Sam O’Phelan did all he could to give the Vikings a win against the Northeast Range Knights. On offense, the senior captain churned out 209 yards on the ground and scored three touchdowns. On defense he recorded nine unassisted tackles, 18 overall; but despite his valiant efforts, they weren’t enough as the Vikings fell 52-40 to the Knights in a game played at Babbitt on Wednesday, October 19.
O’Phelan carried the ball 14 times, averaging 14.9 nine yards per run.
Meanwhile Andrew Miller, the Vikings’ quarterback in place of the injured Josh Prom, also came up big, netting 208 yards on the ground on 18 carries. Miller averaged 11.6 yards per carry and scored one touchdown.
Head Coach Mitch Dorr said his kids fought hard, but “We lost a heartbreaker. We just couldn’t score quite as many points as they did. Their big fullback killed us defensively, and we had a tough time bringing him down.
“I thought Sam played really well and led our team. As a team captain, I thought he played well on both sides of the ball,” said Coach Dorr.
Dillon Sjogren led the team in tackles with 19, three unassisted. O’Phelan finished with 18, Billy Hackett 18, Connor Somnis 13, Andrew Miller 12, Mikey Burton 11, Noah Roth seven, Dyami Blackwell three, and Jack Haussner had three tackles.
For the season O’Phelan garnered 855 yards on the ground, averaging 7.7 yards per carry, and he scored nine touchdowns. Sam also caught 11 passes for 102 yards.
Prom, who missed the last two games, finished with 473 rushing yards, averaging 4.5 yards and crossed the goal line four times. Miller carried the ball 455 yards, gaining 7.3 yards per run and scored five touchdowns. And Ethan Sporn, who played four games before being hurt, gained 174 yards from his running back position, picking up 4.8 yards per carry.
Through the air, Prom passed for 448 yards, averaging 14.8 yards per throw. Josh completed 44 percent of his passes and threw five for touchdowns.
Sjogren ended the regular season leading the team in tackles, recording 89. Miller finished with 81, Hackett 80, Sporn 63, O’Phelan 61, Connor Somnis 56, Prom 45, Burton 40, Haussner 38, Blackwell 29, Colton Furlong 23, Ben Trepanier 22, and Noah Roth had 12 tackles.
The Vikings ended their regular season with three wins and five losses.
Leave a Reply