There were no losers in the blue/white football scrimmage held last week, just a lot of fans happy to see their CCHS Viking football players in action. Even if it was an intarsquad game. The JV squad also pleased Viking fans with its win over Duluth Marshall. The Vikings’ first real action is against Esko at Esko on Sept 3. The first home game for the Vikings is September 7 against Barnum. Kick-off starts at 7 p.m.
Cook County’s Junior Varsity football team played in its first game of the season this past Tuesday evening. The Vikings faced the Duluth Marshall Hilltoppers in an early season match-up on the gridiron.
The Vikings’ roster this season largely consists of freshmen and sophomores so this was a chance to get some much-needed playing time. In a tune-up before the varsity game on Friday in Esko, Mike Sjogren played the first two offensive series at quarterback. Sjogren, the back-up quarterback and starting wide receiver for the varsity, got the Vikings on the scoreboard first with a 59-yard touchdown run on an option play. The two-point conversion run was unsuccessful but the Vikings had an early 6-0 lead.
In the second quarter, a Hilltopper drive was stopped when junior Hunter Farley intercepted a pass to give the Vikings the ball back. Behind some bone-bruising blocks by Bradley VanDoren, halfback Mark Marxen raced 55 yards down the far sideline for the Vikings’ second score with just 20 seconds remaining in the half. The two-point conversion failed but the Vikings had a 12-0 halftime lead.
Following an early Marshall turnover in the third quarter, Marxen scored again on a 51-yard run to give the Vikings an 18-0 lead. The twopoint conversion came up empty but the Vikings now had a commanding lead.
Duluth Marshall answered with a long touchdown run to cut the Viking lead to 18-6. Cook County responded well, putting together a good drive that was capped off when Marxen plunged into the end zone from seven yards out to score his third touchdown of the game. VanDoren continued to impress on both sides of the ball with big hits on defense and punishing blocks on offense. TheVikings added the twopoint conversion and now had a 26-6 lead.
After the Hilltoppers scored on a long pass play early in the fourth quarter, the Vikings put together another nice drive that was highlighted by a 35-yard touchdown run by Marxen. TheVikings would go on to win, 32-14.
Freshman Ben Kroska played a great game at quarterback in his first start at the position. After Sjogren played the first two series, Kroska manned the Viking ship and looked good in his first action behind center. Marxen rushed for nearly 170 yards and scored four touchdowns in the contest.
VanDoren earned Coach Eliasen’s game ball for his excellent play from the fullback position. Many others impressed in the win and the Vikings’ young squad will look to build off their early season success.
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