The Minnewaska football team's impressive season took another step on Tuesday as the Lakers dominated their way to the Section 5, Class AA semifinals.
After a big 55-14 win over Benson on Tuesday in the opener, their record stands at 7-2.
The Lakers had played Benson just six days earlier and won 35-14 on Benson's home turf. The Lakers have been holding their opponents to 13.2 points on average per game, so they weren't entirely happy with that performance against a winless Braves squad.
"The kids realized that we didn't play a very disciplined game last Wednesday, and as a staff we preached how important it is for us to play clean and disciplined football," Minnewaska coach Jeremy Christensen said. "They took that to heart and came out of the gates firing on all cylinders."
The Lakers had 426 total yards on offense and held the Braves to only 138 yards. Minnewaska's ground game was so dominate, running for 423 yards, that they only needed to pass one time - a three-yard completion. They had more than double the number of first downs with 22 compared to Benson's 10. Benson threw four interceptions.
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Matt Gruber had four touchdowns of seven, 16, 28, and 23 yards. Garrett Jensen, Ryan Christianson and Jack Blevins each made six yard runs for touchdowns. Junior Tanner Steffen had an interception in the third quarter that resulted in a 26-yard return for a touchdown.
Christianson ;led the way as he picked up 192 rushing yards on 15 carries.
"Last week when we played them, Matt Gruber did a lot of damage running for 193 yards," Christensen said. "I think Benson focused their attention on Matt this time around and that opened things up for (Ryan). He ran very hard, and the OL did a great job of maintaining blocks and getting to the second and third level of the defense."
As the Lakers move forward in the playoffs, they come up against Holdingford (5-4) with a trip to the section finals on the line on Saturday. The sixth seeded Huskers beat third seeded Atwater-Cosmos-Grove-City in the first round of the playoffs in a 34-13 upset. The Lakers defeated ACGC in the second game of the season, 14-8.
"The Huskers are a team that uses a lot of different formations and weapons, which makes it difficult to prepare for them, especially on a short week," Christensen said. "As coaches, we need to make sure we're getting our kids in a position to be successful and make plays."
Holdingford puts an average of 23.9 points on the board and holds their opponent to 19.1 points per game.
"We're both 1-0 and we need to play our best game to beat them," Christensen said. "We must focus on playing physical, fast, fundamental football and to play as clean and disciplined as we possibly can."
Minnewaska hosts Holdingford in the semifinals at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
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MINNEWASKA - 21 21 13 0 - 55
BENSON - 0 6 0 8 - 14
SCORING - FIRST QUARTER - Minnewaska - Gruber runs the ball from the 16 yard line for a touchdown. Drew Nelson kicks for the extra point. Minnewaska - Garrett Jensen makes a six yard run for the touchdown. Nelson kicks for the extra point. Minnewaska - Gruber makes a seven yard run for the touchdown. Nelson kicks for the extra point.
SECOND QUARTER - Minnewaska - Gruber makes a 28 yard run for the touchdown. Nelson kicks for the extra point. Benson - Matt Tolifson catches the kickoff at the 12 yard line and carries the ball into the end zone. Minnewaska - Jack Blevins makes a six yard run for the touchdown. Nelson kicks for the extra point. Minnewaska - Gruber makes a 23 yard run for the touchdown. Nelson kicks for the extra point.
THIRD QUARTER - Minnewaska - Ryan Christianson makes a six yard run for the touchdown. Minnewaska - Tanner Steffen makes an interception at the 26 yard line and run it in for the touchdown. Nelson kicks for the extra point.
FOURTH QUARTER - Benson - Aaron Zosel makes a four yard run for the touchdown. Will Enderson throws a pass to Aaron Zosel who run it in for the two point conversion.
TOTALS - Benson - First downs - 10; Rushing - 77 yards; Passing - 61 yards; Turnovers - four; Minnewaska - First downs - 22; Rushing - 423; Passing - three; Turnovers - two
MINNEWASKA LEADERS - OFFENSE - Passing - Ryan Amundson - 1-1, 3 yards; Rushing - Christianson - 15-192, TD; Jensen - 7-92, TD; Gruber - 7-79, 4 TDs; Blevins - 3-40, TD; Amundson - 3-23; Tyson Meyer - 4-7; Max Reichmann - 1-4; Receiving - Chase Boettcher - 1-5; DEFENSE - Amundson - INT; Jensen - INT; Luke Barkheim - INT; Steffen - INT
