Vikings headed out

BIGFORK — There are few, if any, Class B schools in the state that offer as many athletic opportunities for their students as Bigfork.

Even after that offering shrunk by one.

Vikings Activities Coordinator Dave Creamer announced on Wednesday that the Vikings would be forfeiting the remainder of their Class A boys soccer schedule, canceling the season due to an inadequate number of participating students. There is no Class B soccer in Montana.

“We offer more sports than any other Class B school and we’re proud of that, but sometimes our students get spread a little thin,” Creamer wrote in a press release. “We regret this for the student-athletes who wanted to play and practiced the last three weeks. We also regret it for the schools who won’t get a game or will have to find another opponent.”

Last week, Bigfork made known it would forfeit its first two matches of the season but had remained hopeful additional players would join the team and allow for the season to be played. When that did not happen, the Vikings decided to pull the plug.

In the press release announcing the cancellation of the season, Creamer was optimistic the team would return next year.

“We are hopeful that some younger students show some interest in soccer so we can show the MHSA that we will have enough to field a team in 2017,” he wrote.

Bigfork’s girls soccer team will play its season as scheduled, although any prolonged absence of the Vikings’ boys program could jeopardize the girls program as well in future years. Boys and girls soccer teams in Montana play matching schedules.

The Vikings were 2-9-0 last season and reached the state tournament three straight consecutive seasons from 2012-14.