Vikings show improvement but lose to E-PC Wolves in gridiron action
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by Marlys Kruger
Sports Correspondent
PLUM CITY — Although they came out on the low end of the final score, the Viking football team demonstrated a lot of positives when they lost on the road in Plum City to Elmwood-Plum City September 20 by a score of 32-18.
The Vikings had the lead twice in the contest and scored their highest point total of the season. And they pulled off a feat not many teams at any level can do as they recovered two onside kicks in the game.
Colfax started the game by kicking off and they caught the Wolves off guard with Drew Buchner recovering the onside kick by Austin Coates. The Vikings stayed on the ground for the most part and after Theo Hovde moved the ball to the one yard line, Grant Paulus punched it in. The extra point kick was off the mark but the Vikings had their first lead of the season 6-0 with 8:13 left in the first quarter.
Their defense kept the Wolves out of the end zone until the beginning of the second quarter when they used their own running game and scored on a one-yard plunge by Logan Auth from one yard out. Auth ran in the two-point conversion and the half ended with the Vikings down just 8-6.
Colfax regained the lead on a 12-yard touchdown scamper by Hovde but a two-point conversion attempt was thwarted, giving the Vikings a 12-8 lead at the 7:39 mark of the third stanza.
Unfortunately, the Colfax kicker booted the ball deep this time and Sean Sagini took the ball to the house from 75 yards away, and a two-point pass quickly extinguished the Viking lead.
Down 16-12 to start the fourth quarter, the Viking defense allowed Auth to escape for an 18-yard TD run and another two point run boosted the Wolves lead to 24-12.
The Vikings battled back and tacked on six more points with 5:14 on the scoreboard as Hovde snared an eight-yard pass from Austyn Pederson for another touchdown. The Vikings were once again stymied on a conversion play however, and were down 24-18.
The Wolves finished off the game with Auth scoring from nine yards out and they added yet another two-point conversion for the final score.
“The coaches and I were proud of the team’s effort on the road,” head coach Joe Beranek said. “Our kids stood toe to toe with our opponent and didn’t back down from adversity. Buchner recovered the opening onside kick while pouncing on an E-PC fumble in the second half. Coates had a great night punting the ball deep and also set up a great onside kick recovery late in the game,” he added.
The Vikings rushed for 111 yards with Hovde leading the way with 73 yards on nine carries. Pederson completed 5 of 12 passes for 87 yards with one touchdown and a pair of interceptions. Orion Nichols snagged four of those passes for 78 yards while Hovde and Coates both returned a kickoff for 18 and 17 yards respectively.
Defensively, Hovde picked up nine tackles, Paulus and Nichols both added seven while Buchner, Zach Leirmo and Grant Cook all picked up five.
The Wolves rushed for 163 yards with Auth gaining 102 on 20 carries.
This week is the annual homecoming game against Glenwood City at 7:00. There will be a parade before the game and plenty of festivities happening so come on out and cheer our Viking boys on!