Sam O’Phelan had a huge day running the ball against the Isle Huskies last week. A big part of that, of course, were his blockers who sealed off corners for him to run around like this one above. Here lead blocker Dylan Sjogren is followed by Andrew Miller and Ben Trepainer (77) as they “set” the table for O’Phelan by crushing the defensive players trying to stop him from making another big gain on the ground.
Senior running back Sam O’Phelan had a big day on the ground to lead Cook County to a big 36-16 win over the Isle Huskies on Friday, October 7 in a game played at home.
“Sam had a tremendous game with 193 yards on the ground on 23 carries, averaging over eight yards per carry,” said head coach Mitch Dorr.
O’Phelan, who scored four touchdowns, wasn’t the only star player for the Vikings.
“I thought Andrew (Miller) played fantastic on both sides of the ball,” Dorr said. “Defensively he had 14 tackles and three sacks. Senior Noah Roth had a great game blocking very well in our counter series that sprung Sam on some long runs and Mikey Burton stepped in at defensive end and really had a nice game.”
With the win, a very young Viking team is now 3-3 on the season and the Huskies fall to a 2-4 mark.
“The tough news is that we are beat up,” Dorr said. “Ethan (Sporn, sophomore running back and linebacker) is still out with a back injury, and we lost Josh Prom (sophomore starting quarterback) for the season with a severely broken thumb. Also, Jack Haussner (lineman) is doubtful for our game versus Silver Bay.”
Above: Connor Somnis corralled the Isle ball carrier, stopping him from gaining more than a few yards on this play. Right: Jack Haussner made sure the Isle ball carrier didn’t gain one more inch on this play.
Miller led the team with 14 tackles, (7 unassisted and seven assisted). Dillon Sjogren finished with 10 tackles, Haussner 10, O’Phelan 8, Prom 8, Billy Hackett 8, Burton 8, Ben Trepanier 3, Dyami Blackwell 3, and Connor Somnis 3.
The loss of Prom is troubling. He led the team in rushing for the season with 473 yards, averaging 4.5 per carry. He has also passed for 448 yards, throwing for five touchdowns, completing 43.5 percent of his throws. Prom is also the team’s fifth tackler with 45 total tackles. While he will be deeply missed, this will be a chance for some younger players to step up and try to fill those big shoes.
The Vikings play Silver Bay in Silver Bay on Friday, October 14.
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