It was all Minneapolis on the road in Salina against the Sacred Heart Knights. Both teams started their season off with a win in week one but the winning didn’t last long for Sacred Heart. The Lions started it off early with a 13 yard TD pass from Junior QB Ryan Parks to Junior Braylon Smith with just over 3 minutes to play in the 1st Quarter, giving the Lions a 6-0 lead. Later in the 1st Senior Camden Robins blocked a Knights punt which allowed Braylon Smith to scoop and score to give the Lions a 12-0 lead with 0:26 seconds left in the first. The Lions special teams came up with 2 blocked punts and a blocked field goal in the ballgame.
Midway through the 2nd quarter Ryan Parks struck again with a 19 yard TD pass to Sophomore Hunter McKenna to extend the Lions lead to 18. With time running down in the first half Parks threw his 3rd touchdown pass of the half hitting Senior Logan Kearn for a 15 yard TD to take the Lions into halftime 25-0 after the PAT was good by Hunter Millium.
In the 3rd quarter the Lions went on a 10 play drive that ended with a Parks 4th touchdown pass of the game going for 12 yards to Hunter McKenna, McKennas 2nd TD catch of the night to give the Lions a 31-0 lead.
Late in the 4th quarter it was a freshman to freshman connection for backup QB Owen Just to Grant Rice for a 12 yard touchdown to cap off the Lions 37-0 victory.
It was a victory led by big plays through the air from Ryan parks, 2 blocked punts and a blocked field goal from the special teams, and a feisty defense that caused two turnovers and pitched a shutout at Gene Bissel Field in Salina.
Ryan Parks was tonight’s Nex-Tech Wireless player of the game unofficially going 7-12 through the air and throwing for 4 touchdowns.
Camden Robins took home the H&R Block of the Game forcing a blocked punt which allowed Braylon Smith to scoop and score for a Lions TD.
The Lions move to 2-0 on the season but have tough home matchup next Friday against Southeast of Saline who is ranked #1 in Class 2A. Bennington State Bank is sponsoring the game next week and everyone in attendance will get free admission into the game. There will also be prizes and giveaways so come out and show your support!
Box Score
Minneapolis 12 / 13 / 6 / 6 – 37
Sacred Heart 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 – 0
