If there’s a dynasty in Class 1A football, Minneota fits the bill. The Vikings won their second consecutive state championship Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium, as well as their eighth all-time. Minneota defeated Springfield 43-22, one year after the same teams met in the 2022 Prep Bowl. In that game, the Vikings defeated the Tigers 28-21.
Minneota’s previous championships came in 1986, 1987,
1988, 2009, 2014, 2015 and 2017. Chad Johnston has been the Vikings head
football coach for 22 years, and this year, as has long been the custom, he
will quickly transition to another sport.
Johnston, the father of young sons, was the Minneota
head girls basketball coach for 21 years before taking over the boys coaching
duties last season. He is well-accustomed to switching from one sport to another,
and one benefit of coaching boys basketball is the calendar.
Girls basketball practice began on Nov. 13 and the
first date for games to be played was Nov. 22. On the boys side, practice
started Nov. 20 with the first possible games on Nov. 30. The original season
opener for the Minneota boys team was Dec. 4 at BOLD but that game has been
rescheduled for Dec. 22. The first boys basketball game is now scheduled for
Dec. 8 at Canby.
“I have to
change gears right away and I'm very fortunate that that's a problem that I
have to deal with right now,” Johnston said.
The End Can Be Emotional
For the seniors on the Minneota football team, Friday’s
game marked the end of a lengthy, successful run. Since the start of the 2020
season (which was shortened due to Covid), the Vikings have an overall record
of 47-3. They were 14-0 this season.
Minneota senior Sawyer DeSmet, who caught three passes
from Ryan Delager for 63 yards and had a team-high nine tackles (as did Kellen
Bradley), wore a big smile after the game.
“We've
been here for the last three years in a row and it's just a crazy experience to
be able to come here that many times,” he said. “This one felt a little
different for me and (the other seniors). It's our last one and you’ve got the
happiness that you wanted. I was really emotional that I'm done; you're done
playing high school football.”
--Minneota's Ryan
Meagher tied a Prep Bowl record with five rushing touchdowns. The previous
players to do so were Jordan Suhonen of Cromwell in 2010, Jason Williamson of
Owatonna in 2017 and Christian Vasser of Wayzata in 2019.
Prepping
For Size And Speed
After Eden
Valley-Watkins defeated defending state champion Barnesville 24-6 in the Class
2A title game, Barnesville coach Bryan Strand said he knew that the Eagles were
a tall, fast team. In preparation for that, the Trojans reached out to former athletes
from North Dakota State and Minnesota State Moorhead, and worked out with them
in North Dakota State’s indoor practice facility. The players brought in
included Strand’s son Michael, a former football player at Minnesota State
Moorhead.
“They’re a
great team, they’re very well-coached,” Bryan Strand said of Eden Valley-Watkins.
“Our guys fought all the way to the end.”
--Eden
Valley-Watkins’ Nolan Haag tied a Prep Bowl record with three interceptions. Others
with three Prep Bowl INTs were Pete Roback of Anoka in 1990, Mark Olsonawski of Kittson Central
in 1994, Mason Hansen of Cromwell in 1998, Tyler Drinkall of Rushford-Peterson
in 2004, Matt Risinger of Minnetonka in 2004, Evan Robertson of Dawson-Boyd in
2011 and Dawson Brown of Becker in 2014.
The Family That Wins Together
When Hutchinson defeated Rocori 14-6 in the
Class 4A Prep Bowl Friday, the result broke a family tie on the Tigers coaching
staff. Grady Rostberg became the head coach in 1970 and held the job for 29
years before his son Andy took over.
Under Grady, Hutchinson won state titles
in 1983, 1984 and 1998 (Andy played on the first two teams and was an assistant
coach for the third). With Friday’s win, Andy now owns four state championships
as head coach (2012, 2013, 2021 and 2023).
“And nobody’s happier than he is,” Andy
said of his father. “No, wait, my mother’s happier.”
Officiating History
During Friday’s Class 1A game, M.J. Wagenson of Pine
Island became the first female to work on an officiating crew at the Prep Bowl.
Wagenson, a multi-sport official, had worked in the state semifinals previously.
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