Despite the score, the Vikings football game against the Floodwood Polar Bears was extremely close for the first half.
Andrew Miller gave the Vikings an early first quarter lead with a one-yard touchdown run and then he also completed the two-point conversion run to put the Vikings up 8-0.
Midway through the second quarter Floodwood’s Levi Sourvueri scored on a four-yard run, but the Polar Bears’ two-point conversion attempt failed.
The Vikings went into the locker room ahead 8-6.
When asked what changed so dramatically in the second half, Viking head coach Bryan Carpenter said, “Our intensity picked up. Of course, it really hurt Floodwood to lose their starting quarterback. He was injured just before halftime. Also, they kind of gave up after Prom hit Jack Haussner with two long touchdown throws in the third period.”
Very early in the third period, Viking QB Josh Prom hit Haussner with a 53-yard pass for a touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt failed, but momentum had shifted to the Vikings.
Three and a half minutes later the duo hooked up again, and this time Haussner took the ball 36 yards to pay dirt and Prom connected with Conner Somnis for a two-point conversion pass play. The Vikings were up 22-6, and the Polar Bears enthusiasm was diminished.
Miller would rush for one more touchdown while Prom carried the ball in twice on nifty runs with the two-point conversions all completed.
Meanwhile, while the offense hit on all cylinders in the second half, the defense was equally as good, shutting down the Polar Bears almost completely after allowing the lone touchdown in the second quarter.
One thing that has slowed down the Vikings is losing players to sickness. Carpenter said the team has had four players out with illness. “We’ve had some pneumonia running through the team and other sicknesses,” he said.
Ethan Sporn, the Vikings’ leading rusher, missed most of last week’s football practice because he was suffering from pneumonia. Still, Sporn rushed for one touchdown while gaining 29 yards on eight carries.
Josh Prom rushed 13 times for 73 yards, averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Andrew Miller gained 24 yards on the ground on five carries, and Masen McKeever carried once and gained 15 yards.
Prom was five of six passing the ball for 115 yards and two T.Ds. He also caught a pass for 18 yards from Miller.
Jack Haussner ended his night with three catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns.
On defense, Ethan Sporn led the team in tackles with nine. Prom finished with 5.5 tackles, Joe Deschampe had 5.5 tackles, Miller 5 tackles, Connor Somnis 3.5, Haussner 3, Keenan Hingos 2, Vaughn Swindlehurst 1.5, Jordan Porter 1, and Isiah Deschampe finished with 1 tackle.
The Vikings had 268 yards of offense to 159 for Floodwood. The Vikings ran 35 plays while the Polar Bears ran 41 offensive plays. But the Vikings were much more efficient, gaining 7.7 yards per play to Floodwood’s 3.9 average.
Floodwood was penalized five times for 30 yards while the Vikings were penalized once for 15 yards.
On Wednesday night, October 3, coach Carpenter said his team was apparently getting over some of the sickness that has plagued it, but one key player is still out.
Earlier in the season middle linebacker/fullback Dillon Sjogren suffered a leg injury in a game and still remains in a cast.
However, Carpenter said Sjogren might make it back in time for the playoffs.
“Dillon has been lifting weights and staying in shape,” Carpenter said of his 220-pound middle linebacker, the team’s best tackler and a solid runner/ blocker on offense. “He loves football. This is his sport, and it’s tough seeing him not getting the chance to play,” lamented the coach.
With the win, the Vikings are now 5-0 on the season and tied with South Ridge in the District Blue 9 conference.
The Vikings traveled to Ely tonight (Oct. 5) to play the 2-3 Timberwolves. Mountain Iron-Buhl (MIB) comes to town on Friday, October 12 in what should be the toughest game of the year for the Vikings. MIB is 4-1 on the year, and this is a team we could meet in the Section 7 final to get to state. The game starts at 7 p.m. Come out and cheer for your Vikings!
Leave a Reply