After breaking several tackles Peter Warren dove into the endzone to score a touchdown against recent foe Chisholm. Warren scored two touchdowns against Mesabi East in the Vikings’ last win. The Vikings face Deer River this Saturday, October 29 in the Section 7A playoffs.
Cook County made little work of the Chisholm Bluestreaks last Wednesday, beating their rival 54-6 and sealing the conference crown with a perfect 6-0 record in Polar League Red conference play. This is Cook County’s 12th conference championship in football.
The score could have been worse for the Bluestreaks, but the Vikings throttled their attack back in the second half and even gave up a last-second touchdown to Chisholm as the game was winding to a merciful close.
The Vikings scored touchdowns on the ground, through the air, and once again on special teams when Dylan Quaife ran back a punt.
Early first quarter action saw the Vikings march down the field and score their first touchdown on a one-yard run from Dylan Quaife. Colin Everson’s extra point kick failed and the Vikings were up 6-0.
Chisholm looked like they were going to make a game of it when their kick-off return man ran the ensuing kick back to (about) the Viking 3 yard line. However the Vikings stuffed Chisholm’s first running play and caused a fumble, recovering it on the next play. A few minutes later the Vikings were up 14-0 after Mike Sjogren completed a 5-yard pass to Everson. Starting quarterback Kale Boomer, who had been out for three games with a knee injury, threw to Sjogren for the two-point conversion.
Talk about a shoestring tackle! Defenders need to get a hold of more than Dylan Quaife’s shoestrings to bring him down. Quaife ran for 20 more yards on this play.
Chisholm once again took possession of the ball on a nice kick-off return to bring the ball near mid-field. After moving the ball into first down range however, the center snapped the ball over the quarterback’s head and another drive ended.
A short punt gave the Vikings the ball back 60 yards away from touchdown land and a couple of minutes later Peter Warren ran 5 yards through a listless defensive line for another touchdown. The first quarter ended 21-0.
The second quarter was more of the same. The Vikings moved the ball at will. Quaife scored untouched on a 48-yard run (kick failed) and Boomer threw a one-yard pass to Sjogren for a touchdown (kick was good).
Once Mike Sjogren turns the corner he’s hard to catch. Here he dekes out a defender on his way to the endzone.
The Vikings went into halftime up 34-0.
Third quarter action saw Sjogren scamper 52 yards for a score and then catch the two-point conversion pass from Boomer. Warren rushed five yards for the Vikings’ next score (kick failed) and Quaife, as he’s had the tendency to do this season, ran a punt (67 yards) back for a touchdown. The two-point conversion failed and left the Vikings up 54-0 going into the fourth quarter.
The only excitement in the fourth quarter was when a Chisholm player was hurt and the ambulance took him off the field to be checked at the hospital. The initial prognosis is that he was just stunned and should be fine.
Coaches picked the offensive line for the Offensive Player of the game. “We were totally outsized and dominated from start to finish,” said Head Coach Mitch Dorr.
The offensive linemen are Justin Goldstein, Bradley VanDoren, Gunnar Anderson, Jonny Jacobsen, Jacob Schroeder, Clay Johnson and Colin Everson. They allowed the running backs and quarterbacks to gain 511 yards on the ground.
Gunnar Anderson was named Defensive Player of the Game for his 9 tackles, a fumble recovery and a sack. Clay Johnson had 6 tackles, Peter Warren 5 tackles and the following six players had 4 tackles: Brad VanDoren, Mike Sjogren Kale Boomer, Jacob Schroeder, Ben Krostka, and Noah Warren. Justine Goldstein, Colin Everson and Levi Axtell all contributed 3 tackles.
For the day Dylan Quaife had 12 carries for 218 yards and caught two balls for 40 yards; Sjogren had 6 carries for 131 yards; Warren carried 7 times for 61 yards; Ben Krostka carried 9 times for 51 yards; Boomer ran 6 times for 30 yards; and Mark Marxen gained 16 yards on 6 carries.
Getting Kale back out on the field also gave the team a boost. “It was great to have another weapon and Kale really gives us options in our passing attack. We now have two quarterbacks and teams are going to have to find a way to stop both.”
Speaking of his team, Dorr said, “I’m really proud of this group of young men. They are totally team players and a close-knit group of guys. It has been a blessing to be part of this season.”
Vikings beat Mesabi East
The Vikings played perhaps their best game of the season in a first-round win over the Mesabi East Giants on Monday, October 24 at Anderson Field when they went deep into the fourth quarter up 54-0.
While the Vikings used an imposing running game, they also mixed in the pass very well, and kept their opponents’ defense off-kilter the entire game. It was a recipe for a sweet win that left a sour taste in the mouths of the Giants.
The Vikings used two long drives in the first quarter to takes 14-0 lead into the second quarter. Garret Larson, Mesabi East’s talented quarterback, kept things interesting as he carried the ball on nearly every play for the Giants. Occasionally Larson would rumble for 10 or 15 yards and he kept the chains moving for his team while keeping the Viking offense off of the field. But he couldn’t get into the end zone.
Late in the second quarter the Vikings scored on a pass play from Kale Boomer to Mike Sjogren to go into the locker room up 28-0.
Dylan Quaife squashed any hopes for the Giants on the first play of the third quarter on a long kick-off return for a touchdown. Quaife started up the middle and dodged a few tacklers before getting to the outside and racing down the sideline past the lumbering Giants.
Although it’s always exciting, Quaife has made this routine this year, either scoring on a punt or kick-off in nearly every game the Vikings have played.
Back on September 16, the Vikings traveled to Mesabi East and beat the Giants 39-6. This time the win was more convincing as the kids put up 54 points while holding their counterparts scoreless for most of the game.
The Vikings played the B-team in the fourth quarter while Mesabi kept their varsity players on the field. Mesabi managed two touchdowns as their season wound to a close.
The Giants ended with a 2-7 record. The Vikings are now 7-1.
The Vikings play Deer River on Saturday, October 29 at Deer River. Deer River is ranked second and the Vikings ranked third in the section. The game starts at 2 p.m.
More highlights from this game will be available as well as the highlights from the game against Deer River next week.
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