North Battleford Comprehensive High School jumped out to a 14-point lead early in the game and didn't look back as the Junior Vikings downed the Saskatoon Falcons 28-14 in high school football Sunday afternoon at Beaver Lions Stadium.
Vikings coach Mike Humenny said the team minimized mistakes in their first outing, which led to success on the field.
"I think on both sides of the ball, offence and defence, we came out, we controlled the line of scrimmage and we just played a very fundamentally sound game," said Humenny. "I think we did some really good things today."
The Vikings began the game with a 63-yard touchdown drive. Quarterback Damon Dutton marched the team down the field and into the red zone, completing four passes for 59 yards on the drive. Tailback JT Lamb's two-yard touchdown run capped off the drive and gave the Vikings a 6-0 lead.
After forcing the Falcons to punt, the Vikings offence took over possession at their own 20 yard line. They again took the ball down the field through a balanced running and passing attack. Tailback Logan Spence ran for 25 yards on the drive. Dutton had two big plays through the air to wideout Zach Wolfe, the second a 39-yard touchdown strike. The Vikings converted the two-point attempt to go up 14-0.
In the second quarter. the Falcons got on the board with a touchdown drive of their own. The extra point was blocked, cutting the lead to 14-6.
In the final three minutes of the first half, Kolby Heidt of the Vikings intercepted a pass and set up the offence with great field position. On the final play of the half, Spence broke off a 41-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion was again successful, giving the Vikings a 22-6 lead at the half.
Humenny gave credit to the offensive line for the foundation of the offence's success in the first half.
"The guys played hard. I think it started up front with the o-line. Our quarterback played awesome and I think that's kind of where it all shook down today."
At the beginning of the second half, wideout Presley Patterson caught a ball from Dutton and took it 52 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. However, the play was called back for an illegal block downfield. The offence rebounded and Dutton led the team down into the red zone again, this time taking the ball himself into the end zone from nine yards out for the touchdown.
The Falcons cut into the lead again late in the fourth quarter. A great punt return and a penalty set up Saskatoon on the Vikings' 10-yard line. Their first play of the drive resulted in a touchdown and was followed by a successful two-point conversion to make it a 28-14 game.
Saskatoon recovered an onside kick. Needing to push the ball downfield, the Falcons were picked off by Vikings defensive back Cain Witzainey to seal the game.
The Vikings attempt to build on their first win Sunday afternoon at Beaver Lions Stadium when they host Martensville for a 2 p.m. kickoff.
