Vikings defense applies pressure, shuts out Ronan

The Bigfork Vikings football team chalked up a landslide 47-0 victory Friday at Ronan.

Going into the game head coach Todd Emslie anticipated a tough match against a well-coached team, and he was happy with the results.

“To shut out a team like that is pretty cool,” he said.

Though the Vikings never allowed Ronan into the end zone the whole game was hard fought.

“There was no give up on either side,” Emslie said.

Josh Sandry scored twice in the first half, with extra points kicked by Jon Landon, giving Bigfork an early 14-0 lead. Vinny Quirk found the end zone with nine minutes left in the second half and the Vikes finished the half with a 20-0 lead. Quirk scored again with 3:45 left in the third. With almost a minute left Sandry intercepted a pass from Ronan’s Justin Krahn for another Bigfork touchdown.

Quirk got his hands on the ball again early in the fourth for a sixth Bigfork touchdown, and Matthew Farrier snuck into the end zone shortly after for Bigfork’s last score of the game.

Bigfork’s defense excelled against Ronan and contributed significantly to the victory. Isaac Martel had three interceptions against Ronan.

“The defense applied some pressure, and created some turnovers for us,” Emslie said. The Vikings host Shelby on Friday at 7 p.m. for Bigfork’s homecoming.

Though Shelby is coming into the game after a loss to Glasgow, Emslie is prepping the players for a tough game, similar to their first outing of the season. “Shelby is a senior-laden team,” he said. “They’re a lot like Choteau.”

Total offensive yards— Bigfork 308, Ronan 89

Number of plays— Bigfork 58, Ronan 48; Total passing yards— Bigfork 63, Ronan 88; Yards rushing— Bigfork 245, Ronan 1; Yards receiving —Bigfork 63, Ronan 88; Turnovers—Bigfork 0, Ronan 7