Vikings stymie RTR, 39-0
Zack Fier scored three times and Isaac Pohlen threw for one score and ran for another as Minneota blanked Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 39-0 on Friday night in Tyler.
So dominant was the Vikings' defense that RTR was held to minus-10 yards rushing and just 88 total yards in the game.
Fier scored on runs of five and three yards, and caught a 28-yard TD pass from Pohlen, Fier finished with 50 yards rushing and 49 receiving.
Pohlen had his best game of the season. The senior signal-caller completed 11 passes at one point in the first half. He finished by completing 13 of 18 passes for 174 yards and one TD with no interceptions. Pohlen also scored on a one-yard sneak in the third quarter.
The Vikings (4-1), ranked No. 3 in Class A, gained 376 yards of total offense and had 21 first downs to just five for the Knights.
Anthony Rybinski scored the Vikings' first touchdown around right end from four yards out in the opening quarter. That score capped an 11-play, 54-yard drive that included a 12-yard end around run by Peyton Gillund and a 15-yard pass from Pohlen to Sawyer DeSmet.
The Vikings held RTR to a three-and-punt and started their next drive on the RTR 49. That drive included a roughing-the-passer penalty and a 21-yard stroke from Pohlen to Max Rost before Fier scored from the five for a 14-0 lead.
Peyton Sheik's sack left RTR deep in its own territory to start the second quarter. A short punt gave Minneota the ball at the Knights' 28, where Pohlen and Fier hooked up for a score on first down. Lucas Rybinski caught a conversion pass from Pohlen for a 22-0 lead.
After an interception by Gillund and a 49-yard return on the Knights' ensuing possession, the Vikings again had excellent field position, starting the drive at the RTR 24. Pohlen connected with Gillund for 12 yards and Anthony Rybinski for 19 yards that were sandwiched around a holding penalty. Fier then scored from the three for a 29-0 lead.
The final points of the first half followed a 70-yard drive. Gillund connected on a 34-yard field goal to make it 32-0.
Minneota, which used a lot of substitutes in the second half, scored just once more over the final two quarters.
Following an RTR punt, Minneota went on a 10-play, 86-yard drive that was capped by Pohlen's one-yard sneak. The big plays in that drive were Pohlen passes of 13 yards to DeSmet, a 42-yard run by Anthony Rybinski and an 11-yard run by Fier.
Minneota hosts MACCRAY for its Homecoming game at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7 at K.P. Kompelien Field.
In a battle of ranked teams on Friday night, No. 10 Dawson-Boyd topped No. 1 Lakeview 16-8, which will likely change the rankings below.
Minneota 39, RTR 0
Minneota.......................................14 18 7 0 - 39
RTR.................................................0 0 0 0 - 0
Scoring Plays
Min - Anthony Rybinski 4 run (Peyton Gillund kick)
Min - Zack Fier 5 run (Gillund kick)
Min - Z.Fier 28 pass from Isaac Pohlen (Lucas Rybinski pass from Pohlen)
Min - Z.Fier 3 run (Gillund kick)
Min - Gillund 34 field goal
Min - Pohlen 1 run (Gillund kick)
Minneota Offensive Statistics
Total yards: Minneota 376, RTR 88 .... Passing yards: Minneota 184, RTR 98 ... Rushing yards: Minneota 192, RTR (-10) ... First Downs: Minneota 21, RTR 5 .... Turnovers: Minneota 1, RTR 2 .... Penalties: Minneota 7-35, RTR 3-25.
Minneota Individuals
Passing (com-att-yds-td-int): Isaac Pohlen 13-18-174-1-0, Ryan Dalager 2-5-10-0-1
Rushing (att-yds): Anthony Rybinski 6-57, Zack Fier 14-50, Lucas Rybinski 4-26, Peyton Gillund 4-19, Parker Bradley 4-16, Destin Fier 2-12, Max Rost 1-11, Isaac Pohlen 4-1
Receiving: Zack Fier 3-49, Max Rost 3-44, Peyton Gillund 4-34, Sawyer DeSmet 2-28, Anthony Rybinski 1-19, Destin Fier 1-5, Ezequiel Monzon 1-5
Minneota Defensive Statistics
Tackles (solo-assist-total): Not available
Interceptions: Peyton Gillund 1
Tackles for Loss: Parker Bradley 2, Sawyer DeSmet 1, Anthony Rybinski 1, Peyton Sheik 1, Dalton Orvis 1, Joe Verschelde 1
Sacks: Sawyer DeSmet 1, Peyton Sheik 1, Parker Bradley 1
Fumble recovery: Keaton Jurrens 1
Punting (no-avg.): Peyton Gillund 3-29.0
CLASS A RANKINGS
(As of Sept. 27)
(1) Lakeview 4-0 (2) BOLD 4-0 (3) Minneota 3-1 (4) Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity 4-0 (5) Fillmore Central 4-0 (6) Mayer Lutheran 3-1 (7) Martin County West 4-0 (8) Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 4-1 (9) Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 3-1 (10) Dawson-Boyd 3-1
SOUTHWEST (WEST) STANDINGS
(Conference, overall records)
Dawson-Boyd 4-0, 4-1; Minneota 3-1, 3-1; Lakeview 3-1, 4-1; Canby 2-2, 3-2; Yellow Medicine East 2-2, 3-2; Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 1-3, 2-3; MACCRAY 1-3, 1-4; Lac qui Parle Valley 0-4, 0-5