Meagher had 199 yards on the ground along with his five scores as the Vikings earned their ninth state football championship.

“Going into the game, we knew [Springfield] had a solid defense,” Meagher said. “Overall, I think the offensive coordinator Matt Myrvik put together a really good game plan, and that allowed us running backs to get through the holes, and also allowed the line to do a really good job opening up those holes.”

Springfield’s offense struggled to get things going in the game, especially struggling in the trenches. Springfield’s two leading rushers, Sam Rummel and Ashton Toll, combined for 52 yards on 15 carries, while quarterback Jakob Nachreiner was sacked five times on the day.

Springfield head coach Adam Meyer said that Minneota was a difficult team to face off against in the trenches, both on offense and on defense.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Springfield’s Grant Kuehn (13) takes a hit during the Class-A State Football Tournament Championship Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium.

“We talked before the game about how their run game is so multiple, with hitting different gaps with different schemes and different players,” Meyer said. “I thought there were times where we did a really good job against the run and really slowed them down, but obviously there were other times that they broke though that front line, and it’s tough tackling a really good running back when their going downhill like that.

“On our offensive side of things, it took us a while to gather ourselves and settle down into our run game and protection. I don’t think it was an effort issue on our end, I just think it was one of those things where they were playing fast, and they get off the ball extremely well. That’s something we know we can work on going forward.”

In addition, Springfield had an uncharacteristically difficult time hanging onto the ball. As a team, the Tigers had seven drops and four lost fumbles.

Meyer believes that the ball security issues were unrelated to championship nerves, saying his team was prepared for the game, but other reasons led to the mishaps.

“I think these guys were ready for the moment,” Meyer said. “They’ve been training for it. It’s one of those things, uncharacteristic miscues at times that we needed to make plays. It wasn’t an effort thing, it wasn’t a focus thing, I think it was just one of those things that happened.”

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Springfield’s Kody Bast (53) Ashton Toll (20) and Gavin Vanderwerf (28) combine to bring down Minneota’s Ryan Meagher (20) during the Class-A State Tournament Championship Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Nachreiner had 214 yards and three touchdowns in the game, pushing his season total to 55 touchdowns through the air. Carter Olson had 13 catches for 175 yards and a touchdown, while Brayden Sturm had 38 yards receiving with two scores. On the defense, Toll had 15 tackles and a tackle for loss, while Sam Pidde had 13 tackles. Gavin Vanderwerf added eight tackles and a forced fumble.

Minneota started of the game from their own 37 and marched 60 yards downfield before Vanderwerf forced a fumble on what could have been the opening score of the game, preventing Minneota’s Destin Fier from finishing off a 20-yard touchdown run by knocking the ball loose to be scooped up by Olson at the 3-yard line.

“We focused on [forcing turnovers] all year,” Meyer said. “Our first couple of weeks we drilled turnovers defensively every day. That’s been a hallmark of our defense all season, along with the pursuit these guys play with. That was an exceptional effort play, it was down the field a long way, and that’s two of the things our team coaches. Brandon Wilhelmi, our defensive coordinator stresses with these guys pursuit, effort, and making turnovers. That was a big one for us.”

Unfortunately, Nachreiner couldn’t connect with Pidde on a downfield shot that could have been a 97-yard score, and instead the team was forced to punt. Minneota capitalized with an explosive 25-yard rush by Meagher, who then capped off the drive with a 1-yard score to put the Vikings up 7-0.

On Springfield’s next drive, it was the Tigers that fumbled the ball away after going 55 yards downfield, and Minneota was able to turn the turnover into points as Fier redeemed himself with a 4-yard touchdown sweep to give Minneota a 14-0 advantage as the game moved into the second quarter. Springfield went three-and-out on their next drive, giving Minneota the ball back for a 20-yard rushing touchdown by Meagher. Springfield’s second fumble on the day after a low snap on a punt set up Minneota for a three-play drive capped off by Meagher’s third touchdown, a seven-yard play down the middle, to go up 29-0.

Springfield found its footing on the next drive, taking the ball 67 yards and scoring on a 8-yard pass from Nachriener to Sturm to cut the lead to 29-6. Aiden Moriarty successfully pulled of the onside kick on the kickoff with 30 seconds left in the half, but a sack by Minneota’s Sawyer DeSmet put an end to the half.

The Tigers received the second-half kickoff, but their third fumble of the game put an end to a 30-yard drive. The Vikings turned it over on downs on their drive after Meagher jumped on a fumbled toss, giving Springfield the ball on Minneota’s 45-yard line. Another sack by DeSmet put the Tigers in a fourth-and-long situation, where Nachreiner’s pass fell incomplete.

Minneota went three-and-out on their next drive, backing up Springfield to their own 17-yard line. Springfield attempted a flea-flicker play, but the toss back to Nachreiner missed him, and Minneota recovered the ball at the 1-yard line, where Meagher punched it in for his fourth score.

Springfield was able to settle down on its next drive, marching 45 yards into the red zone, but failed to convert in a goal-to-go situation early in the fourth quarter, with Nachreiner’s pass falling incomplete on fourth down from the 14. Minneota’s drive stalled out after three plays, giving the Tigers another shot. This time they converted, with Olson scoring on a 17-yard pass from Nachreiner for the score.

Rummel tossed a 2-point play to Sturm to put the score at 36-14.

Unfortunately for Springfield, Meagher ended the Vikings’ next drive in one play with his longest score of the day, a 48-yard rush for a touchdown. Springfield responded with another touchdown drive with a 2-yard pass from Nachreiner to Sturm, but the offense had found its rhythm too late. Minneota drained three Springfield timeouts on its next drive, and a deep shot from Nachreiner on the following possession was intercepted by Maxwell Rost to put an end to the comeback attempt.

Meyer said the team was able to find more success in the second half as they found more balance to their offense.

“We were mixing run and pass a little better there, and more efficient,” he said. “And we were able to give Jakob some more time in the pocket to deliver the ball down the field. Our receivers, like they have all year, found openings, and when they did that and we had some time to throw it, we were able to connect on a few throws.

“Minneota’s a great defense, so you have to find little cracks in that defense and make big plays when you get a chance. It took us a while to get going there, but once we did, we were able to put some points up. A little bit too little, to late, but I was proud of how our kids continued to battle throughout the game.”

Springfield finishes its season with a 12-2 record.