Frosh football team gets first win since 2006 in St. Ignatius

The Bigfork Vikings football program got its first taste of victory since the 2006 season last Tuesday when the froshmore team shut out St. Ignatius on the road 25-0.

"It was great," said Bigfork High School Assistant Football Coach Jim Epperly. "The kids were so excited, but Carter Sorenson getting hurt put a damper on their enthusiasm. He really played a good game. Getting a win, and having that experience, was really rewarding for them, though."

Sorenson, a junior, was hit during a play at the beginning of the third quarter, which resulted in a lacerated kidney. Sorenson is still being treated at Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

Hospital spokesman Jim Oliverson said Sorenson is in stable condition. Oliverson did not know for certain when the teenager would be released from Kalispell Regional.

"His last game of the year was like a highlight reel, so at least he'll have that," Epperly said.

Sorenson, who was playing quarterback, threw the first touchdown pass of the game, a 25-yard pass to Conner Coleman in the second quarter.

Sorenson then turned around and kicked the extra point for the Vikings, which was good. Later in the second quarter, Sorenson scored again for Bigfork on a 15-yard run. The extra point was unsuccessful.

Then, in the early minutes of the third quarter, Sorenson scored his last touchdown of the season. Sophomore Colter Mahlum was in at quarterback and threw a 30-yard pass to Sorenson, who stretched out to catch the ball and was hit by a St. Ignatius safety on a quick slant. His helmet smacked into Sorenson's hip; Sorenson turned and continued to the end zone on a 20-yard run for a touchdown.

Following the play Sorenson left the field and was examined by on-site emergency crew members.

Sorenson returned to Bigfork with his team. Later that night his father, Chris, took him to the emergency room at Kalispell Regional Medical Center. He is expected to be released from the hospital sometime in the next week.

"He was one of the veteran players, so it hurts to be without him," Epperly said. "Some of the younger kids are going to have to step it up."

Freshman Colter Trent scored Bigfork's final touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter off of a 20-yard pass from Mahlum. The Vikings attempted a 2-point conversion, as they did with their third quarter touchdown, both of which failed.

"I thought everyone played really well," Epperly said. "When they got ahead, they got really excited and pumped up. I was really proud of them. For them, it was a good encouragement to keep working hard and it let them know that they can do it. In sports you're not going to win every game, unless you're a really special team, but you have to win once in awhile to keep your team on the right track and keep the practices meaningful. So for the program, it was a big step."

Epperly said he was impressed by the effort shown by all of his athletes.

"Hank McLeod rushed really well," Epperly said. "He had close to 100 yards. The offensive line did a great job of opening things up. Conner Coleman and Dillon Fraley did a really good job defensively."

Monday night's game did not go well for the Vikings, though, when they traveled to Missoula to take on Loyola and lost 56-0.

"We tried a whole new offensive line and we couldn't get anything to work right," Epperly said.

Monday's team was a very different lineup than last week's with nine more athletes gaining eligibility in between games. The offensive line was completely swapped out, and many of the boys on the team were playing in their first high school football game ever.

"They had to start somewhere," Epperly said. "Now they have their first game out of the way. It was good experience for them."

Bigfork was down 43-0 at the end of the first half and a running clock was used for the second half of the game. Although the score did not reflect it, Epperly said he saw good things from several of the Vikings players.

"Dale Bowen did really well at nose guard," Epperly said. "Jackson Boese, I saw him really giving a good effort out there. He batted some balls down, had a sack and got our only first down of the game. Also, David Bratcher played really hard and was in on some good tackles."

Junior Kenji Sagami had a good showing against Loyola as well. He caught a kickoff return and ran it for 80 yards before being stopped on the five-yard line. Bigfork almost got on the board then, but a penalty was called on the next play.

Sagami, who also caught an interception in the game, played on the Vikings' varsity team last year, but transferred to Flathead High School last year and is therefore ineligible to play varsity sports during the fall season now that he has returned to BHS.

He is currently in the process of applying for a waiver that would exempt him from the Montana High School Association policy.

Mahlum took on the quarterback duties for most of Monday's game, with Trent filling in at times.

"Mahlum did a good job at quarterback," Epperly said. "He played with a lot of heart and some real toughness. He took some hard shots out there. He played well at middle linebacker for us too."

The froshmore team plays their next game at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 28 at home against Eureka. They were supposed to have a game against Plains in Hot Springs on Monday, but it has been canceled.