Since Oct. 27, when the Class 5A playoffs began, the Minneota football team has been fighting with each week to stay alive for a chance at the Class A state title.

Now, nearing the end of November, the Vikings find themselves one game away from playing for the state's top honor in the Class 1A division.

"This group has been focused since Day 1," said Minneota head coach Chad Johnston. "Their goal is to be in the finals."

Minneota, who is coming off a convincing 45-17 win over Barnesville in the opening round of the state tournament, will continue its run for a state title against a team that hasn't lost since the opening week of the season.

Blooming Prairie entered the state tournament looking to be the team that drew the short straw. The Awesome Blossoms had to open state play against the top- ranked team in the state (New Ulm Cathedral), but the Blossoms thrived under the pressure and defeated the Greyhounds 21-8 to earn a spot in the state semifinals today with the Vikings.

The opening round of the tournament was played at various sites throughout the state, but now all the teams will gather at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

"I'm guessing there will probably be a little bit of jitters by both squads early in the game," Johnston said. "Maybe that's being nervous or maybe that's being too hyped up, but you've just got to hope to be the first group to settle down and get ready to play."

The Vikings defeated the Trojans in the opening round by scoring early and often. In fact, Minneota scored on its first offensive play of the game - a 67-yard screen pass from Sam Derynck to Jacob Cheadle.

"Obviously we're going to try and stick to what's been working for us all year by trying to use our balance to attack them," said Johnston. "It's going to be a little hard to get a true feeling for what they're going to do for us defensively because New Ulm Cathedral is predominantly a run team. Blooming Prairie was actually able to put six and seven guys on the line against them and we don't typically see that type of defense."

If the Blossoms indeed stack the line to try to slow the rushing attack, Derynck will be called upon to stretch the defense with his arm, but if the defenders ease off the line of scrimmage, fullback Brandon Anderson may a field day against the Blooming Prairie defense. Regardless, Johnston said the offense will have to be ready for anything the Blossoms might throw at them.

"We're not real certain of what we'll see," said Johnston. "We've got some ideas based on some other things we've seen, but that's always one of the difficult things when you get a team like that. When they play a team that's different than your system, you might not get a true feeling of what they will do defensively."

On the flip side, the Blossoms may not have much of an idea of what the Vikings may do offensively as they rushed for 232 yards and passed for 205, displaying once again the balance that the offense is capable of producing.

The Blossoms have a first-year quarterback leading the offense in Luc Zellmer, who will engineer an offense similar to Minneota's.

"They've got a lot of balance," Johnston said. "They're going to try to spread it out and try and get in an extra guy out of the box. They do a pretty good job of running the ball. They've got some good, athletic kids there with some misdirection plays."

Senior Aaron Niles led the way for Blooming Prairie on the ground last week, rushing for 115 yards, but it was Zellmer who stole the show by throwing two touchdowns in the opening quarter to give the Blossoms an early lead to play with.

"They've got some good guys at the receiver spots," said Johnston. "Even though they've got a young quarterback, he throws a pretty good ball."

It's all on the line today as both teams vie for the final spot in the Class 1A championship game after Adrian defeated Fosston Friday 14-7. The Vikings have conquered everything else this season - the Camden Conference and the 5A Section - the only thing left is the state.

"I think it just comes down to their experience," Johnston said. "I think that experience and the senior leadership has allowed this team to stay focused."