MINNEAPOLIS — Minneota remained the undisputed kings of Minnesota Class 1A football.
The Vikings scored 21 points in the second quarter to spark a 49-14 victory against Breckenridge on Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium, giving Minneota a fourth consecutive state crown.
The Vikings (13-0) have won 46 consecutive games. Breckenridge (13-1) was seeking its first state title since 1988. Minneota has won 11 overall state championships.
“They’re a machine,” said Breckenridge head coach Carson Yaggie told The Forum. “They’re really, really well-coached. … They do a great job of scheming things up to put your guys in conflict, but then with it their kids play really hard, they’re really smart.”
Senior running back David Erlandson rushed for 123 yards on 24 attempts to pace Breckenridge. Senior receiver Cooper Roberts added five catches for 118 yards and one touchdown. Junior quarterback Riley Kappes completed 8 of 14 passes for 167 yards and one TD.
“It’s just how proud of the kids we are,” Yaggie said. “We faced a really good team, but you know what, we got a chance at them. For us to have a chance at them a lot of things were going to have to go right and our kids did an unbelievable job of showing up every single day throughout the season.”
The Cowboys started strong and led by a touchdown after the first quarter.
Breckenridge scored first after Kappes threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Roberts on a fourth-and-3 play. That gave the Cowboys a 7-0 lead with 1 minute, 19 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
“We made some plays, but they did a really good job of taking away our base plays,” Yaggie said. “We weren’t able to get our base plays going as much as we were hoping early in the game.”
Minneota countered with a 21-point second quarter, starting a string of 49 unanswered.
“This sucks,” Breckenridge senior Levi Christensen told reporters after the game. “We put some much time and effort into this every day. Our coaches, they prepped us well for every game. I’m sorry to the community we couldn’t bring it home. They put so much effort too just to come and cheer our games anywhere we go.”
Vikings quarterback Tristen Sussner scored on a 1-yard TD run, knotting the score at 7-7 with 8:16 to play in the second quarter. That capped a 67-yard drive that took 10 plays.
Vikings receiver Landon Esping caught a 44-yard TD pass from Sussner for a 14-7 lead with 6:28 remaining in the first half. Minneota used a double flea-flicker for the long TD on the next play after a Breckenridge turnover.
Sussner added a 10-yard TD run for a 21-7 lead with 4:48 to play in the second quarter. That came three plays and 21 yards after another Breckenridge turnover. Sussner rushed for 30 yards and three touchdowns on four carries. He also competed 5 of 8 passes for 112 yards and one TD.
The Vikings kept rolling in the third quarter, adding 28 points. Kellen Bradley capped that big quarter with a 25-yard TD run for a 49-7 lead with 2:31 to play in the third. Bradley also had 3-yard touchdown run earlier in the quarter.
Erlandson — lined up in a Wildcat formation — threw a 3-yard TD pass to Kappes to make it 49-14 with 11:57 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“We had a great senior class that truly left a mark on our program,” Yaggie said. “When they graduate, we’re a heckuva lot better off because all 13 kids were a part of our program.”
BHS 7 0 0 7—14
MHS 0 21 28 0—49
B—Roberts 12 pass from Kappes (Eggiman kick)
M—Sussner 1 run (Myhre kick)
M—Esping 44 pass from Sussner (Myhre kick)
M—Sussner 10 run (Myhre kick)
M—Sussner 23 run (Myhre kick)
M—Johnston 67 interception return (Myhre kick)
M—Bradley 3 run (Myhre kick)
M—Bradley 25 run (Myhre kick)
B—Kappes 3 pass from Erlandson (Eggiman kick)
Peterson covers college athletics for The Forum, including Concordia College and Minnesota State Moorhead. He also covers the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks independent baseball team and helps out with North Dakota State football coverage. Peterson has been working at the newspaper since 1996.