Photo by Samantha Davis: Minneota senior Kellen Bradley (right) brings the Section 4A championship trophy to the team after the Vikings defeated Dawson-Boyd Friday morning, marking Minneota's sixth-straight section title and return to the Class A State Tournament.

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MARSHALL — Breaking through in the third quarter behind a trio of touchdowns, the No. 1 Minneota football team claimed its sixth-straight section title to clinch its return to the Class A State Tournament with a 42-16 win over No. 2 Dawson-Boyd Friday morning in the Section 4A championship. The Blackjacks finish their season 8-3 overall.

“The feeling never gets old,” Minneota senior Easton Johnston said of returning to state. “We’re always excited. The amount of determination and effort we put in all offseason to now, it just never gets old.”

“We had no doubts [in ourselves],” senior Kyson Ardnt added. “We had no doubts we were going to lose. It may not have gone our way [at points], but we are familiar to this and we did what needed to be done.”

The Vikings are now on a quest to defend their state title, looking to claim their fourth straight championship after another undefeated regular season and section tournament, and remaining ranked No. 1 in Class A the entire year. This is Minneota’s fifth consecutive year making the trip to state, and 18th in program history, as there was no tournament held in 2020.

Kellen Bradley had two touchdowns for the Vikings, along with one each from Brock Fier, Easton Johnston, Tristen Sussner and Sam Myhre. Elijah Olson and Colten Bothun each had Dawson-Boyd’s two scores, Bothun’s being a 90-yard punt return touchdown.

The third quarter ultimately decided the game with three Minneota touchdowns and a recovery off a bad snap, who held a 14-3 halftime lead. Dawson-Boyd, however, kept up the defensive pressure with Mason Bothun’s second interception of the day, along with Colten Bothun’s touchdown.

The Blackjacks opened the half with a 33-yard passing touchdown from Liebl to Olson into the front right corner of the endzone, along with an Elvis Bellefeuille kick, to cut into a 14-10 deficit.

Minneota found a quick response with a 29-yard gain by Bradley from Minneota’s 38-yard to Dawson-Boyd’s 23, with the help of a big block from Joey Lacek. Sussner passed to Easton Johnston on the next play for a receiving touchdown and a 21-10 lead.

Yet, Colten Bothun brought the Blackjacks immediately back within a score with his returning kickoff touchdown after splitting the defense through the middle, before breaking off on his own up the left side of the field.

On Minneota’s next drive, Mason Bothun caught an interception to take possession, although the Blackjacks over-snapped the ball a few plays later to give the Vikings’ the ball on Dawson-Boyd’s 4-yard.

Sussner eventually ran in to give Minneota a 28-16 lead, which extended quickly to 35-16 after Quinton Anderson intercepted the ball, leading to a large rush by Lacek to put the Vikings on the yard line. Bradley finished the drive off with a push into the end zone, creating a cushioned 35-16 lead going into the final quarter.

“They’ve [Dawson-Boyd] got a great coaching staff, and they got [great] athletes,” Easton Johnston said. “We’ve been with each other forever, so we’re always able to pick each other back up, especially Kellen Bradley. He’s fumbled a couple times against this team, but we’re always there to pick him back up, and we’re always there to pick people back up.”

The Vikings put the dagger on the win with a 36-yard receiving touchdown by Sussner and Sam Myhre with 3:45 to go, followed by a Landon Esping interception in the final seconds.

The Vikings struggled throughout the first half with penalties, while Dawson-Boyd faced challenges taking advantage of offensive opportunities, despite a strong defensive effort.

“Short term memory, move on,” Arndt said regarding Minneota cleaning up their penalties.

“He’s right. You got to work past it and just go out on the next play,” Easton Johnston added.

After a scoreless first quarter, Dawson-Boyd’s Colten Bothun blocked the Vikings’ punt to recover the ball on the 34-yard line to open the second.

But, the Vikings again made up for their mistake by forcing another turnover on downs after Adam DeVlaeminck broke up a pass attempt on fourth down.

The Blackjacks’ defense battle-tested Minneota, with a fumble recovery from Colten Bothun on the Vikings’ 30-yard line.

Dawson-Boyd continued to look at Colten Bothun on the drive, with a trio of passes to break into the red zone on the 8-yard. But, Minneota returned the favor defensively with two sacks on Gunner Liebl, between Bradley, Fier and Kyson Arndt, to put the Blackjacks on the 15-yard line on fourth down.

Bellefeuille kicked the field goal to get Dawson-Boyd on the board with less than a minute in the half to go, down 7-3.

Minneota took advantage in the waning moments of the first half with a Sussner and Fier connection for a 75-yard receiving touchdown, along with another good kick from Ian Myhre, to give the Vikings a 14-3 edge with 37 seconds left.

Being rivals as continuously two of the top teams in the section, and both ranked in the state, Minneota and Dawson-Boyd met to end the regular season. The Blackjacks held the Vikings to their lowest scored points of the season in the game in a 34-3 loss.

Minneota and Dawson-Boyd have been ranked top-10 in the state throughout the season, with the Vikings holding No. 1 and the Blackjacks entering Friday No. 9.

Dawson-Boyd graduates seniors Liebl, Nathan Hansen, Olson, Holland Schacherer, Evan Mork, Kameron Sather, Ryder Kittelson, Hudson Giese and Laiken Johnson-Crosby.

Minneota (10-0) will next prepare for the Class A state tournament with quarterfinals beginning on Thursday, with location, opponent and times to be announced over the weekend along with seeding. The championship is slated for Nov. 21 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

“We got to be ready. Some of these teams, we’ve never seen before, and that’s what you always got to be ready for,” Easton Johnston said. “You got to be ready for unexpected things. Our coaches are great at being able to prepare us for those games.”