Photo by Jake Przytarski Minneota’s Cole Sanow eludes a Dawson-Boyd tackle during their game on Friday. The Vikings defeated the Blackjacks 47-0.

DAWSON – Coming off a 23-8 victory to open their season last week, the Minneota football team wanted to carry its momentum on the road against a Camden Conference foe in Dawson-Boyd. Combining stifling defense and a well-balance offensive attack, the Vikings controlled nearly every aspect of the matchup against the Blackjacks, ultimately earning a 47-0 shutout Friday.

Quarterback Thomas Hennen, filling in for injured starter Jacob Hennen, stepped up big as the team’s lead signal caller, as the sophomore completed some key throws throughout the game, while running back Cole Sanow powered the Vikings on the ground in an all-around dominant effort that began on their first drive of the game.

Starting deep in their own territory, the explosive Vikings offense wasted no time churning out big plays by mixing in power running and an effective aerial attack that brought the Vikings down to the Blackjacks’ seven-yard line. From there, Thomas Hennen barreled his way into the end zone for the first score of the game on a quarterback sneak to cap off an 89-yard drive. A Sebastiano Beraldo extra point would follow to put the Vikings ahead 7-0 early on in the first quarter.

Equally impressive in Friday’s contest was the Vikings defense, who were faced with the tough task of trying to stop the two-headed monster of Blackjack running backs Colton Husby and Bentley Boike, who combined for 276 yards and four touchdowns just a week ago against Adrian in the season opener. This week, the power-running duo was bottled up thanks to a swarming Vikings defensive line that was more than up to the challenge.

After forcing a Blackjack three-and-out in their first drive, the Vikings went right back to work on offense and continued to pile up chunk plays. Before long, the Vikings found themselves deep in the Blackjack red zone threatening to put another touchdown on the board. Lined up in the wildcat formation, the running back Sanow took the direct snap and plowed his way into the end zone for his first of touchdowns of the game. After a Beraldo extra point, the Vikings were on top 14-0 late in the first quarter.

The offensive struggles continued for the Blackjacks in the ensuing drive as they were once again forced to punt after failing to convert a first down. After the punt, the Vikings found themselves with nice field position at the Dawson-Boyd 37-yard line and the Vikings took full advantage, adding another touchdown and an extra point to make it 21-0.

Late in the first half, the Blackjacks were finally able to pick up their first first down of the game thanks to a couple of big passing plays that brought them deep into Vikings territory. Unfortunately, that would be the extent of what looked to be a promising drive as a fumble flipped the field and gave the Vikings one more shot at the end zone with 1:45 left on the clock. With 1.7 seconds to spare, Thomas Hennen completed a touchdown pass that put an exclamation point on a thoroughly dominant first half of football to make it 28-0.

It was more of the same to start the second half as the Minneota Vikings continued to pile it on for the remaining 30 minutes of play. The Blackjacks were able to move the ball more effectively than they had in the first half, but an interception ended their best chance of ending the shutout and gave the ball right back to Minneota. From there, the Vikings would add another touchdown to make it 35-0.

The Vikings would add two more touchdowns before it was all said and done, bringing the game to its final score of 47-0.

The Vikings will look to move to 3-0 on the season next Friday when they take on the Canby Lancers in their first home game of the season. Meanwhile, the Blackjacks will be looking for a bounce-back performance as they take on the Lakeview Lakers in Cottonwood.