Day one of the Prep Bowl at U.S. Bank Stadium on Friday will look a little familiar for those watching the first championship game of the day as Class A kicks off at 9 a.m. featuring Springfield and Minneota.
The two teams are facing one another for the Class A Prep Bowl title for the third consecutive year, with the Minneota Vikings looking to win their third straight championship.
"Sometimes people if this ever gets old or it becomes a routine thing," said Vikings head coach Chad Johnston. "The answer is no. Every opportunity to be in a state championship game is a new opportunity with a different group of kids and individuals."
After running the table and 14-0 record in 2013, Minneota cruised through the 2024 regular season with seven total shutouts, two of which came in the 1A playoffs with a 41-0 win over Lester Prairie and a 45-0 win over Parkers Prairie.
The Vikings scored some eye-popping wins earlier in the year including an 81-0 win against Lc qui Parle Valley and a 76-7 win at Lakeview the week before.
"We try and do a good job with our group in trying to keep them grounded and keeping them humble," Johnston said. "We try to get them to understand that if the big picture is they want to be in the state tournament, then they need to take every week as an advantage to get better. We took every week as an opportunity to grow and to get better."
A Minneota championship would be the program's seventh with Johnston who is in his 23rd season as head coach.
"It's very humbling," he said. "Everyone when you start coaching you have the aspirations of creating a program that has all kinds of success. I've always felt like success to me doesn't have to be going to the state tournament. I felt like at a small school, if you can just be competitive year in and year out, and you're at the top of your sub district, that is pretty impressive. We've been able to do that and beyond that."
Springfield is making their 11th state tournament appearance having won the 2005 Class A championship. The Tigers defeated Goodhue 20-14 in the quarterfinals and Mahnomen/Waubun 30-16 in the semifinals.
The semifinal game included a 30-point fourth quarter barrage from the Tigers to get the win while the quarterfinals required a two-touchdown fourth quarter to secure the victory.
A win would make Minneota the first team to win three-straight championships in the Prep Bowl era since Eden Prairies four-peat from 2011 to 2014.
The Vikings previously won three championships in a row winning Class C in 1986, 1987, and 1988.
"A lot of these kids are able to experience this success with their parents," added Johnston. "A lot of their dads were able to go through it and the 80's and now they've got their kids going through it. To me that's very impressive and speaks loudly of the tradition. That tradition was here before I got here, I've just been fortunate to be able to keep it going. There's a lot of pride."
Friday's Prep Bowl Schedule:
9 a.m. Class A: Springfield (12-0) vs Minneota (12-0)
1 p.m. Class AAAA: Becker (12-0) vs Totino-Grace (12-0)
4 p.m. Class AA: Jackson County Central (12-0) vs Staples-Motley (12-0)
7 p.m. Class AAAAAA: Minnetonka (10-2) vs Maple Grove (12-0)
Saturday's Prep Bowl Schedule:
10 a.m. Nine-Player: Hills-Beaver Creek (12-0) vs Fertile-Beltrami (12-0)
1 p.m. Class AAA: Stewartville (13-0) vs Dassel-Cokato (11-1)
4 p.m. Class AAAAA: Elk River (11-1) vs Alexandria Area (10-2)
Each game will be televised live by 45TV.