Vikings are section champs!
In an unusual season, Minneota captured the Section 5A football championship with a 14-7 win over BOLD at K.P. Kompelien Field Friday night.
All the scoring came in the first half in this defensive struggle. Minneota finished the season 8-0.
The football season was marred by the coronavirus pandemic and the recent governor's executive order calling for all high school sports to be temporarily halted before Saturday. The Vikings were scheduled to play Lac qui Parle Valley on Saturday in the section semifinals, with the winner of that game advancing to the championship on Saturday, Nov. 28 at Southwest Minnesota State University.
Following the executive order, it was agreed that the semifinals would be eliminated and top-seeded Minneota would take on No. 2 BOLD in the championship Friday. Lac qui Parle defeated Canby 27-12 for third place.
Senior cornerback Jacob Hennen intercepted two passes for the second straight game and fifth in the last three games to spark the Vikings' defense.
"I'm a little taller than most cornerbacks, so I have an advantage over a shorter receiver," said Hennen, who also had four solo and two assisted tackles. "But our defensive line and linebackers do such a good job of stopping the other team's run game and forcing them to pass a lot."
Jonah Gruenes led the way with 13 total tackles for the Vikings, while Josephson and Joey Rybinski had 10 apiece, Tucker Thooft nine, AJ Myhre eight and Beau Banish five.
"We didn't have to pass a lot because our run game was working well enough for us," said Hennen, who completed 5 of 11 passes for 38 yards and a touchdown.
AJ Josephson broke free off a misdirection play for a 42-yard touchdown to open the scoring for Minneota in the first quarter.
The Vikings went ahead 14-0 when Jacob Hennen tossed a five-yard touchdown pass to Cael Sorensen in the second quarter.
BOLD (6-2) trimmed the deficit to 14-7 on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Drew Sagedahl, who completed 12 of 27 passes for 126 yards and two interceptions.
Josephson finished with a team-high 79 yards in eight carries. Hennen gained 45 yards and Anthony Rybinski 26.
"Coach (Chad Johnston) said that our goal was to fight for the prize," said Hennen. "It came down to two teams fighting for that prize and it was nice that we at least had something to play for."
Minneota 14, BOLD 7
BOLD....................................0 7 0 0 - 7
Minneota...............................7 7 0 0 - 14
Scoring
Min - AJ Josephson 42 run 9(Peyton Gillund kick)
Min- Cale Sorensen 5 pass from Jacob Hennen (Gillund kick)
BOLD - 27 pass from Drew Sagedahl (kick good)
TEAM STATISTICS
Total plays: Minneota 47, BOLD 70 ... Total yards: Minneota 199, BOLD 249 ... Passing yards: Minneota 38, BOLD 126 ... Rushing yards: Minneota 161, BOLD 123 ... First downs: Minneota 11, BOLD 13 ... Penalties: Minneota 6-74, BOLD 11-116.
MINNEOTA STATISTICS
Rushing (att-yds-td): AJ Josephson 8-79, Jacob Hennen 14-45, Anthony Rybinski 9-26
Passing (att-com-yds-td-int): Hennen 5-11-38-1-0
Receiving (no-yds-td): Cale Sorensen 2-16, AJ Myhre 1-14, J.Rybinski 1-4, Gerardo Gutierrez 1-4
Tackles (solo-asst): Hennen 4-2, Josephson 4-6, Myhre 4-4, Joey Rybinski 4-6, Jonah Gruenes 3-10, Beau Banish 3-2, Tucker Thooft 2-7, A.Rybinski 1-2, Jacob Citterman 1-1, Max Rost 1-0, Sorensen 0-2, Jackson Esping 0-3, Jayden Gamrak 0-1