Photo by Jake McNeill: Minneota quarterback Ryan Dalager rolls out to pass during the first quarter of the No. 1 Minneota Vikings' 67-0 win over Lac qui Parle Valley at Mattke Field in Marshall on Friday afternoon.

MARSHALL — It didn’t take long for those in attendance to figure out which way the tide was turning at the top-ranked Minneota football team’s game against Lac qui Parle Valley on Friday afternoon. After being moved to Southwest Minnesota State University due to heavy rainfall ahead of its originally slated kickoff at K.P. Kompelien Field, the Vikings scored 33 first-quarter points to coast to a 67-0 win over the Eagles.

“We’re pretty happy with where we’re at, and again we’re striving to get better and better and better,” Minneota head coach Chad Johnston said. “Obviously we always feel like every time we watch tape, there are things we can do better, things we can correct, but I think a lot of things are working out well for us.”

The last time the two teams met, Minneota won by a similar score of 68-0 on Sept. 16, 2022.

It took just seconds after the opening kickoff for the Vikings to get on the scoreboard. The Eagles received the opening kickoff but failed to grab the ball, allowing Minneota to recover. Ryan Meagher punched in a one-yard touchdown run to put the Vikings on the board.

Lac qui Parle fumbled on its next possession to set up a Max Rost touchdown from the 8-yard line. After Minneota forced another 3-and-out, the Vikings blocked the Eagles’ punt to get a short field and Meagher scored on a 14-yard run. He then barreled through a defender on an outside run for the Vikings’ first successful conversion of the game to make the score 20-0.

On the defensive side of the ball, Kyson Arndt swatted an attempted pitch to the running back and scooped up the fumble to once again set up Minneota’s offense in the red zone.

“He got good pressure on the quarterback, made some good plays back there, and I think we did a good job,” coach Johnston said. “The conditions of the field, the conditions of the game itself kind of dictate things a little bit. They want to open up and throw it a little but when they tried to, we got good pressure on him.”

Johnston added that the Eagles were struggling to hold onto the ball in the wet weather in a way that may not have happened in drier conditions but that he’d still expect his players to step up and make plays regardless.

On the first play from scrimmage. Ryan Dalager threw the ball up to where only Rost could reach it and Rost made the catch inside the pylon for a 16-yard touchdown. Rost finished the day with two catches for 51 yards while Dalager threw five passes for 79 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“I thought it looked like for us that there really wasn’t much of a drop-off,” Johnston said on the team’s ability to pass in the rain. He said that they’d normally like to throw the ball more often but that the Vikings’ receivers were getting open when they needed to and generally made the play, save for a few drops.

The Eagles got their first and only first down of the day on a 9-yard run by Kaden Molden but turned the ball over on downs from there. The Eagles finished with a total of -5 yards of offense on the day while Minneota totaled 402.

Minneota racked up 323 yards on the ground and only faced five third downs in the game, converting three of them. Of the two they didn’t convert, they managed to get the first on fourth down both times. The only drives the Vikings didn’t score on were a pair of fumbles and when the clock expired.

Meagher closed out the first quarter with a 7-yard run for his third and final touchdown of the game, making the score 33-0. He finished the day with 11 carries for 60 yards.

Sawyer DeSmet made sure the Vikings’ first-quarter momentum carried into the second with a 12-yard sack to start the frame. The Eagles ended up punting before Minneota turned the ball over with a fumble, but Rost took the ball right back. He Intercepted a pass in the Vikings’ red zone and snaked his way through a sea of Lac qui Parle defenders to set the Vikings up at the Eagles’ 30-yard line. From there, Dalager hit a wide-open DeSmet with a pass inside the 10-yard line and DeSmet walked into the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown.

Destin Fier had just two carries on the day but made the most of them. Of his 56 yards, 46 came from a touchdown on a counter run at the end of the first half to give Minneota a 47-0 halftime lead.

The Vikings recovered four fumbles on defense on the day. In addition to Arndt’s, Dantae Orvis, Parker Bradley and Easton Johnston each recovered one. Orvis also had a pair of tackles for loss on the day and his three tackles tied him with Brock Fier for a team-high.

Minneota’s second-stringers came in to start the second half and didn’t miss a beat. The Eagles appeared to finally have forced a Minneota 3-and-out, but Brody Larson rolled out to his left and connected with Andrew Lipinski for a 16-yard pass to keep the drive alive.

“That’s kind of what you’re always hoping for in a game like this, especially this time of the season. The number one priority is keeping guys healthy, so we’re able to go to the bench a little bit early, even in the first half,” coach Johnston said.

“You want to develop those kids. What happens if somebody gets hurt? What happens late season if you don’t have anyone prepared? You’re in trouble.”

On the next play, Brock Fier found a massive hole and nearly got a touchdown before he was tripped up after a 46-yard gain. A few plays later, he shed a pair of tacklers for an 8-yard touchdown to make the Minneota lead 54-0. He finished the game with four carries for 58 yards.

After the Vikings broke the 50-point barrier, the Eagles decided to trot out their own backups on offense. It didn’t take long for another fumbled snap in the wet weather to be recovered by Easton Johnston and set up Minneota outside the red zone. DeVlaeminck then ran for a 19-yard gain and Kellen Bradley hopped over the pile to break the plane for a 10-yard touchdown on the next play.

DeVlaeminck didn’t find the end zone but finished the game as the Vikings’ leading rusher with two carries for 73 yards, including a 73-yard gain.

Easton Johnston capped off the scoring with a 14-yard run for the Vikings, making the score 67-0 with over seven minutes remaining.

The Vikings improve to 7-0 on the season after the win. Of those seven wins, five have come by 40 or more points, with the exceptions being a 14-point win over No. 4 B.O.L.D. and a 22-point win over Canby.

Minneota had a few players sitting out of the game due to injury and another ankle tweak during the game, so the Vikings are going to be focused on getting their players healthy for the postseason, coach Johnston said.

“Our goal is to be healthy. That’s more important than anything else, we want to be 100 percent healthy when the section playoffs come,” Johnston said.

Minneota will wrap up its regular season on the road against Dawson-Boyd on Wednesday at 7 p.m. When the teams met last season, the Blackjacks scored 16 fourth-quarter points and stopped the Vikings’ 2-point conversion attempt to hold on for a 22-20 win.