Vikings beat Springfield for third year in a row

Ryan Meagher wasn’t thinking about records when he pulled on his jersey this morning for the Minneota Vikings, who were searching for their third straight Class A title.

But he left U.S. Bank Stadium with a pocketful.

The senior running back scored six touchdowns, setting a Prep Bowl record, and also eclipsed school records for career touchdowns and rushing yards.

“It’s been very impressive,” said Minneota Head Coach Chad Johnston. He’s been a phenomenal kid for us. Very humble, very soft spoken. Just shows up and does his job. He’s been a great leader for us.”

Meagher rushed 22 times for 290 yards to lead the Vikings to their third straight title in a 70-20 win over Springfield. Springfield was also making their third straight Prep Bowl appearance.

Despite the third straight loss to Minneota, Springfield players felt fortunate to be in a position to play in front of their hometown fans on the biggest stage.

“We are blessed in so many ways,” said senior Brayden Sturm. “We know they’re (fans) going to have our backs going into every single game.”

Meagher had three touchdowns in the first quarter, one of them a 60-yard jaunt to the end zone as the Vikings opened up a 21-7 lead.

Springfield’s Sturm caught a 37-yard pass from QB Parker Kuehn to make it 21`-14 but that was as close as they would get as the Vikings ran away with it in the second half.

Meagher would go on to score three more times including a 57-yard touchdown run.

“Once he gets going downhill he’s just tough to bring down,” said Springfield Head Coach Adam Meyer.

Minneota finishes the season 13-0 and have won 33 straight games. Last year they defeated Springfield 43-22 and two years ago beat them 38-21. Springfield finishes this season 12-1 and are 35-6 over the past three seasons.

Game Stats courtesy of MSHSL: https://www.mshsl.org/sites/default/files/2024-11/2024-fb-pb-a-springfield-minneota.pdf