Above: Senior wide receiver Dylan Quaife is having a great year for the Vikings. Quaife is a strong, sure-handed receiver who also has a good bit of leg speed to run by any defenders he doesn’t knock down. On defense he covers wide receivers and he also runs back punts and kick-offs. Right: How good has the Vikings’ defense been this season? Following an opening season loss to Esko the Vikings have given up 24 points over the last three games. The kids rarely give up a big play, stick to their assignments and tackle well. As head coach Mitch Dorr said, “The defense is getting better every week.”
The Cook County Vikings extended their Polar League North conference record to 3-0 when they faced the Ely Timberwolves last Friday night in Ely, coming away with a 16-6 victory.
The win is the third in a row for the Vikes, who lost an opening round match against 3A opponent Esko.
Once again the Vikings were led by their stout defense, which limited Ely to very few yards in the game. Because of a glitch in the game film, no stats are available for this game.
Meanwhile, the Vikings mustered just enough offense to take control of the contest. The first score came late in the first quarter when the Vikings forced Ely into a safety. The defense pinned the Timberwolves near the goal line and forced a fourth down punt. The center sailed the ball over the punter’s head and through the end zone, giving the Vikings a 2-0 lead.
Midway through the second period the Vikings scored a touchdown and converted the extra point to lead 9-0 at the half.
According to head coach Mitch Dorr, “Mike Sjogren [senior captain] stepped up huge in Ely and made some fantastic catches for us. One was a touchdown on a fourth down and one was a key diving catch to keep a drive alive. He really stepped up and played big!”
The defense had a great game for the Vikings, giving up only one big play, a long touchdown pass.
“Bradley VanDoren continues to impress at the defensive tackle position and I thought Justine Goldstein played a great game defensively! He is really improving each week.
“While the offense struggled, our defense is really playing great football. They scored on one long pass play, but other than that, our defense was near perfect in Ely.”
The Vikings had chances to score more points—a couple of touchdown passes were dropped in the end zone—and a couple of plays were nullified by mistakes.
In some potentially bad news for the Vikings, Kale Boomer hurt his knee in practice this week and is now on crutches. Kale is having a great season at quarterback and has rounded into one of the team’s finest defensive players at his linebacker spot. He was having the injury checked out on Thursday in Duluth. The good news is the Vikings don’t have a game this week.
The Vikings get a walkover win over Carlton on Friday, September 30 because Carlton cancelled its football season. On October 7, the Vikings play East Central at East Central and then play at home on October 14 against Ogilvie.
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