Photo by Jake McNeill: Minneota running back Kellen Bradley (34) fights his way through a pile of defenders while pushed along by teammate Easton Johnston (4) during a non-conference football game against Eden Valley-Watkins at K.P. Kompelien Field in Minneota on Friday.

MINNEOTA — K.P. Kompelien Field hosted a fireworks show after Friday night’s non-conference football game between the Minneota Vikings and the Eden Valley-Watkins Eagles, but the real fireworks were on the field. After trailing by 11 points in the first half, Minneota fought its way back into the game and took the lead in the final minutes on Kellen Bradley’s third touchdown of the night for a 37-30 win over a Class 2A opponent.

“It’s amazing [to come away with this win]. I’m not going to lie, I was a little skeptical at the beginning, like shoot, these guys are pretty good, but we pulled it off,” Bradley said with a laugh.

Minneota head coach Chad Johnston said that coming away with a win against an opponent with Eden Valley-Watkins’ size, athleticism and physicality says a lot about his team, adding that the Vikings knew they’d be challenged up front but adjusted well after being a bit shocked by the Eagles’ physicality early on.

With the game tied at 30 points apiece and under five minutes remaining, Bradley found a gap for a big gain and stiffarmed his way through a defender for a 28-yard gain to the Eden Valley-Watkins 27-yard line. Minneota inched its way closer and closer until Bradley bulldozed his way through a pile and willed his way across the goalline for the game-winning touchdown.

“I didn’t execute anything, my line trusts me and my quarterback and coach all trusted me and my line. It’s all kudos to them,” Bradley said. “The holes they gave me were crazy, all I had to do was hold on to the football and run as hard as I can… I’m just thinking about my coach telling me to keep moving my feet, or else I probably would have been flat-backed [on the game-winning touchdown].”

Behind Bradley as the bellcow, the Vikings rushed for 204 yards on 34 attempts as a team on the night while Eden Valley-Watkins ran for 238 on 33 attempts.

Eden Valley-Watkins had one last chance to tie the game in a two-minute drill, but the Vikings came down with an interception to allow them to run down the clock in the final minute.

Taking over on a short field halfway through the fourth quarter, Eden Valley-Watkins marched down the field while trailing by 6 points.

LaMichael Artis worked his way through the defense for a 19-yard touchdown to bring the score to 30-all with five minutes remaining, but Bradley broke up the 2-point conversion attempt to prevent the Eagles from claiming the lead.

Minneota’s ability to nail extra points was a major factor in a win where each team scored five touchdowns. Ian Myhre made each of his three point-after attempts, while the Eagles were stuck playing catch-up after Minneota stopped each of their five 2-point conversion attempts.

“It’s a huge luxury, it always has been. We’ve been very fortunate today and again right now,” coach Johnston said. “Ian’s kind of a self-made kicker. He’s been working hard to become this kid… The key was the fact that we did not allow them those extra point attempts.”

Minneota took its first lead of the game early in the second half. The Vikings took over at the Eagles’ 39 after the defensive line forced three straight stops and Eden Valley-Watkins overthrew the fake-punt pass attempt on fourth down.

Bradley kickstarted the go-ahead drive with an 11-yard run and just kept punishing the Eagles’ front seven from there. He picked up another 10-yard run to get the Vikings to the 10-yard line, and took the ball around the outside for a 10-yard touchdown and a 22-18 lead five minutes into the half.

The Eagles responded by marching the ball down the field on the ensuing possession. The Vikings forced a fourth-and-1 from the 30-yard line, but quarterback Blake Glenz took a patient keeper up the middle and weaved his way through the defense for a 30-yard touchdown. Still, Bradley intercepted the 2-point conversion attempt to limit Eden Valley-Watkins’ lead to 2 points.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Minneota’s Kyson Arndt and Easton Johnston (4) celebrate after Johnston scored a touchdown in the first half of Friday’s game against Eden-Valley Watkins at K.P. Kompelien Field in Minneota.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Minneota’s Kyson Arndt and Easton Johnston (4) celebrate after Johnston scored a touchdown in the first half of Friday’s game against Eden-Valley Watkins at K.P. Kompelien Field in Minneota.

It took Minneota just one play to recapture the lead for good. On the first play from scrimmage, Tristen Sussner found Brock Fier streaking down the seam for a 65-yard go-ahead touchdown. Bradley took in the 2-point conversion to give Minnesota a 6-point lead with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Eden Valley-Watkins got off to a hot start in the game by forcing a quick Viking 3-and-out and getting explosive on offense early. Facing a third-and-7, Glenz connected with Brayden Becker for a 44-yard go-ahead touchdown five minutes into the game.

The touchdown was the first of three before halftime for Becker. He also took a screen pass 56 yards to the house on the Eagles’ second possession to make the score 12-7, and caught an uncovered screen on the 1-yard line to make the score 18-7 to start the second quarter after setting up the possession by diving for a tip-drill interception.

Becker’s tipped interception gave Sussner his lone incompletion of the game for Minneota. He completed eight of his nine passes for 147 yards and a touchdown in the game.

While Eden Valley-Watkins advanced the ball from scrimmage consistently, the Vikings’ defense locked in on the Eagles’ 2-point conversion attempts to keep the game within reach. Joey Lacek broke up passes on each of the Eagles’ first two conversion attempts, and the defensive line blew up the speed option on the third.

Minneota got on the scoreboard in between the pair of Eagle touchdowns. Fier broke the drive open, hauling in a reception on a ball perfectly placed by quarterback Sussner in between a pair of Eden Valley-Watkins defenders for a 34-yard gain.

The Vikings used the run to advance from there until Easton Johnston took a counter run in for a touchdown, and the point after gave Minneota a 7-6 advantage with five minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Minneota lineman Kyson Arndt (64) tackles an Eden Valley-Watkins player for a loss in the first half of Friday’s game against Eden-Valley Watkins at K.P. Kompelien Field in Minneota.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Minneota lineman Kyson Arndt (64) tackles an Eden Valley-Watkins player for a loss.

In the waning minutes of the first half, Minneota found a way to march down the field despite a series of miscues. Starting the drive at the 10-yard line after Lacek stepped out of bounds after fielding the kickoff, the Vikings picked up a first down before an illegal chop block pushed them back to first-and-25. Yet, Bradley broke off an 18-yard run up the middle on first down and a five-yard gain on third to keep the chains moving.

A false start pushed the Vikings back once again, but Sussner connected with Fier for a 14-yard completion to the 29-yard line. The Vikings steadily advanced from there until Bradley took a run around the outside for a 20-yard touchdown, and Sussner weaved his way through the middle for a 2-point conversion to cut the deficit to a field goal at halftime, 18-15.

“We just need to clean them [those penalties] up. And a couple on the night weren’t even necessary ones,” coach Johnston said. “You get called for a chop on the backside, we don’t need to be doing that. Matter of fact, we didn’t even need to be blocking anybody on the backside on that play call, so little things like that.”

Johnston attributed the miscues to having a few minor injuries that resulted in personnel changes, but said that the kids will adjust and eliminate the mental mistakes as they continue to work to get better.

Becker put the Eagles’ offense in motion at the end of the third quarter with a 20-yard reception into Minneota territory. Eden-Valley Watkins continued to march its way into the red zone, but the Minneota defense stood tall when it mattered most and came up with a stuff on fourth-and-2 to take over on downs.

Minneota improves to 2-0 on the season with the win and goes on the road to take on the Canby Lancers (1-1) for its next game on Friday at 7 p.m.

Photo by Jake McNeill
Minneota quarterback Tristen Sussner throws a pass downfield during a non-conference football game against Eden Valley-Watkins on Friday at K.P. Kompelien Field in Minneota.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Minneota quarterback Tristen Sussner throws a pass downfield.