The North Battleford Comprehensive Junior Vikings dominated in all facets of the game en route to a 50-8 romp of the Prince Albert Junior Crusaders Wednesday night at Beaver Lions Stadium.
Vikings coach Mike Humenny said the win was "a full team effort."
"We went to the bench and it was good to see some of the guys working hard in practice all year getting some touches on offence and making some plays. It's positive all around."
Special teams kicked the game off on a positive note for NBCHS and foreshadowed the rest of the evening's game. The Vikings forced a Crusaders' fumble on the opening kickoff. Chase Bartko jumped on the loose ball, setting up the Vikings with great starting field position.
On the ensuing drive, Vikings quarterback Damon Dutton led his team down the field. After a first-down run of 17 yards, the Vikings were pushed back on back-to-back penalties. Dutton responded by completing two passes, the second a 28-yard touchdown to Rett Taggart.
Penalties were a common theme for the Vikings over the course of the game. Humenny said penalties have been "biting" them in all of their games so far.
"We've been preaching to the guys to be aggressive, but sometimes it's the mental penalties for running our mouths a little bit or procedures. So that's stuff we're going to have to clean up."
Following a forced punt, backup quarterback Riley Rathwell led the first-team offence onto the field. Humenny said it was part of the plan all week to get him some reps.
"We just wanted to get him some time with our starters and not just when the backups are in to get him some quality reps. He stepped up and did very well for us today."
Tailback Jesse Sankey was the key on the Vikings' second drive. He rushed for 47 yards and a touchdown in that drive alone. The touchdown gave NBCHS a 14-0 lead.
The Vikings continued to stand tall on defence, setting up the offence with great field position again. The ground game was working on their third drive. Presley Peterson picked up 39 yards on a reverse, followed by a 12-yard scramble from Dutton. The quarterback finished the drive with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Chase Aimoe.
Sankey had another successful drive before the end of the first half. He broke off a 44-yard run to set up the Vikings on Prince Albert's 12-yard line. He capped the drive with his second major of the game with a 12-yard touchdown run, giving the Vikings a 28-0 lead at the halfway mark.
It was more of the same after halftime. On the second play of the second half, Logan Spence broke a couple of tackles during his 66-yard touchdown run.
The Vikings' defence forced a turnover on Prince Albert's first drive of the third quarter. Josh Wilk intercepted the Prince Albert quarterback and returned the ball 40 yards to the Prince Albert one-yard line. On the next play, Nick Black punched in the touchdown for a 42-0 lead.
The Prince Albert offence began moving the ball on their next drive. Starting on their own 18-yard line, they advanced to their 31-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.
NBCHS used the good field position to tack on another touchdown. On a designed reverse run, Austin Chakita picked up a 26-yard touchdown with help from great downfield blocks from offensive lineman Apete Tuiloma. It gave the Vikings a 50-0 lead.
The Crusaders got on the board late in the fourth quarter. Bolstered by a 40-yard rush, Prince Albert scored a late touchdown and two-point conversion to make it a 50-8 game.
The Vikings (3-1) hit the road for their next game. They take on the Ledingham Steelers (0-4). It will be the Vikings' third game in eight days. Humenny said it's a "tough" stretch, but were preparing for it since they saw the schedule.
