“It feels great because, as kids, you’re dreaming about this moment. But to be active, to be able to actually do that, it’s just amazing to do it with your boys,” Minneota running back Kellen Bradley said.

“It feels great, but also kind of weird because we’ve never known what losing is,” Minneota defensive back Joey Lacek added, noting that the only time he and his fellow seniors could recall losing was twice on varsity their freshman year en route to a state title, and once in a junior varsity game. “It just feels kind of normal. Which feels wrong. I’m just kind of ready to be done [laughs].”

Minneota also tied Caledonia and Eden Prairie Watkins for the most state championships with the win, each program currently holding 11.

While Minneota trailed 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, it didn’t take long for the Vikings to climb out of the hole. A facemask at the end of the first quarter moved the Vikings to midfield and Tristen Sussner connected with Brock Fier for a 23-yard gain to set Minneota up just outside of the red zone.

A few plays later, Sussner found Lacek open along the sideline. Lacek tried to leap over a defender and into the end zone, but was ruled out just shy of the goalline. Still, Sussner punched in the tying QB sneak on the next play.

“Against Lester Prairie, I dove in and got in, so I’m like, ‘I could just dive in again.’ In hindsight, all my teammates were telling me I should’ve dove for the pylon, because I probably didn’t get in,” Lacek said with a laugh.

Randy Sorensen came down with a third-down interception on the Cowboys’ ensuing set of downs and Minneota again capitalized quickly. On the first play from scrimmage, the Vikings ran a double-reverse flea flicker, and Sussner again found a wide-open Landon Esping streaking downfield for a 44-yard go-ahead touchdown.

The trick play was one that the Vikings had worked on all week but struggled to nail down in practice due to issues with the pitch between the wing backs, Sussner said, adding that it felt good to run it successfully this year after failing to get it to work earlier in the season.

Once in possession of the lead, the Vikings still weren’t ready to let up. Hunter Carstensen recovered a fumble two plays later at the edge of the red zone, and Sussner broke loose for a 10-yard touchdown run to give Minneota a 21-0 lead at the half.

Physicality in the run game has been the Vikings’ calling card over the course of their championship runs, and that was no different this time around. The Vikings finished the game with 268 rushing yards on 7.4 yards per attempt as a team while limiting Breckenridge to 120 yards on 3.6 yards per carry.

Leading the charge, Kellen Bradley finished with 16 carries for 89 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Lacek had a pair of carries for 81 yards.

Sussner also had a bounce-back passing game under center for the Vikings. While his legs were an effective weapon in Minneota’s 28-14 semifinal win over Mahnomen/Waubun, going for 45 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground, he threw for just 27 yards.

After throwing an interception on his second pass attempt of the day on Friday, however, Sussner played flawless football for the Vikings. He finished the day completing five of his eight attempts for 112 yards and a touchdown, and was sacked just once. He also ran the ball four times for 34 yards and three touchdowns.

Breckenridge got off to a strong start in the game on the defensive end. Kellen Bradley caught a pass for 25 yards on the Vikings’ first offensive play, but the ball was punched loose and the Cowboys took over at the Breckenridge 36-yard line.

“When I messed up during the Dawson-Boyd game… I kind of let up a big play and let up a touchdown. But Brock came over and he kind of yelled at me and said, ‘You’re fine. You’re fine,'” Lacek said. “When Brock had that little drop and fumbled it, [I said] ‘Hey Brock, you’re fine. You’ve been telling me all year long that we’re fine.’ It’s kind of just leaning on each other.”

While the Vikings forced a punt after a deep completion by the Cowboys was called back due to offensive pass interference, Aiden Sanchez picked off Sussner on Minneota’s fourth offensive play. The Cowboys capitalized this time, with Riley Kappes finding Cooper Roberts for a 12-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone despite tight coverage from the Minneota secondary to go up 7-0.

The Vikings felt that they were doing some good things offensively early on but just needed to take care of the ball, Minneota head coach Chad Johnston said, adding that the team felt good about what it was doing on the field but that it needed to try to avoid putting its defense in bad situations.

Minneota’s only other game facing a deficit this year was when it took on Class 2A runner-up Eden Valley-Watkins in week 2, when the Vikings trailed 18-7 in the first half before Bradley willed his way to a touchdown in the final five minutes to give the Vikings a 37-30 win. That win taught Minneota how to come together, remain confident and believe in its ability to overcome those deficits, Bradley said.

“It’s just about trusting in your teammates and knowing that if you do your job right, good things will happen,” Sussner said, adding that there was still plenty of time for the Vikings to correct their course.

Minneota had four interceptions in the game, including two from Easton Johnston, one from Lacek and one from Sorensen. The Vikings finish the season with 29 picks on the year, good for an average of more than two per game.

Sorensen also logged a game-leading 10 total tackles for Minneota, while Fier followed with eight total and five solo tackles, as well as 1.5 tackles for loss. Kyson Arndt led the front seven with a pair of tackles for loss, a sack and numerous other pressures and QB hits.

Minneota entered the third quarter in the driver’s seat but showed no signs of letting up. A facemask penalty against the Cowboys again moved the Vikings past midfield, a run from Fier moved Minneota another 13 yards to the edge of the red zone and Sussner took it the rest of the way with a 23-yard touchdown less than 30 seconds into the half.

David Erlandson broke off a 48-yard run on the Cowboys’ next play from scrimmage to get into Viking territory, threatening to make a game out of things. Yet, Easton Johnston had other plans, intercepting Kaapes at the 33 and returning the pick 67 yards to the house for a 35-7 lead.

The Vikings added another pair of scores in the quarter for good measure. After forcing a three-and-out, Lacek broke off a 58-yard run to set up the Vikings at the 8-yard line and Bradley capitalized with a touchdown run two plays later.

Minneota’s defense got another stop, with Sorensen and Fier combining for a tackle to force a turnover on downs at the Minneota 28-yard line. Lacek broke off a 23-yard run, Easton Johnston ran for another 18 yards and Bradley capped off the drive with a 25-yard run into the end zone for a 49-7 lead.

Heading into the fourth quarter with the Vikings leading by 42 points, the game transitioned to running clock. Kaapes hit Roberts for a 41-yard gain late in the third quarter and Erlandson completed a pass to Kappes on the first play of the fourth to cut Minneota’s lead to 35 points. That would be the last score of the game, however. After Minneota punted on its turn with the ball, Lacek came up with an interception to effectively ice the game.

​Erlandson finished the day as the game’s rushing leader with 24 carries for 138 yards. In the air, Cooper Roberts had five catches for 118 yards while Kaapes completed eight of his 14 attempts for 167 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. Erlandson also attempted three passes, completing two of them for 21 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Losing? Never heard of it

The Vikings’ senior class has won the state title each of their four seasons on the team and leaves the program with Minneota having appeared in five consecutive state championship games.

In addition to a spotless 13-0 record on the season, Minneota ends the year on a 46-game winning streak dating back to October 2022. The Vikings finish the season with an average margin of victory of 43.4 points per game.

Reaping a home-grown harvest

The contributors to this year’s state title for Minneota were a part of the team long before their names were lined up alongside gaudy numbers in the box score. Lacek recalled watching his older brother play in the state championship in 2017, while Sussner said he started his time as a team manager back in fifth grade.

“I kind of pulled the short straw when I was a freshman. I was pretty small, so I didn’t make the team,” Bradley said. “It felt great to come back the next year, then play the following year, so it’s just amazing. It’s a blessing.”

Coach Johnston said that he felt that the experience as managers helped the players understand how things work on the team once their time to shine came. Johnston currently has three sons on the team in some capacity, with Easton being a senior, Gage Johnston being a sophomore and Brooks working as a manager as an eighth grader.

Great expectations

While the outside expectations on Minneota football are always lofty, they were high on the inside as well. Heading into the season, the Vikings believed they had the talent to return to the state tournament before the season started, but how they worked throughout the year would prove their mettle.

“What was going to happen [after qualifying for state]? There wasn’t really a certainty,” coach Johnston said. “But as the season progressed and games went on, we kind of felt like we had the potential to do this again. Sometimes, some teams, some kids make it look easy. This isn’t. I’m extremely proud of this group.

“Before this game, they talked about brotherhood and family and team, and it’s probably been one of the tightest groups that we’ve had as a coaching staff. We’re extremely proud of them.”

Eyes on the pies

When asked how the team would celebrate its championship, coach Johnston said that the team would go back to the high school for a welcome home celebration before revealing that the players would be treated to pizza from a local establishment, drawing excited reactions from the players in the postgame press conference at the surprise.

Storybook ending for seniors

Minneota caps off its third consecutive undefeated season with the win, closing the year at 13-0. The win sends off its group of seniors on a high note. The Vikings graduate Easton Johnston, Adam DeVlaeminck, Bradley, Fier, Lacek, Arndt, Carstensen, Easton Sheik, Thomas DeSmet, Caleb Bottelberghe and Dalton Orvis.