Viking football team sunk by Turtle Lake Lakers
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COLFAX senior quarterback Drew Buchner attempted to pull away from a Turtle Lake tackler during the conference contest played September 13 in Colfax. —photo by Marlys Kruger
by Marlys Kruger
Sports Correspondent
COLFAX — A year ago, the Colfax football team traveled to Turtle Lake for a game and came oh-so-close to coming home with a win. But things full apart and they ended up losing to the Lakers in the last minute. The Lakers came to Colfax last Friday the 13th and any hopes of the Vikings getting revenge and earning a conference win disappeared midway through the third quarter as they lost 40-7.
Colfax had not played a varsity game in two weeks after having to forfeit to Spring Valley last week due to not having enough healthy players. This week wasn’t looking too promising either, with two of the five senior starters playing with injuries. Starting quarterback Drew Buchner moved to a running back position because of a shoulder problem and receiver Theo Hovde played with a huge cast on his hand, limiting his catching abilities. Both players played in their defensive back positions as well. But the Vikings did their best to keep the game close, and if a couple of the balls had bounced their way the score may have been different.
The Lakers took the opening kickoff to their own 30 and after several running plays took the ball in for a score and an extra point kick with 8:19 left in the first quarter made it 7-0.
After Austin Coates ran the ensuing kickoff back to the Viking 41, sophomore quarterback Austyn Pederson had a third down pass intercepted. With the ball in the Lakers possession, Buchner and Hovde broke up a pass attempt and Buchner saved a touchdown with a hard tackle, but the Lakers threw for another TD pass from 10 yards out. The kick was missed but the Lakers were up 13-0 at the 4:42 mark of the quarter. Making matters worse, senior lineman Nathan Boesl had left the game with a leg injury.
Colfax battled back and after Pederson ran for a first down, Hovde ran for positive yards then the two of them connected on a 13-yard pass for a first down at the Laker 24. A pass that lost yardage and an incomplete pass along with a Viking penalty made it fourth and 15 however, and they punted the ball away.
COLFAX sophomore Austin Coates broke off a long run in the fourth quarter against Turtle Lake September 13 in Colfax.
—photo by Marlys Kruger
Moving into the second stanza, the Viking defense stymied the Lakers and they were forced to punt the ball back to Colfax.Starting at their own 42, Buchner ran for nine yards and Grant Paulus picked up a pair of first downs which included a 25-yard gain. Pederson tacked on 10 yards and on first and 10, Hovde found the end zone from 11 yards out. An extra point kick by Austin Coates put the Vikings back into the game, down 13-7 with 6:59 to go in the half.
The Vikings defense came up big once again when Orion Nichols recovered a Laker fumble on the Colfax 39 on a first down run. But, the Vikings gave the ball right back after a completed pass resulted in a fumble and the Lakers fell on the ball. Colfax held their ground once agian, forcing them to punt. A fair catch was called by the Colfax return man and he fumbled the ball, allowing the Lakers to recover on the Viking 11 yard line.On their first play from scrimmage, Turtle Lake scored on a run by Brody Tarman and the extra point made it 20-7.
With just 1:39 left in the half, the Vikings started at their own 43 after a good kickoff return by Buchner, Pederson connected with Hovde on a 23-yard pass and a 15-yard connection with Nichols, but on third down from the 18, his pass was picked off. The defensive player took off down the sideline but luckily a Viking player chased him down and the half ended at 20-7.
Colfax started in good field position after Coates brought the second-half kickoff to the 50 yard line, but they were unable to move the ball much further. After punting the ball away, the Lakers moved downfield before Hovde made a sliding interception on the Colfax 9 yard line to stop the drive. Disaster struck once more when Pederson’s short pass attempt was picked off by Tarman and he took it to the house from 10 yards out. The kick was blocked but it was 26-7 for the Lakers.
The Vikings next drive stalled and another punt ensued.
Moving into the fourth quarter, the Lakers rushed their way down field, culminating in a 10-yard touchdown and a two-point conversion, upping their lead to 34-7 just 15 seconds into the stanza. Colfax turned the ball over on downs when a fourth and 13 pass completion to Hovde went for only 10 yards. The Lakers tacked on a final score on a three-yard run with 4:37 to go in the game, and the Vikings offense fizzled again to end the game.
The Vikings rushed for 155 yards in the game, led by Paulus with 55, Pederson and Buchner with 26 each and Hovde had 25. Hovde snagged three passes for 64 yards while Nichols caught one for 15. Pederson completed four passes for 74 yards in his varsity debut and Coates gained 69 yards on three kickoff returns.Hovde led the defense with 10 tackles with his one interception while Buchner, Paulus and Liam Schotter all had five.
The Lakers rushed for 258 yards and gained 85 yards through the air.
Colfax (0-2, 0-4) will take on fellow winless foe Elmwood-Plum City (0-2, 0-4) in Plum City this Friday, Setpember 20 in another Dunn-St. Croix contest. The Wolves are coming off a 44-13 home loss to unbeaten Boyceville.