Vikings demolish Horsemen in district opener
It’s been three years since the Bigfork
Vikings broke their 28-game losing streak with a victory over
Plains, so perhaps it is only fitting that the defending state
champions gave a little back to the Horsemen on Friday night
allowing them to score their first touchdown of the season.
Giving up the points was clearly
unintentional, but it was the only give that the Vikings had on
Friday night when they defeated Plains in a 56-6 District 7B
blowout.
“We’re 1-0 in district and we’re happy
to be 1-0,” said Bigfork head football coach Todd Emslie. “All the
games leading up to that point have really been meaningless. So
we’re on our way to fulfilling our team goal, which is to make the
playoffs.”
It all started Friday night with a
touchdown by senior Ian Lorang off a 39-yard pass play from senior
quarterback Colter Mahlum. A few minutes later senior Cody Dopps
made it a 14-0 game with a touchdown run from 16 yards out.
Plains took in its touchdown midway
through the first quarter on a 91-yard interception return. The
extra-point kick failed, which left the score at 14-6 as Bigfork
kicker senior Dillon Charlebois was 8-8 in extra-point kicks for
the night.
On the following play Lorang took a
83-yard kickoff return into the end zone to extend Bigfork’s lead
to 21-6.
“Ian Lorang continues to impress and to
‘wow,’” Emslie said.
The second quarter opened with a series
of three consecutive Bigfork touchdowns in a little more than three
minutes of play. Junior Austin Jordt was responsible for the first
one after taking the ball in on a 46-yard run.
“Austin Jordt just continues to show
his athleticism,” Emslie said.
Dopps followed with two back-to-back
touchdowns. The first was off an interception, which he returned
from 17-yards out. Then he took the ball back into the end zone
with a 17-yard rushing play.
“Cody had another phenomenal game on
both sides of the football,” Emslie said. “He can score on every
side of the football — offense, defense, special teams — and he
continues to prove it every week.”
Midway through the second quarter
senior linebacker Ron Loudermilk picked up an interception and ran
it in for a touchdown from 14 yards out.
“I was happy to see Ron Loudermilk get
in the end zone,” Emslie said. “He works so hard.”
Around that time Emslie pulled the
majority of his first string players and gave his younger players
some time on the field during the remainder of the game. One of
those players was sophomore Boyd Rieke, who was the only player to
score in the second half. He took the ball in from 6-yards out
halfway through the third quarter.
Despite swapping out players early on,
the Vikings still accumulated 237 yards of total offense, including
181 rushing yards, while holding Plains to just 82 yards of total
offense.
“It’s hard to get a lot out of a game
like that, but we played well,” Emslie said. “The varsity just
didn’t get four quarters of work in.”
Although the game didn’t do much for
giving the varsity players experience, it was beneficial for the
younger players.
“I think it is worth noting that the
future is bright, which was witnessed by everyone who saw all those
younger kids play,” Emslie said. “A lot of kids got to touch the
ball again on Friday. That’s sort of who we are as a team now. It’s
neat to look back and know that everyone got to play. I know the
seniors would like to play every minute of every game, but because
of who they are they understand the importance of getting those
younger kids out on the field. Our seniors are just great athletes,
sportsmen and leaders.”
Dopps was the Vikings’ rushing leader
with 73 yards in six carries. Jordt followed with 57 yards in two
carries.
None of Bigfork’s players had more than
one catch on the night, though senior Ryan Hayes’ big aerial catch
made him the leading receiver as his was a 39-yarder.
Mahlum completed four of his attempted
nine passes on the night for a total of 56 yards. He had one
interception.
Junior Matt Edwards led on defense with
six tackles. Senior newcomer Hayden George and junior Josh Sather
made big contributions as well with four tackles apiece.
“Dillon Fraley is really becoming a
college-type football player,” Emslie said. “And, with Blake
Weimer, Austin Cantrell, Austin Curtis, Connor Coleman and Kevin
Countie offenses have their hands full.”
The Vikings defense is not only keeping
its opponents out of the end zone, but also helping Bigfork’s
offense stay productive on the scoreboard.
“I thought our line played really
well,” Emslie said. “From watching film our offensive line is
really starting to sustain blocks and that’s really good to
see.”
Next Up
The Vikings host their Homecoming
football game at 7 p.m. on Friday night against Troy.
“We’ll work this week to get ready for
Troy,” Emslie said. “It’s our second district game of the season.
This is our most important game of the season so far.”
A tailgate barbecue will be held at
5:30 p.m. at the west end of the field to celebrate the occasion.
There is a suggested donation of $5 for the meal.
Homecoming royalty will be crowned at
halftime.