By Amirah Razman and Josh Ballou
The Minnesota Vixen were all gas and no brakes in their season opener, topping the Nebraska Pride 41-0 at Kuhlman Field. “We have full units offense and defense, and we just keep raising the bar of aggression,” said Coach Connor Jo Lewis. That aggression was on full display for all 60 minutes of play on Saturday.
The offense wasted no time finding a rhythm on Saturday. Quarterback Erin Kelley (#10) led the offense methodically down the field, capping off a 9-play, 67-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Wide Receiver Jackie Radford (#81). The Vixen missed the point after to go up 6-0, but that would just be the beginning.
Defensively, the Vixen set the tone right out of the gate, just as planned, according to Defensive Coordinator Eric Meng. “I’m really proud of the players we have, and the abilities they have to attack really hard and be very aggressive. That’s kind of our key this year,” said Coach Meng.
The turnovers were plentiful for the Vixen defense, totaling 5 takeaways during the game. #54 Kaylee Damasin got the takeaway party started with a blocked punt on the first defensive series, setting up another scoring drive by the offense, capped off by a strong 6-yard rushing touchdown by Angela Griffin (#80) to take a 13-0 lead.
This was a game that was decided by the trenches. The Vixen outrushed the Pride by 265 yards. “To play football, you need all 11 players. That is part of the run game, and to have the run game working, it takes a lot of pressure off of me (and the receivers),” said Quarterback Erin Kelley. Running Back Johanna Vermohlen (#21) led the Vixen in rushing with 21 rushes for 96 yards and a touchdown. Running Back Paige Kuplic (#29) had 9 rushes for 85 yards and a touchdown, including a huge 46-yard rush down the left sideline to help set up another Vixen touchdown.
With 1:41 left in the second quarter and the ball near midfield, Kelley and the offense orchestrated a masterclass 2-minute drill. The Vixen quickly moved down the field using no-huddle effectively, with a big 4th down conversion by Vermohlen, and a clutch 3rd down pass to Radford to set up 1st and goal. The drive was perfectly capped off by a play-action rollout pass from Erin Kelley to Tight End Sam Anderson (#86) for a 5-yard touchdown pass.
Minnesota completely controlled the tempo in the first half, dominating time of possession and the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. With aggressive defense and methodical execution on offense, the Vixen looked every bit like a team on a mission.
And boy, were they on a mission. The Vixen were every bit as menacing the second half, starting the half with a botched Nebraska snap recovered by Anna Kimball (#99) at Nebraska’s 16-yard line. The entire second half also consisted of an intense 5-4 turnover battle and a strong defensive showing.
Caitlin Hill (#26) came up with a big interception with 9:08 left on the clock. It was a big stop for the Vixen’s defensive line, whose momentum never seemed to slow down once. In fact, the momentum continued to get stronger as the Vixen’s defense came up big the next drive, with an interception made by Jocelyn Tanner (#6).
Tanner’s interception was well worth it, as she was able to run the ball all the way to Nebraska’s 15-yard line, resulting in a touchdown by Johanna Vermöhlen and a successful extra point attempt to increase the Vixen’s lead, 27-0.
The Vixen’s 5th offensive possession started with a dart to Jackie Radford on an RPO, resulting in a 19-yard touchdown run by Paige Kuplic and another successful PAT, extending the lead 34-0.
There was 2:17 left in the fourth quarter, but the Vixen weren’t done yet. Kaylee Damasin came up with a big sack, but a muffed punt by Nebraska during a punt return resulted in a turnover for the Pride at the Vixen’s 34-yard line.
That didn’t stop the Vixen, though – as Chloe Anderson (#7) came up with an interception not long after Nebraska had the ball again. #83 Shi Rhodes sealed the deal for the Vixen with a huge touchdown run to extend the lead to 41 to 0 – it was the cherry on top of an already action-packed, exhilarating start to the season.
Having a dominant performance to kick off the start of the season, especially in front of a home crowd, was special for Coach Lewis. “We had a few players who were back from injury,” Lewis said. “Just to see them [and] the hard work we’ve seen them go through over the last year in [the] mental and physical, you see it pay off.”
For Meng, who played an instrumental role in the Vixen’s strong defensive showing, the feeling is also mutual. “I’m really proud of the players that we have, the abilities that they have to attack really, really hard and be aggressive… that’s kind of our key this year is to be aggressive.”
It’s one thing to have your first game of the season occur in front of the home fans, but it was another to also have your birthday on the same day, as was the case for Dvorak. “There’s nothing better, the weather was beautiful, [and] playing football with these guys. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday.”
And it’s far from over for the Vixen, who are coming off the bye week with a matchup against the reigning WFA Champions St. Louis Slam this weekend. A historically tough matchup between the two foes – and a highly anticipated one – the Vixen have to continue their momentum across both sides of the ball in order to be successful. “We have to win every play, we have to win every series, we have to win every quarter, and we have to win every half so we can win again. That’s our goal from the very beginning,” Meng said. The Vixen will be taking this winning mentality on the road in hopes to improve to 2-0.