BACK TO STATE

They stood toe to toe like two heavyweight prizefighters. When the final bell sounded, Minneota had punched its ticket to another state trip with a hard-fought 14-6 victory over BOLD in the Section 5A championship at SMSU's Mattke Field on Friday.
The defending state champion Vikings (11-0) will take on Braham in the Class A state quarterfinals at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 10 at St. Cloud Tech High School in St. Cloud.
The game against BOLD was a stark contrast to the previous meeting on Sept. 9 when the Vikings outslugged the Warriors 42-28 in Olivia. This time, on a neutral field, the previous offensive explosion turned into a defensive battle.
"We know their tendencies and they know ours," said Minneota senior quarterback Ryan Dalager, giving his explanation for the low-scoring game. "We knew they were a good team and it wasn't going to be easy. Both teams played well defensively. We just played our game and didn't let them affect how we were trying to dothings."
Minneota was stopped on downs at the BOLD 14 on its first possession of the game following an 11-play, 61-yard drive. BOLD then came out with quarterback Jack Gross throwing six straight passes on its first drive, completing five and getting a pass interference penalty on the other. The Warriors reached the Minneota eight-yard line before a fourth-and-two completion was stopped for no gain.
"We kind of dared them to run to start the game and gave them the short passes," said Minneota coach Chad Johnston. "They completed a few quick sideline passes because we were playing back, so we cheated up a little to prevent them from turning them into a big play."
The Vikings then reached the BOLD 14 before losing the ball on a fumble with 7:28 remaining in the first half.
After forcing BOLD to punt on its ensuing possession, the Vikings finally put the scoreboard operator to work with just 2:15 left in the first half. On first down at the 33, Ryan Meagher broke free for a 65-yard run before finally being brought down at the BOLD two. Two plays later, Meagher reached the end zone untouched and Ian Myhre added the conversion kick for a 7-0 halftime leadMeagher finished with 170 yards rushing in 20 carries.
BOLD, which had some success throwing the ball in the first half, came out running more in the second half. On the first series of the third quarter, Gross connected with Owen Baumgartner for a 32-yard completion. The Warriors then ran four consecutive times for 36 yards to reach the Vikings' eight-yard line. On fourth-and-two, BOLD attempted a gadget play that the Vikings were ready for and recorded a sack.
"At halftime, we made a little tweak to take away the quick passes," Johnston said. "After that, we made some adjustments on the fly depending on what BOLD was trying to do. We did some things that we didn't even practice."
BOLD finally got on the board with just 20 second left in the third quarter. Following a Minneota punt, the Warriors went 53 yards in five plays, all on the ground, with Hudson Vosika scoring from 15 yards out. The Warriors faked the conversion kick, but a pass attempt fell incomplete, leaving Minneota in front, 7-6.
Minneota struck for a knockout blow with a little gadget play of its own in the fourth quarter on second-and eight from their own 38. Dalager handed off to wingback Max Rost, who then pitched the ball back to Destin Fier and the fleet-footed junior scampered around right end to a free path down the right sidelines, breaking a couple of tackles near the goal line to score on a 62-yard run. Myhre again added the extra point for a 14-6 score that would stand for the final margin.
BOLD appeared to be headed for a touchdown late in the game and possibly send the game into overtime if it could add a two-point conversion. Gross hit Caden Fischer with a 42-yard aerial strike to move the ball to the Minneota 27. Five plays later, the Warriors had fourth-and-six at the Vikings' 13 with 1:37 remaining in the game. Gross found an open receiver and fired a pass over the middle, but the ball was dropped at the two. The Vikings were then able to run out the clock.
"It was a battle," said Rost. "BOLD has a good team and we had to play hard the whole game."
Fier finished with 75 yards rushing in just four carries. Dalager added 21 yards on the ground and passed for 27 yards.
Fier and Alex DePestel had eight tackles apiece to spark the defense. Meagher and Parker Bradley had seven stops each. DePestel had the lone sack.
Gross completed 13-of-24 passes for 113 yards for the Warriors. Vosika had one completion on a halfback toss for 42 yards. Baumgartner caught six passes for 120 yards and Vosika had seven catches for 47 yards.
The Vikings lost senior Peyton Sheik to an ankle injury in the first half. Sheik, a receiver and defensive end who also kicks off and serves as the team's punter, is likely to miss Friday state opener and will then be evaluated after that if the Vikings advance.

Minneota 14, BOLD 6
BOLD............................................................................0 0 6 0 - 6
Minneota...................................................................... 0 7 0 7 - 14

Scoring Plays
Min - Ryan Meagher 1 run (Ian Myhre kick)
BOLD - Austin Kiecker 15 run (pass failed)
Min - Destin Fier 62 run (Myhre kick)

Team Statistics
Total plays: BOLD 56, Minneota 51 ... Total Yards: BOLD 273, Minneota 303 .... Rushing Yards: BOLD 117, Minneota 276 ... Passing Yards: BOLD 155, Minneota 27 ... First Downs: BOLD 14, Minneota 11 ... Turnovers: BOLD 0, Minneota 1 ... Penalties: BOLD 4-25, Minneota 3-20

Minneota Statistics
Passing (com-att-yds-td-int): Ryan Dalager 5-11-27-0-0
Rushing (att-yds): Ryan Meagher 20-170, Destin Fier 4-75, Ryan Dalager 3-21, Lucas Rybinski 2-9, Max Rost 3-9
Receiving (rec-yds): Ryan Meagher 1-15, Max Rost 2-12
Tackles (solo-asst-tot): Destin Fier 2-6-8, Alex DePestel 0-8-8, Parker Bradley 1-6-7, Ryan Meagher 0-7-7, Max Rost 2-3-5, Sawyer Desmet 0-5-5, Liincoln Jerzak 1-2-3, Peyton Sheik 1-2-3, Drew Lipinski 1-2-3, Brody Larson 0-3-3, Tom Desmet 0-3-3, Kellen Bradley 1-1-2, Keaton Jurrens 0-2-2, Dantae Orvis 1-0-1, Joey Lacek 1-0-1, Carson Javers 0-1-1, Ben Schmidt 0-1-1, Brock Fier 0-1-1
Sacks: Alex DePestel 1
Tackles for losses: Parker Bradkley 1, Alex DePestel 1
Punting: Peyton Sheik 1-40.0, Ryan Dalager 4-30.0
Kickoff returns: Max Rost 1-7
Punt return: Max Rost 1-1