Vixen stay undefeated with decisive victory over Dragons by Jodi Rehlander In the theater world, someone who can dance, act and sing well is known as a “triple threat.” The football equivalent would be a squad that proves itself on offense, defense and special teams, and that’s exactly what the Minnesota Vixen did on Saturday night with a 50-0 road win over the Wisconsin Dragons at Franklin High School’s Sullivan Field. Minnesota’s Kaiya Sygulla returned the opening kickoff 40 yards to the Wisconsin 40-yard line, but the Vixen offense turned it over on downs deep in Dragons territory. The Dragons gained three yards on three plays and had to punt. Tilly Tilford’s return of 46 yards set the Vixen up on the Wisconsin 14-yard line. After three Grace Cooper runs up the middle and a good PAT by Kate Murphy, the Vixen led 7-0. Wisconsin looked good on their next possession, using screen passes and read option runs to put the Vixen defense on its heels. But Minnesota toughened up in the red zone and forced a turnover on downs. The ensuing Vixen possession saw the game’s longest offensive play, a fourth-down, 67-yard touchdown run from Jeanie “Tank” Nelson that featured her signature style of bruising stiff-arms, scorched-earth running and a trail of bodies on the ground. The Vixen led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Nelson would notch runs of 25, 5 and 7 yards on her way to an 8-yard rumble to the end zone. Then, Sygulla would score on a flat screen from 2 yards out, assisted by a 52-yard pinball catch from Errin McIsaac. The next drive featured runs from Bella McGrath and Nelson, interspersed with catches from Nelson and McIsaac, capped off by a 4-yard touchdown scamper from McGrath. The half ended with Minnesota on top 36-0. The Vixen continued to roll in the second half, with the defense recovering a fumbled bad snap to start the third quarter, giving Minnesota the ball on the Wisconsin 31. Connor Jo Lewis took over as quarterback for the evening, and Nelson would eventually run 11 yards through the right side for her third touchdown of the night. Cooper and Andri Vogt did the heavy lifting on the Vixen’s next offensive series, and McGrath turned in Minnesota’s final score of the night on a 1-yard jet sweep to the left side. Wisconsin showed grit in the fourth quarter, holding the Vixen scoreless and driving deep into Minnesota territory. A defensive pass interference call put them on the 10 yard line but the Vixen defense stood tall once again and preserved the shutout. The Vixen’s next game is May 18, when they host the Iowa Phoenix (2-2 overall, 2-0 Division 3) at Kuhlman Field in Edina. The Dragons fall to 3-2 (0-2 Division 2) and hit the road to Michigan and the Grand Rapids Tidal Waves next week.