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ARMA —
The Northeast Vikings (4-2) swept away the Bluestem Lions (1-5) last night with a chilly 36-6 victory.
The Vikings started the game with an out-of-bounds kick-off which resulted in Bluestem starting with the ball on their own 35 yard-line. The Lions failed to get their offense going early and the first series ended with a punt. After back-and-forth possession between the two teams, the Vikings came out with the upper hand as senior Killian Willard broke away for a 38-yard touchdown run with 2:47 left in the first quarter.
“I feel like we got off to a slow start,” said Northeast head coach Phil Hobbs. “I think we make the mistake, a little bit, of underestimating our opponents, we get overconfident at times which is different as our kids really aren’t accustomed to winning like they have been. The kids also had a day off of school today, which always interferes with game preparation.”
The Vikings had trouble holding on to the ball after their score, ending the game with five fumbles, three of which were recovered by the Lions.
“Fumbles have been a thorn in our side this season,” Hobbs said. “I think it really cost us our first game at Humboldt, and at Galena we fumbled a lot, which maybe didn’t cost us the game but probably prevented a closer score.”
The Vikings continued to increase their lead in the third quarter Willard returned the second half kickoff for a 77-yard touchdown. Immediately following the score, Northeast took a chance with an onside-kick which Kegan Willard, younger brother to Killian Willard, was able to get his hands on, continuing Viking possession.
Despite the Lions’ efforts, they were unable to score until junior Adam Wolfe broke away for a 22-yard touchdown with 10:15 left in the fourth quarter. Wolfe led in offensive yardage with 95 rush yards and 40 passing. Sophomore quarterback John Stiger threw for 55 yards and came out of the game with one interception. Wolfe and Stiger’s yardage didn’t help their team in the long run, as Bluestem was responsible for 77 yards in penalties consisting of face-mask and personal foul calls.
Following their first score, Bluestem successfully recovered an onside kick of their own, but after two runs from Wolfe and two false starts, senior quarterback Brett Turner’s pass on fourth-and-nine was picked off by junior Nick Younge.
With the next series, Vikings’ quarterback J.T. Richardson broke away for a final 61-yard touchdown at 7:20 in the fourth quarter. Richardson had a statistically good night on the ground, with 154 rushing yards and three touchdowns, however his aim seemed to be off in the air as he only completed three of his 12 passes for 42 yards and gave up two interceptions.
The Northeast Vikings (4-2) swept away the Bluestem Lions (1-5) last night with a chilly 36-6 victory.
The Vikings started the game with an out-of-bounds kick-off which resulted in Bluestem starting with the ball on their own 35 yard-line. The Lions failed to get their offense going early and the first series ended with a punt. After back-and-forth possession between the two teams, the Vikings came out with the upper hand as senior Killian Willard broke away for a 38-yard touchdown run with 2:47 left in the first quarter.
“I feel like we got off to a slow start,” said Northeast head coach Phil Hobbs. “I think we make the mistake, a little bit, of underestimating our opponents, we get overconfident at times which is different as our kids really aren’t accustomed to winning like they have been. The kids also had a day off of school today, which always interferes with game preparation.”
The Vikings had trouble holding on to the ball after their score, ending the game with five fumbles, three of which were recovered by the Lions.
“Fumbles have been a thorn in our side this season,” Hobbs said. “I think it really cost us our first game at Humboldt, and at Galena we fumbled a lot, which maybe didn’t cost us the game but probably prevented a closer score.”
The Vikings continued to increase their lead in the third quarter Willard returned the second half kickoff for a 77-yard touchdown. Immediately following the score, Northeast took a chance with an onside-kick which Kegan Willard, younger brother to Killian Willard, was able to get his hands on, continuing Viking possession.
Despite the Lions’ efforts, they were unable to score until junior Adam Wolfe broke away for a 22-yard touchdown with 10:15 left in the fourth quarter. Wolfe led in offensive yardage with 95 rush yards and 40 passing. Sophomore quarterback John Stiger threw for 55 yards and came out of the game with one interception. Wolfe and Stiger’s yardage didn’t help their team in the long run, as Bluestem was responsible for 77 yards in penalties consisting of face-mask and personal foul calls.
Following their first score, Bluestem successfully recovered an onside kick of their own, but after two runs from Wolfe and two false starts, senior quarterback Brett Turner’s pass on fourth-and-nine was picked off by junior Nick Younge.
With the next series, Vikings’ quarterback J.T. Richardson broke away for a final 61-yard touchdown at 7:20 in the fourth quarter. Richardson had a statistically good night on the ground, with 154 rushing yards and three touchdowns, however his aim seemed to be off in the air as he only completed three of his 12 passes for 42 yards and gave up two interceptions.
“J.T. is a player,” Hobbs said. “He does some good things for us whether it’s running the ball or throwing the ball, and with our option game, he makes a lot of good reads out there and he’s making sure the person who will gain the most yards gets the ball.”
Hobbs believes that once they “get things rolling” they are a hard team to stop.
“It’s going to be hard to stop us,” Hobbs said. “With all the weapons we have right now it’s hard to scheme against us and our spread offense and defense.”
The Vikings will make their way to Olpe next Friday to take on the Eagles (4-2) for a district matchup.
