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MINNEOTA -- A week after breaking the school record for consecutive wins and moving into a tie for the fifth-longest winning streak in Minnesota State High School League history, Minneota football returned to its home field Friday night with a chance to reach another milestone.
The Vikings did just that, earning their 50th consecutive victory, although Lakeview made them work for it, especially in the opening half.
"Credit to Lakeview tonight," Minneota head coach Chad Johnston said. "They came out on fire with a big play to respond when we did everything we wanted to right out of the gates. They got momentum and did a nice job rolling with it."
Minneota struck first when quarterback Tristen Sussner connected with Owen Myrvick on a 10-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead. Lakeview answered quickly, however, as Logan Herrick broke free for a 78-yard touchdown run to trim the deficit to 7-6.
Sussner led the Vikings through the air, completing 16 of 22 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns.
Minneota responded with another scoring drive, but Lakeview again answered to make it a 14-12 game early.
"Early in the game it just came down to our inability to get off the field, and Lakeview capitalized off of that," Johnston said.
The milestone victory gave Minneota its 50th straight win, a feat Johnston said reflects the efforts of everyone involved in the program.
"I'm more proud of the staff and kids," Johnston said. "What we have put together is very impressive, but I try not to get too caught up in it. It's impressive and I am very proud of everyone who got us here."
Johnston said the competitive first half also gave the Vikings valuable experience.
"It shows how our kids are going to respond," he said. "We have a lot of young kids up there, so it is interesting to see how the seniors take leadership and how everyone has the next-play mentality."
The second half belonged to Minneota, as the defense tightened up and helped spark the offense.
"We were able to use that bend, not break mentality concept in the second half to get off the field and then get the offense rolling," Johnston said.
The Vikings also rushed for 192 yards in the victory, led by Randy Sorensen, who ran for 77 yards on 10 carries.
Minneota will return to action Oct. 2 with a road game against MACCRAY. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.