The Cook County Vikings football team received a tough draw for its season opener at Lyle Anderson Field on Friday, September 4, when the defending Section 7A champion Chisholm Bluestreaks rolled into town and defeated the Vikings 33-6.
The late afternoon game, with its four o’clock start, was played under sunny blue skies with temperatures that allowed for the wearing of t-shirts and shorts if one was so inclined.
Lyle Anderson Field was dressed for the occasion showing off its apparel of freshly mowed lush green grass, new white striping and numbers and brightly painted chartreuse goal posts with brilliant orange flags atop the uprights fluttering in the light breeze.
Chisholm has a solid football team that exudes confidence. Due to its success last year the team feels they’re the favorites to repeat this year. Theyalso believe they should be solid the following year, so it looks like the road to the State tournament will go through Chisholm for the next couple of years.
A very determined senior linebacker Mike Austin on the blitz. Austin pressured the Chisholm Bluestreak quarterback into three errant throws at the September 4 game.
It’s good for the Vikings to measure themselves against the best and if Chisholm is the best in the section then the Vikings will have to figure out how to close down a 27-point gap between the teams.
In the past Cook County has been a difficult place for the Bluestreaks to play, which was reflected in Chisholm Head Coach Don Quirk’s words. He said, “This was a good win for us. It’s good to come up here and win.”
Coach Quirk’s respect for the Vikings was apparent when after the game he told his players not to read too much into the difference in the score, “Don’t score watch,” he said, “That’s a pretty good football team over there and they’re missing quite a few of their better players.”
TheVikings were without the services of 10 of 31 players due to injuries or ineligibilities including Kipp Sande, their starting tailback, and starting wide receiver James Groth because of injury. Both Sande and Groth are impact players and two of the Vikings’ best playmakers. They were sorely missed.
Vikings Head Coach Mitch Dorr said the loss of depth was a big problem to overcome and it meant that players were forced to carry a bigger workload without getting a break.
The Bluestreaks pretty much had their way with the Vikings all afternoon. They outplayed the Vikings offensively, defensively, on special teams and along the line of scrimmage.
Chisholm used a balanced attack to rack up 176 yards rushing, led by senior running back Spencer Peratalo with 116 yards on eight carries and junior running back Tyler Simmonson who had 48 yards on seven carries with a touchdown.
Senior quarterback Eric Paine had a great game, in which he rushed for one touchdown, scored on a 50 yard interception and threw for two more touchdowns. Paine passed for 130 yards with 88 yards and a touchdown going to Simmonson and 42 yards and a touchdown to junior wide-out Adam Vake.
Chisholm’s defense kept the Vikings bottled up most of the game with the Vikings’ only touchdown coming in the second quarter after Chisholm botched a lateral that Vikings defenders sophomore Bradley Van Doren and senior Jacob Rude stopped for an 18-yard loss down to the Bluestreaks eight-yard line.
A short punt gave the Vikings great field position at Chisholm’s 22-yard line from which Rude ground out the Vikings only touchdown from his fullback position. He carried the ball five times and scored on a fouryard run to make the score 13-6 Chisholm with 8:51 to go in the quarter.
The Vikings trailed 20-6 at the half and then gave up another touchdown at 7:42 of the third to fall behind 26-6. Offensively the Vikings were struggling, but from that point on the defense picked up their play.
On one series of downs near the end of the third quarter senior linebacker Mike Austin came on three blitzes in a row, pressuring Paine into three errant throws that forced a punt. However, on the next Vikings series, Paine intercepted a Vikings pass at the 50 and went in for the touchdown to make it 33-6 putting the proverbial nail in the coffin.
The Vikings’ defense didn’t show any quit in the fourth quarter however. Though they played most of the quarter in their own end, they didn’t allow another score. It was a big positive to build on for the future with sophomore Mike Sjogren and senior Brock Hommerding picking up interceptions to stop drives.
Offensively Hommerding led the Vikings in rushing with 51 yards on 19 carries followed by Rude with 44 yards on 13 carries. Freshman quarterback Kale Boomer rushed seven times for 25 yards and was 2-for-12 for 16 yards passing.
Defensively Van Doren led the Vikings with eight tackles; Nick Austin and Kale Boomer (who had the hit of the game knocking a pass loose) had seven each; Rude finished with six and Dylan Anderson with five; Cody Anderson picked up the only sack for the Vikings.
Commenting upon the game Coach Dorr said, “We played like a very young team. We need to improve at every position and will work hard to do so until we are again at full strength.
“Kale Boomer played excellent at the quarterback and the cornerback positions and Bradley Van Doren played his heart out. When all our guys play like Bradley, we will be moving in the right direction.”
Up next for the Vikings is a game at St. Paul Humboldt on Friday, September 11, at 4:00 p.m.
Go Vikes!
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