier again blew open a big hole and Hennen ran it 18 yards to the 32.
The Vikings Brant Buysse took a 32-yard pass from Pohlen and ran it in for Pohlen’s third touchdown pass of the day and a 26-0 Minneota lead. Pohlen’s kick failed but the Vikings had a 26-0 lead at 8:03 of the second period.
All year Mayer Lutheran defensive end Kenson Boelke had been the team’s defensive leader. But this Viking line was one he couldn’t solve. “They ran away from my side — they figured it out,” Boelke said.

A POOR 16-yard Noenning punt gave Minneota a good start at Mayer Lutheran’s 41 yard line.
The Vikings needed a 12-yard pass to Isaac Hennen to pull out a first down followed by a 14-yard run up the middle by Cole Sanow.
The Vikings were suddenly back in familiar territory at the Mayer Luther, “red zone,” at the 17-yard-line.
Two plays later Isaac Hennen wove his way through the Crusaders defense, made and cut and scooted into the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown.
Pohlen faked the kicked, rolled out and tossed it to Thomas Hennen, who made a one-handed circus catch in the end zone for the two-point conversion and 34-0 lead — and the rout was on.
“We had no answer for their inside trap. Their game plan was very good and we just couldn’t stop it,” said Mayer Lutheran Coach Aurich.
Minneota was still flying and Isaac Hennen’s run gave Minneota 174 rushing yards with 19 first downs with four and a half minutes left in the first half.
When Noenning tried to pass, it was Shawn Buysse who put the pressure on him and forced Noenning to intentionally ground the ball with 4:05 left in the second quarter.
A 12-yard pass to Abraham, plus a block in the back penalty by the Vikings put the ball at the Crusader 44 yard line.
But the Vikings had to punt for the first time and pinned the crusaders down at their own 11-yard line.
Logan Sussner put Noenning under pressure and he was just able to get off an incomplete pass. They had to punt again with 1:12 left in the first half
With 31 seconds left, Pohlen connected for his fourth touchdown pass, this time 16 yards to Cole Sanow for his second touchdown and Pohlen kicked the point for a 41-0 halftime lead and there was no doubt the Vikings were going to the state finals.
To put icing on the cake in the first half, Thomas Hennen intercepted a Noenning pass.

AT HALFTIME Minneota had 176 yards rushing to 10 for Mayer Lutheran. Isaac Hennen had 119 yards on seven carries and 84 yards on six pass receptions plus two touchdowns.
Cole Sanow rushed nine times for 42 yards. And Pohlen passed 18 times, with 15 completions for 210 yards and four touchdowns.
Mayer Lutheran had just  79 yards to 386 for the Vikings.
As they say ... the second half would become academic.

AS A TESTAMENT to the Crusaders, they took the opening kickoff  and after a couple of first downs, Mayer Lutheran threatened, getting down to the Minneota 11.
A sack by Isaac Hennen helped keep them out of the end zone and they had a fourth and goal from the 12 yard line.
They finally scored when Braden Carlson caught a 13-yard pass from Noenning. Cole Cummings kicked the extra point and it was 41-7, Minneota.
If there was a positive for Aurich and his staff to hang on it was the fact that his team, down 41-0, came out and put on a scoring drive.
“We decided to go with quick-hitting passes,” said the coach.
But the Vikings, using mostly the running of Isaac Hennen, then a run by Brant Buysse, got the ball to the Mayer Lutheran 32.
On a third and three, Landon Abraham broke through the line for a 30-yard scoring run with LaShad Smith kicking the extra point for a 48-7 Viking lead.
Minneota went 62 yards on five plays at 3:58 of the third period.
On the next series, Minneota committed a holding penalty and the Crusaders got the ball on their own 42 with a fresh first down.
But that’s when Isaac Hennen’s defense took front and center.
He broke through to sack Noenning, then intercepted his pass to set the Vikings up at the Lutheran 29.
“On the sack it felt like there was a split in the line and I went through it.” On the interception, Hennen said, “Austin Kloos tipped it and it came down to me.”
From there, reserve Tanner Sterzinger ran the 29 yards to pay dirt and after Smith’s extra point failed, led 54-7 with 1:02 to go in the third period.
“Six different guys scored for us,” said Isaac Hennen, flashing a quick smile to let you know that made this game extra special.

WHEN MINNEOTA got their hands on the ball offensively, Jacob Hennen was quarterbacking the team and most of the second team was in the game.
Minneota led 54-7 at the end of the third period.
With the second team on field, Mayer Lutheran used a long pass to Matt Menth went for 38 yards to the Viking 31 yard line.
The game was in running time because of the one-sided score, but Mayer Lutheran got to the six yard line on a pass to Menth, then scored from five yards out on a pass from Noenning to Menth.
The kick was good and it was 54-14 with 4:26 to go.
Mayer Lutheran’s Branden Carlson picked off a Jacob Hennen pass and ran it 32 yards for a touchdown. The kick made it 54-21 with 3:02 to go in the game ­ — but it ended the scoring.
For the linebacker Shawn Buysse, the defense shined, and he said, “It was a matter of filling the gaps, stopping the run.”
Mayer had just 33 yards rushing, so, yes, Shawn Buysse, mission accomplished.