Vikings fall in home opener; beaten on ground, through the air by Glenwood City

By Cara L. Dempski

COLFAX — When a team plays in a conference of teams concerned with details and keeping every piece of every play in focus, looking at the big picture for a whole game can make wins hard to come by.

Colfax coach Matt DeMoe’s motto this year for the Vikings is “Do Your Job,” and he seems frustrated when he sees his team concentrating less on the details than on how to mitigate any damage incurred.

Such was the case in Colfax’s 53-24 loss to Glenwood City last Friday, September 8 in the Vikings’ 2017 home football opener.

“About 20 percent of the plays, we were in the right spot,” DeMoe said. “The rest of the time, we were just looking at the big picture. They looked at the big picture and not their piece.”

It was not until late in the third quarter and through the fourth that the Vikings’ gridiron gang could get things moving.

The home team got outrun by the Hilltoppers, with the visiting GC squad rushing for 261 yards to Colfax’s 101, and was out-thrown 216 to 147.

The Toppers wasted little time getting on the board, punching Jake Nelson through the line to score six with 6:41 still to play in the first. The two-point conversion run failed, leaving the Glenwood City team on top 6-0.

The Hilltoppers struck again a little over two minutes later after a three-and-out series from Colfax left them with decent field position to hit pay dirt a second time. Glenwood City senior Jacob Nelson nabbed a pass from Pete Hill for a 31-yard completion and another six points. Hill connected next with Carson Strong for the PAT to lift the visitors to 14-0 at 4:27 in the first.

Glenwood City continued to run and pass effectively in the second, tacking up a trio of TDs to take a 34-0 lead into halftime. The Toppers’ Nelson added a second score, this one on a 23-yard run, and the two-point conversion run to make it 22-0. GC quarterback Pete Hill then tossed his second scoring pass hitting Jacob Kopacz on a 50-yard score with Dakota Dean-Immerman adding the PAT. Ethan Kahler capped the Toppers’ second frame with a 70-yard run.

The Toppers chalked a pair of scoring drives to open the second half, with a 68-yard pass play connection between Hill and Nelson, and a seven-yard sprint to the goal line by Caleb Peterson to take a 47-lead into the fourth quarter.

Colfax was threatening to score in the closing seconds of the third quarter, and made good on the try when sophomore quarterback Noah Albricht found senior Adam Pretasky open just shy of the goal line. The senior wheeled around and carried the ball over the line for the Vikings’ first score of the game. Brett Schindler threaded his way through the Topper defense for the conversion run, making the score 47-8 with 12:00 still to play.

Ethan Hanson put up a final touchdown for the Hilltoppers with a 30-yard race to the goal line with 3:09 left in the game, making the score 53-8 after a failed PAT, but the Vikings were not quite finished.

Treyton Teige nabbed a 17-yard pass from Albricht to put up another six points, and then Dalton Schotter reeled in Albricht’s toss for the conversion to lift the score to 53-16 with only 1:15 to play.

The very next play, the Vikings’ final kickoff of the game, resulted in Glenwood City fumbling the caught ball and Colfax’s Trey Hovde conveniently being close enough by to simply fall on it to take possession.

With only :40 left to play, Teige raced 60 yards to score his second touchdown in less than a minute. Albricht tagged Pretasky for the PAT, leaving the Vikings trailing 53-24.

The Glenwood City squad let the remaining time drain off the clock to earn their first conference win of 2017, while Colfax fell to 1-3 on the season and 0-2 in conference games.

Teige led Colfax’s ground game with 60 yards, while Brett Schindler trailed him with 45 yards. Albricht, who finished 14-23 for 147 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, connected with Tommy Anderson for three receptions and 71 yards, while Teige and Pretasky each had a touchdown reception.

While Glenwood City did not have a 100-yard rusher, it had five with at least 25 yards or more led by Jake Nelson’s 89 yards and Ethan Kahler’s 79. Nelson also caught three passes, two for scores, for 144 yards. GC quarterback Pete Hill finished 9-15 for 269 yards with three scoring throws and an interception.

The Vikings are now preparing to take on the Mounders at Elk Mound September 15 before focusing on non-conference contest at home against Fall Creek September 22.

GLENWOOD CITY 53, COLFAX 24
Glenwood City……14  20  13    6 — 53
Colfax……..…………0    0    0  24 — 24

First quarter
GC — P. Hill 1-yd. run (kick blocked), 6:41; GC — J. Nelson 31-yd. pass from P. Hill (C. Strong pass from P. Hill, 4:27.

Second quarter
GC — J. Nelson 23-yd. run (J. Nelson run), 8:39; GC — J. Kopacz 50-yd. pass from P. Hill (D. Dean Immerman kick), 7:12; GC — E. Kahler 70-yd. run (kick blocked), 2:16.

Third quarter
GC — J. Nelson 68-yd. pass from P. Hill (kick fail), 8:25; GC — C. Peterson 7-yd. run (Lagerstrom kick), 5:24.

Fourth quarter
C — A. Pretasky 11-yd. pass from N. Albricht (B. Schindler run), 12:00; GC — E. Hanson 30-yd. run (G. Johnson run), 3:09; C — T. Teige 17-yd. pass from N. Albricht (D. Schotter pass from N. Albricht), 1:15; C — T. Teige 60-yd. run (A. Pretasky pass from N. Albricht), :40.

Individual Statistics

Rushing (att-yds): GC (34-261) — J. Nelson 7-94, E. Kahler 4-78, J. Kopacz 10-44, E. Hanson 3-24, D. Loring 2-20, C. Peterson 1-7, P. Hill 4-(-3), A. Grant 1-(-4); C (25-101) — T. Teige 1-60, B. Schindler 15-45, J. Welk 1-5, T. Hovde 2-1, M. Harmon 3-1, N. Albricht 3-(-11).

Receiving (rec-yds): GC (10-216) — J. Nelson 3-104, C. Strong 5-62, J. Kopacz 1-50, O. Wagner 1-0; C (14-147) — T. Anderson 3-71, T. Teige 4-20, A. Pretasky 3-29, D. Schotter 2-11, B. Schindler 1-10, M. Harmon 1-(-4).

Passing (comp-att-yds-int): GC (10-14-216-1) — P. Hill 10-14-216-1; C (14-23-147-1) — N. Albricht 14-23-147-1.