Senior Noah Warren (62) played with a lot of energy, enthusiasm and fire in the Vikings’ last 11-man football game against Barnum.
The Cook County High School football team dropped its last game of the season against the Barnum Bombers by a score of 24-8 on Wednesday, October 15, 2014. This marks the last time the Vikings will play 11-man football. Next year the team will drop down to 9-man due to the school’s shrinking student population.
With only a handful of younger players on the bench, the Vikings’ 11 iron men played offense and defense with virtually no substitutions.
First quarter play was sluggish, with Barnum scoring 6 points near the end of the period behind its running game. The Vikings didn’t have a first down in the first quarter, and looked tired and inefficient as they dropped passes and couldn’t establish a run game.
“We started the game with little energy, which was the last thing we expected,” said Head Coach Mitch Dorr of the team’s Homecoming game. “We seemed like we were thinking about the outcome of the game rather than engaging in it.”
Above: The Vikings’ punter, Andrew Lashinski, sent the ball skyward against Barnum. Right: Senior tight end Travis Bradley made a fine catch against Barnum.
Barnum scored its second touchdown in the second quarter and once again failed to convert on its extra point try for two points.
The Vikings managed a couple of first downs and went into the locker room down 12-0. Except for the frenetic play of offensive tackle/defensive end Noah Warren, most of the Vikings seemed as if they were still tired from their match-up against the Mesabi East Giants played four days earlier.
During the third quarter the Vikings began to move the ball a little bit. Vikings quarterback Leo Johnson hit Owen Anderson and Travis Bradley with some nice passes and the team was able to advance the ball.
Meanwhile Barnum scored its third touchdown but once again failed to convert on its extra point try for two points. Down 18-0 going into the fourth quarter it looked as if the Vikings just didn’t have the energy to compete with this Barnum team that has also faced its share of injuries this season.
Early in the fourth quarter one explosive play changed the tone of the game when Johnson hit Anderson with a deep pass for a touchdown. The Vikings converted their try for two points to trail 18-8 and were re-energized.
After stopping Barnum on its next offensive series the Vikings’ quick strike offense lit up the Barnum defense again when another Johnson to Anderson long bomb took the ball to the Bombers 15 yard line. With 9 minutes on the clock and the Vikings knocking on the door again it looked like the ballgame was up for grabs.
A touchdown here would have put the Vikings right back into the game, but Barnum blitzed on successive plays and sacked Johnson for big losses. The Vikings turned the ball over on downs and the Bombers methodically marched down the field to score their fourth and final touchdown to seal the win 24-8.
For the game Barnum recorded 16 first downs to the Vikings 7. Owen Anderson rushed 31 yards on 7 carries while Jack Wieben rushed 19 yards on 7 carries. Johnson was 9-29 for 110 yards through the air but he was sacked 7 times for a loss of 45 yards.
On defense Wieben and Anderson led the team with 11 tackles each while Noah Warren and Travis Bradley finished with 10 tackles; four of Bradley’s tackles were for a loss.
This was the last game for seniors Jamie Wick, Richie Furlong, Noah Warren, Travis Bradley and Andy Farley. Coach Dorr commented on his outgoing players, “It has been a rough go for the seniors over the past two years, but we really appreciate all of their effort and hard work. Travis Bradley has been a nice addition this year and fit right in with our guys. We look forward to recognizing each of our seniors at our banquet on Sunday, October 26,” Dorr said.
The team finished 0-8 for the season, but the Vikings’ younger players won most games they played this fall.
“We do have a nice group of junior high players coming up, but without the weight room, that is what [not winning] will continue to be. Really nice junior high players that thought getting older would make them better. In football in today’s world, that isn’t how it works. Our program has to get back in the weight room if we are going to change the direction of the program,” Dorr said.
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