WORTHINGTON — The Minnesota West football team bounced back in a big way last week.
After a game littered with mistakes and turnovers, the Bluejays turned things around on Saturday against Minnesota North College-Mesabi Range in a dominant 46-14 win.
With the Bluejays (2-2, 2-1 Minnesota College Athletic Conference) back on track, they now look ahead to their first road matchup in three weeks this Saturday at Central Lakes College-Brainerd. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.
“It’s always one game at a time,” said second-year Bluejay coach Jermaine Smith after the Mesabi Range game. “Last week we learned and this week, we were really just trying to recover and rebound from the way we played, minimize turnovers and play better defense, really stopping the run. I think that was really critical for us this week to focus on stopping the run, and I think we did a decent job with that.”
Here is everything you need to to know about this Saturday’s upcoming matchup.
The Raiders are still in search of their first win of the season. They are 0-4 overall and 0-2 in the MCAC.
Led by second-year coach Toby Thurman, they opened the season with back-to-back shutout losses by a combined score of 126-0, starting with a 49-0 loss to Ellsworth Community College and followed up by a 77-0 drubbing to Iowa Central.
Central Lakes nearly eked out a win two weeks ago at home against M State Fergus Falls, only to succumb to the Spartans 11-9 in overtime. Last week, the Raiders lost on the road 20-6 to Rochester.
Offensively, the Raiders are second to last in the MCAC in points per game at just 2.8 and are last in the conference in yards per game at only 24.8.
Meanwhile on defense, Central Lakes is also second to last in points given up, allowing opponents an average of 39.3 points per game. Total defense is second to last above only Vermilion CC with over 350 yards allowed per contest.
Perhaps the Raiders’ toughest test in the MCAC is coming to Brainerd on Saturday against a Bluejays team that is near the top of the conference on both sides of the ball.
The Bluejays moved the ball at will against Mesabi Range last week as they amassed 482 yards of total offense and scored seven touchdowns.
The no-huddle Minnesota West offense scored quickly and opened a 14-7 lead in the first quarter after quarterback Armon Vinson found receivers Talik Brooks and Marlon Fluker for touchdowns.
Minnesota West began pulling away in the second quarter with 18 unanswered points to take a 32-7 halftime lead.
“So many weapons with the receiving core,” Smith said of his offense. “It’s loaded. We’re probably about eight, nine receivers deep, and there’s really no drop off there. Quarterback play was a lot better (Saturday) and you can’t win unless you block up front. So I think we did a great job up front to be able to execute and get those seven touchdowns.”
Skyler Jackson / The Globe
Vinson started the quarter off with a 60-yard scoring strike to Ethan Pridgen. The final two touchdowns on the hall both came on Vinson rollouts before finding AJ Hollman wide open in the end zone twice.
With the game pretty much at hand, the Bluejays only extended their lead with two more Vinson touchdown passes in the third quarter both to Tavion Jackson. Mesabi Range finally found the end zone again with 10:38 left in the fourth quarter, but the Jays were already comfortably ahead.
Vinson finished with 426 passing yards on 21-of-29. He did throw four interceptions, but the Bluejay defense never let the Norse capitalize on them. Hollman was the leading receiver with 91 yards on five catches. Jackson caught three balls for 89 and Pridgen also had three catches for 76 yards.
Skyler Jackson / The Globe
Most of Minnesota West’s yards came through the air as the rushing attack only garnered 56 yards. Dontrell Harris carried the ball 12 times for 44 yards.
After giving up over 300 rushing yards to NDSCS two weeks ago, the Minnesota West defense held Mesabi Range to under 300 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers last week.
“I thought we tackled well and we played better up front,” Smith said. “I really keyed in on the front seven this week to really play with better pride and really try to create a new line of scrimmage and put the pressure on them to throw the football.”
Skyler Jackson / The Globe
Donte Moore intercepted a pass and Kaleb Holt-Jones and Tyler Gibbons each recovered a fumble.
Stephen Tolliver totaled a team-leading 14 tackles and Darron Millender added 11, including three sacks. Kevontae Vignaude totaled nine tackles and two sacks. Dorius Bell had three tackles for loss.
Overall this season, the Bluejays are second in the conference in both scoring offense (34.3 points) and defense (22.3) behind only NDSCS and are atop the MCAC in total offense (464.8 yards). They are the No. 4 team in the NJCAA Division III rankings and are one of three Region 13 teams in the top five with the other two being NDSCS and Rochester.
Skyler Jackson / The Globe
Minnesota West and Rochester will face each other next Saturday, Oct. 4 back in Worthington in what could likely be a big game at the top of the region. But Smith is focused on one game at a time.
“If I look back at last year, we had some seasoned guys when it came to mental preparation and really just standing on business and being leaders,” Smith said. “I think this group is learning that. So they had a couple of meetings this week, team meetings outside of coaches, and I think it made a difference. I think they want to win. They want to do the right things, but it’s just a learning process so I think it’s just week by week.”
Bluejays (2-2) at Raiders (0-4)
When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Raider football field, Brainerd, MN
Series: MWCTC leads 4-2 dating back to 2018
Last meeting: MWCTC won 58-9 last year in Worthington
Last week: MWCTC won 46-14 vs Mesabi; Brainerd lost 20-6 to RCTC
Skyler Jackson joined the Globe in July 2023 as a reporter covering both news and sports. Born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa, Skyler attended South Dakota State University and graduated in 2023 with a degree in journalism. After graduating college, he decided on settling in Worthington for his current job at the Globe.
Leave a Reply