Vikings top Lakers, 52-12

Even though Minneota didn't get the ball to start the game for the first time all season, the Vikings still managed another solid opening quarter Thursday night en route to a 52-12 triumph over Lakeview in Cottonwood.

In the first six games of the season, opponents have kicked off to Minneota to start the game. And each time, the Vikings have bolted out of the gate with a strong first quarter. “That's been our traditional way of thinking the past few years,” said Coach Chad Johnston.

“We like to get the ball first. “If we win the toss, we'll take the ball while a lot of teams will defer. We try to set the tempo on the opening drive.” But on Thursday night against Lakeview, the Vikings lost the coin toss and the Lakers elected to take the ball.

When Minneota captain Thomas Hennen came back to the sideline following the coin toss, he seemed a little stunned that his team was kicking off. “Hey, we're kicking,” he told the coaches in a seemingly surprised tone of voice. “I think he was a little surprised because we hadn't kicked off to start a game all season,” Johnston noted.

It didn't take long for Minneota to get the ball back, though.

After its defense forced a “three-and-out” on the Lakers' first series, the Vikings' special teams came up with a big play. As Lakeview was in punt formation, they fumbled the snap and Cole VanOverbeke pounced on the loose ball deep in the Lakers' territory. Two plays later, Cole Sanow scored the first of his four touchdowns; this was from three yards out. Minneota never trailed after that, taking a 21-0 lead after the first quarter. With only a sliver of the moon showing on a frosty night in which temperatures dipped below freezing, the Vikings improved to 7-0 with their final regular season game at home on Wednesday against Lac qui Parle Valley.

“We did a lot of good things on both sides of the ball,” said Johnston. “We completed some passes that we've struggled with this year. Our offense wasn't routine because of the cold. We tried some different things based on their defense.

“Defensively, we had a couple of breakdowns and (Lakeview) capitalized on them and scored. Fortunately, they weren't enough to cost us, but we'll need to clean some of those things up. Overall, though, the defense played well.”

Sanow gained 118 yards in just 10 carries, scoring on runs of 3, 6, 68 and 11 yards. His 68-yard score came late in the second quarter when he dashed up the middle untouched to paydirt.

“We like to get him around 20 touches if we can,” said Johnston about his standout junior.

“But we wanted to get some of the other guys some work, too.” Hennen completed 12-of-21 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Landon Rolbiecki carried the ball twice for 30 yards and also caught a pair of passes for 18 yards, including a 13-yard scoring strike in the first quarter. Blake Reiss had 24 yards in two carries, while Hennen carried twice for 21 yards.

Alex Saltzer hauled in four passes for 65 yards, and Logan Sussner had two catches for 31 yards. Minneota got three of its previously injured players back for this game, too. Tanner Sterzinger, a wingback/defensive back who injured his foot in the opening game of the season, was eased back into the lineup and caught a six-yard touchdowns pass from Hennen.

LaShad Smith, a defensive back/running back/kicker who injured his ankle against Yellow Medicine East and has missed the last two games, also returned and scored on a three-yard run.

Smith finished with five carries for 35 yards and caught one pass for 22 yards. “We used Tanner mainly in the first half and then we backed off in the second half and had him play just one series,” said Johnston.

“We used both guys on both sides of the ball as we slowly introduced them back.”

Ryan Vlaminck, a reserve lineman, also returned to the team after missing the first six games with a lower back injury.

“Ryan gives us some more depth on the offensive and defensive line,” said Johnston. “If he had been healthy all season, he might have seen even more playing time.” VanOverbeke had a solid night on defense.

Besides his fumble recovery, he made eight total tackles, including a sack. Ty Lipinski added seven tackles and a sack.

And Mitchell Rost amassed five tackles and a sack. “We had a lot of kids doing things well,” said Johnston.

Jacob Hennen, who has missed most of the season with a broken bone in his non-throwing hand, has been throwing in practice the past three weeks.

He was cleared to take snaps last week in practice with pads on and is closer to a return with the team. If he is cleared by doctors this week, Johnston said the freshman signal-caller could see action in a series or two against Lac qui Parle Valley. Minneota........................21 13 12 6 – 52 Lakeview........................ 0 6 0 6 – 12

First Quarter Minneota - Cole Sanow 3 run (Sebastiano Beraldo kick) Minneota – Landon Rolbiecki 13 pass from Thomas Hennen (Beraldo kick) Minneota – Hennen 40 interception return (Beraldo kick)

Second Quarter Minneota – Sanow 6 run (kick failed) Lakeview – Carter Louwagie 32 pass from Aaron Loe (run failed) Minneota – Sanow 68 run (kick failed)

Third Quarter Minneota – Tanner Sterzinger 9 pass from Hennen (kick failed) Minneota – Sanow 11 run (kick failed) Fourth Quarter Minneota – LaShad Smith 3 run (kick failed) Lakeview – Lucas Hodges 1 run (kick failed)

Team Statistics

Minneota Lakeview 16 First Downs 9 5-22 Penalties/Yards 3-6 1-1 Fumbles/Lost 1-1 22-228 Rushes/Yards 34-47 383 Total Yards 162 Individual Statistics RUSHING (No., yds.): Minneota-Sanow 10-118, Smith 5-35, Rolbiecki 2-30, Brandon Reiss 3-24, Hennen 2-21 … Lakeview – Elijah Sterner 19-70, Hodges 3-(-1), Loe 8-(-33). Others 4-11.

PASSING (Att., comp., int., yds): Minneota-Hennen 21-13-1-155 … Lakeview-Loe 25-13-1-110, Louwagie 1-1-0-5. RECEIVING (No., yds): Minneota-Alex Saltzer 4-65, Logan Sussner 2-31, Smith 1-22, Rolbiecki 2-18, Sterzinger 1-9, Sanow 1-5, Tate Walerius 1-5 … Lakeview-Louwagie 3-42, Parker Hoffman 5-34, Billy Errington 3-27, Hodges 2-7, Loe 1-5.

KICKOFFS (No., yds, avg.): Minneota-Rolbiecki 8-279-34.9 … Lakeview-Angel Vazquez Sarzeno 3-121-40.3 KICKOFF RETURNS (No., yds, avg): Minneota-Smith 2-21-10.5, Sanow 1-0-0.0 … Lakeview-P.Viaene 2-20-10.0, Louwagie 1-20-20.0, Hodges 1-12-12.0, Rilea Olson 1-11-11.0, Reid Bot 1-11-11.0, Jensen 1-6-6.0, Randolph 1-0-0.0 PUNTS (No, yds, avg): Minneota-Salzer 1-22-22.0 … Lakeview-Brock Kvistad 3-25-8.3 PUNT RETURNS (No, yds, avg): Minneota-Hennen 1-4-4.0 … Lakeview-Team 1-0-0.0

TACKLES (solo-assists): Minneota-Cole VanOverbeke 4-4, Reiss 3-0, Sanow 2-1, Salzer 2-1, Ty Lipinski 2-5, Mitchell Rost 2-3, Layne Lozinski 2-1, Justin Johnson 2-0, Smith 1-0, Rolbiecki 1-0, Sussner 1-3, AJ Myhre 1-0, Grady Moorse 1-0, Sterzinger 0-1, Walerius 0-1, Austin Sorensen 0-1 … Lakeview-Sterner 7-4, Louwagie 4-2, Hodges 2-0, Jensen 2-0, Hoffman 1-0, Viaene 1-3, Aguirre 1-2, R. Olson 1-0, Kvistad 1-0, Grube 0-1.

SACKS: Minneota-VanOverbeke, Reiss, Rost … Lakeview: Sterner/ TACKLES FOR LOSS: Minneota-VanOverbeke, Reiss 2, Sanow, Lipinski 2, Rost, Johnson, Sussner .. Lakeview-Sterner.

INTERCEPTIONS: Minneota-Hennen … Lakeview-Louwagie.