Minot tops Jays
It’s no surprise that on a cold, rainy night, the better running team prevailed Wednesday at Ernie Gates Field. Minot racked up 387 yards on the ground including 208 and two touchdowns from Brady Lampert, as the Magicians punched their Class AAA playoff ticket with a 19-0 win over Jamestown.By: By Chris Aarhus, The Jamestown Sun, The Jamestown Sun
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It’s no surprise that on a cold, rainy night, the better running team prevailed Wednesday at Ernie Gates Field.
Minot racked up 387 yards on the ground including 208 and two touchdowns from Brady Lampert, as the Magicians punched their Class AAA playoff ticket with a 19-0 win over Jamestown.
The Magicians (4-2 West Region, 7-2 overall) locked up the No. 3 seed with the victory.
“We could have been knocked out,” Minot coach Barry Holmen said. “We responded well from some adversity. We feel like we earned that 3-seed. We didn’t back in.”
Jamestown, on the other hand, ends its season at 2-7. The Blue Jays entered the game with a shot at the playoffs. They needed at least a six-point win, or a win and a Dickinson loss.
“We fought every game all year,” Jamestown senior Tyler Hennings said. “We know we’re a good team. It’s just some things didn’t work out and we came up a little short.”
Minot made sure of that, scoring two its three touchdowns in the first quarter to get an early lead.
The Magicians’ weapon of choice was a jet-sweep option with the tight end motioning across that allowed Minot quarterback Alex Yanosko to hand it off to the end, the tailback or keep it himself. It worked well, as Minot posted 202 rushing yards in the first half including a 67-yard TD run from Yanosko on their third play from scrimmage. Yanosko finished with 131 yards on 20 carries.
“They have a very good offense; they’re very good at hiding the ball,” Hennings said. “Give credit to them. They’re a good team.”
Holmen said the offense was the perfect fit for the conditions. High winds caused a steady slanted rain from start to finish.
“It’s a little offensive package that really is a nice thing to have when you have bad weather,” Holmen said. “It’s sort of option football without pitching the ball.”
After Minot’s first score, Jamestown drove down the field to the Magicians’ 22-yard line before quarterback Matt Grounds’ pass fell incomplete on fourth-and-10.
Minot came back with a nine-play, 78-yard drive that was capped by Lampert’s 1-yard TD run. The 5-foot-10, 176-pound junior added a 5-yard score late in the third quarter.
“We got our butts whooped last week (against Bismarck High),” Holmen said. “We had something to prove.
“But in the same breath, I think (Jamestown coach Tim Fletcher) is doing a great job. They’re starting to win games, find some energy and find some positives. They came to play today.”
Jamestown had bright spots peppered throughout the game, including an 89-yard kickoff return for a TD from Taylor Orr that was called back for a touchdown near the end of the first quarter. Minot outgained the Jays 453 to 182 in total yards.
The Blue Jays, in an effort to score quickly, ended with only four rushing plays in the second half, none of which went to senior tailback Anthony Cook. Grounds had 13 carries for 50 yards, but attempted 27 passes. He completed eight for 100 yards, with Tyler Ukestad catching two balls for 46 yards.
It’s the end of the line for Jamestown’s seniors, who helped the Jays to two wins this season after a winless record a year ago. The Blue Jays graduate seven starters on the offensive side of the ball and six on defense.
Hennings praised his senior teammates for battling back after not winning a game as juniors.
“These are the kind of guys you want to turn your season around with,” he said. “They’re guys with the greatest heart you’ll ever meet, and guys I love to death.”
Minot 19, Jamestown 0
Minot 13 0 6 0 — 19
Jamestown 0 0 0 0 — 0
First quarter
M—Alex Yanosko 67 run (kick failed), 7:59.
M—Brady Lampert 1 run (Ben Love kick), 0:03.
Second quarter
No scoring
Third quarter
M—Lampert 5 run (kick failed), 3:08
Fourth quarter
Statistics MHS JHS
Rushing 387 82
Passing 66 100
Total yards 453 182
Rushing — M, Lampert 22-208, Yanosko 20-131, Kimani Benjamin 8-41, (unknown) 3-7, Tre Kinchen 1-0. J, Matt Grounds 13-50, Anthony Cook 7-30, Eathan Gumke 3-2.
Passing — M, Yanosko 1-3-0 66. J, Grounds 8-27-0 100.
Receiving — M, Jacob Holmen 1-66. J, Tyler Ukestad 2-46, Taylor Orr 2-22, C.J. Soulis 1-15, Cook 1-8, Ben Walz 1-9, Sean Lindberg 1-6.
Turnovers — M 1 (fumble), J 2 (2 fumbles).
Penalties — M 9-70, J 4-20.
Sun sports writer Chris Aarhus can be reached at (701) 952-8462 or by email at caarhus@jamestownsun.com
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