1 beats 2
It was a classic matchup between the top-ranked Class A teams in the state as visiting Minneota defeated BOLD 42-28 Friday night in Olivia.
The defending state champion Vikings (3-0) looked every bit as powerful as a season ago.
"It was good to see this caliber of team in the regular season just to gauge your team," said Minneota coach Chad Johnston. "You learn more about your team when they have to battle some adversity that comes with playing a team with the talent BOLD had. We saw some very positive play from our team and we got to see some areas that we need to continue to improve."
These two perennial powers met last year in the Section 5A semifinals with Minneota prevailing 21-0 en route to winning the state championship.
"I actually thought this might be more of a defensive battle Johnston stated. "I was very impressed with our offensive play. We controlled that line of scrimmage and created nice holes for our running backs.
"Defensively, I was more concerned with the (BOLD) running game, but we did well against that. BOLD was smart and moved (wideout Hudson) Vosicka around a lot and he presents a matchup problem for us in the passing game. They ran a lot of two-person routes which allowed them to max protect and we struggled to put any type of pressure on their QB. "Ryan Meagher and Max Rost scored three touchdowns apiece for the Vikings. Meagher, a junior running back, rushed for a career-high 255 yards in 27 carries and scored three touchdowns. Rost, a senior wingback, caught three touchdown passes from Ryan Dalager and finished with a career-high 111 receiving yards.
"Ryan is a great, physical running back but we cannot expect him to carry the load all the time. We need to get as many people involved on offense as we can," said Johnston. "Max is very athletic and shifty. He is not known for his physical play, but his athleticism and intelligent play make him a valuable weapon."
The scene was set early for this game for another smash-mouth contest that drew a packed crowd. Facing fourth-and-15 from the BOLD 30, the Vikings aired it out with Dalager finding Rost for a 30-yard touchdown. Ian Myhre's conversion kick gave Minneota a 7-0 lead.
BOLD tied the game on a 71-yard aerial strike from Jack Gross to Hudson Vosicka.
The teams again traded touchdowns that saw the score knotted again at 14-14. Meagher gave the Vikings a 14-7 advantage when he scored his first TD from six yards out. The Warriors answered on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Gross to Vosicka.
Dalager and Rost teamed up again for an 18-yard touchdown with 40 seconds remaining in the first half that gave the Vikings a 21-14 halftime lead that they would not relinquish the rest of the way.
Minneota gave itself a little breathing room with a two-touchdown advantage to start the second half as Meagher broke free for a 19-yard touchdown run.
The Warriors trimmed the deficit to 28-21 when Gross scored on a 43-yard quarterback keeper.
Gross had a hand in all 28 of the Warriors' points, throwing for three touchdowns, running for another, and kicking all four extra points. Gross would finish with 228 yards passing and two interceptions, and added 82 yards rushing. Voskicka caught nine passes for 220 yards and two scores.
Rost caught his third touchdown pass of the night from Dalager, this time for 62 yards, giving the Vikings a 35-21 lead at the end of three quarters.
“The coaches do a good job preparing us for what the other team is going to do,” Rost said. “I watch a lot of film and try to get an instinct for what the opponents like to do. Ryan (Dalager) has a strong arm and the line did a good job blocking to give him some time back there.”
Both teams scored once in the final quarter. Gross hit Owen Baumgartner on a seven-yard TD pass. Minneota capped the scoring on a 12-yard TD run by Meagher.
BOLD moved into the red zone late in the game before Lincoln Jerzak intercepted a pass in the end zone. From there, the Vikings eventually ran out the clock to seal the victory.
"Who knew what the outcome could have been if they would have scored on that possession," Johnston said. "A very key turnover for us."
Minneota amassed 319 yards on the ground to just 127 for the Warriors.
Dalager completed five of nine passes for 127 yard, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Drew Lipinski led the Vikings with six tackles. Rost and Eli Gruenes had five stops apiece. Gruenes also had his second interception of the season. Kyson Arndt had two tackles for loss.
"With the exception of not maintaining option responsibilities and allowing their quarterback to get free a couple of times, I felt we did a great job against a very strong running attack," Johnston noted. "Our secondary was challenged and that is due to the experience and the weapons BOLD has on offense.”
Minneota 42, BOLD 28
Minneota.........................................................................7 14 14 7 - 42
BOLD..............................................................................7 7 7 7 - 28
Scoring Plays
Min - Max Rost 30 pass from Ryan Dalager (Ian Myhre kick)
BOLD - Hudson Vosicka 71 pass from Jack Gross (Gross kick)
Min - Ryan Meagher 6 run (Myhre kick)
BOLD - Vosicka 21 pass from Gross (Gross kick)
Min - Rost 18 pass from Dalager (Myhre kick)
Min - Meagher 19 run (Myhre kick)
BOLD - Gross 43 run (Gross kick)
Min - Rost 62 pass from Dalager (Myhre kick)
BOLD - Owen Baumgartner 7 pass from Gross (Gross kick)
Min - Meagher 12 run (Myhre kick)
Team Statistics
TOTAL PLAYS: Minneota 52, BOLD 55 ... TOTAL YARDS: Minneota 446, BOLD 355 ... PASSING YARDS: Minneota 127, BOLD 228 ... RUSHING YARDS: Minneota 319, BOLD 127 ... FIRST DOWNS: Minneota 21, BOLD 15 ... TURNOVERS: Minneota 2, BOLD 3 ... PENALTIES: Minneota 4-28, BOLD 6-42
Minneota Individual Statistics
PASSING (com-att-yds-int): Ryan Dalager 5-9-127-2
RUSHING (att-yds): Ryan Meagher 27-255, Lucas Rybinski 4-32, Destin Fier 3-31, Max Rost 3-5, Ryan Dalager 2-(-3)
RECEIVING (rec-yards): Max Rost 4-111, Peyton Sheik 1-16
TACKLES (solo-assist-total): Andrew Lipinski 6-0-6,Max Rost 5-0-5, Eli Gruenes 4-1-5, Kyson Arndt 4-0-4, Peyton Sheik 3-1-4, Keaton Jurrens 3-0-3, Brody Larson 3-0-3, Destin Fier 2-0-2, Parker Bradley 2-0-2, Easton Johnston 1-1-2, Carson Javers 1-1-2, Ben Schmidt 1-0-1, Joey Lacek 1-0-1, Brock Fier 1-0-1, Alex DePestel 1-0-1. Sawyer DeSmet 1-0-1
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Kyson Arndt 2, Eli Gruenes 1, Peyton Sheik 1, Parker Bradley 1
INTERCEPTIONS: Eli Gruenes 1, Lincoln Jerzak 1
FUMBLE RECOVERY: Adam DeVlaeminck 1
PUNTING: Peyton Sheik 1-20