Photo by Kim Nelson Minneota running back Destin Fier (23) takes a handoff from quarterback Ryan Dalager (5) during the top-seeded Vikings’ win over No. 4 Canby in the Section 5A tournament at K.P. Kompelien Field on Saturday afternoon.

MINNEOTA — On a cold, blustery afternoon at K.P. Kompelien Field, the No. 4 Canby Lancers took on the top-seeded Minneota Vikings in the Section Playoffs. The last time that these two teams met, Canby stayed right with Minneota until the fourth quarter before Minneota pulled away for a 39-6 victory. So they felt confident that they had a fighting chance to beat an undefeated Minneota team that had been running roughshod over every opponent. The cold weather contributed to fumbles, dropped passes and crippling the kicking game, but Minneota had too many weapons on this day and they used their defense to limit the running game of Dylan Houseman and Nick Wagner to come away with a 39-6 victory.

Canby kicked off and, with a short kick, Minneota started their first series at the 49-yard line. The drive started out promising, with Ryan Meagher running for eight yards followed by a Max Rost ten-yard run. But two fumbled snaps and an incomplete pass turned the ball over on downs at the 33-yard line.

Canby went three and out on their first possession and punted the ball to the 23-yard line. Meagher then took over, carrying the ball ten times and punched in a one-yard touchdown to cap off a 14-play, 72-yard drive. The PAT was no good and the score was 6-0 at the end of the first quarter.

After going 3-and-out on its next possession, Minneota broke through and blocked a Canby punt to recover on the Lancers’ 2-yard line. Rost took the handoff from quarterback Ryan Dalager and walked into the end zone untouched to make the score 12-0 after the missed PAT.

“We talked about how important it was to have the defense play well on the first series, knowing the field conditions weren’t ideal. We were able to get pressure on Nick Wagner, and they were never really able to get comfortable in their offense,” Minneota head coach Chad Johnston said. “It wasn’t easy throwing the football today, and that made it that much harder for them to move the ball.”

Canby took the kickoff back to the 36-yard line, but they were only able to gain eight yards. They decided to go for it on fourth down, but they were stopped and Minneota took over at the 36-yard line. On the second play of the drive, Sawyer DeSmet took a Dalager pass 35 yards to the end zone to make the score 19-0 after a successful PAT kick.

The teams traded punts, and the half ended with Minneota up by a score of 19-0. Minneota kicked off to start the second half, but the ball squirted loose from a Canby player and Minneota recovered on the 36-yard line. Destin Fier had a couple of tough runs, and then the Vikings lost 4 yards on their next play. They decided to go for it on fourth down, and Max Rost took the ball 17 yards for a touchdown. This time, the PAT was good, and the Vikings held a 26-0 lead.

Nick Wagner returned the kickoff to the 30-yard line but after a couple of incompletions and a penalty, they were again forced to punt. Max Rost returned the punt to the 40-yard line, and Ryan Meagher had runs of seven and nine yards, but then a holding call put the ball back at the 27-yard line. An intention grounding penalty moved the ball back to the 41-yard line, but Sawyer DeSmet hauled in a pass from Dalager and took it down to the 11 yard line. Meagher had a couple of three-yard runs and Max Rost carried the ball the last five yards for a touchdown, making the score 33-0 after a successful PAT kick.

The Lancers looked to be driving on their next possession but turned the ball over on downs at the Minneota 46 after four consecutive incompletions. Sheik had an 18-yard reception, followed by a 5-yard run by Meagher. Meagher then took a pass 31 yards for a touchdown, making the score 39-0 after the PAT was unsuccessful.

Nick Wagner had a nice return of the kickoff, putting the ball on the 42-yard line. Eli Greeman caught a nine-yard pass to end the third quarter, but Canby was moving the ball. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Greenman took a pass from Wagner for a long gain of 30 yards. Then Dylan Houseman took the handoff and ran it down to the one-yard line, where Destin Fier came all the way across the field to knock him out of bounds just short of the end zone. That proved to be a great defensive effort, because two plays later, the Vikings’ defense forced a fumble and recovered the ball on their own five-yard line.

“Our front four put pressure on them all day, and they did a good job when they knew that Canby had to throw the ball to catch up. We just tried not to give them the big plays that they are capable of,” Johnston said. “We talked about the hustle plays we need to make, especially with Destin Fier coming all the way across the field to save a touchdown, because we did stop them from scoring on that drive.”

After a couple of short running plays, Ryan Dalager dropped back to pass and threw the ball a little behind Sheik, who got a hand on it but tipped it right to Canby’s Isaac Guzzman. The Lancer defensive back returned it 26 yards for a touchdown to get the Lancers on the board. The PAT was no good, so the score now stood at 39-6.

At this point, it was running time, and both teams were able to put some of the reserves in the game. Brock Fier was able to take advantage of his playing time, rambling 13 yards. Two short runs and a final kneel-down ended the game.

Canby Head Coach Nick Kockelman was proud of his team’s efforts, despite the final score. “It was a tough game for us. We hung in with them the last time we played them, but they are a really good team and they showed that today,” Canby head coach Nick Kockelman said. “Unfortunately, we gave them a short field, then they had a long drive to give them the lead. Then they come out and recover the second-half kickoff to give them another short field and you bury yourself. You try to get some momentum, but it just wasn’t there. We play on the same field, but when we have to rely on quickness in the box, and with a slippery track, that takes away one of our strengths. The weather kind of neutralized us on both sides of the ball. We had a really good year with six wins. I loved coaching these guys and they gave it their all today.”

Canby ends their season with a 6-4 record. Minneota goes on to play No. 2 B.O.L.D. Friday afternoon at SMSU with a section title on the line.