The North Battleford Comprehensive High School Senior Vikings' offence struggled Thursday night as they were shutout 43-0 by the Bishop James Mahoney Saints at Beaver Lions Stadium.
Save for a couple of plays, the offence had trouble moving the ball. Vikings coach Jamie Sommerfeld credited the play of the Saints' defence.
"They threw a couple things at us that gave us a lot of issues with our young o-line," said Sommerfeld. "Our blocking schemes fell apart."
Saints quarterback Zach Riehl led the offence down the field on their second drive of the game. Starting at their own 45-yard line, Riehl completed a 26-yard pass to receiver Logan Loopkey. After Riehl scrambled for a one-yard gain, he unleashed a pass down field to Taijal Verma, who took it to the end zone for a 43-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing Vikings' drive, the home team was backed up in their own end. After a 10-yard holding penalty and a sack of quaterback Landon Aimoe on back-to-back plays, the Vikings conceded a safety on third down to put the Saints up 9-0.
Both teams exchanged punts before tailback Adam Lewis took over a drive for the Saints. Breaking off separate runs of 14 and 22 yards, Lewis rumbled to the end zone on a 59-yard touchdown run after breaking multiple tackles in the Vikings' secondary.
Midway through the second quarter, the Vikings started driving down the field. Aimoe found receiver Jovan Popovic on a screen pass. Popovic broke multiple tackles en route to a 65-yard gain for the Vikings. The drive stalled at the Saints' 35-yard line after a five-yard loss on the ground and a short completion weren't enough to move the chains.
The Saints found the end zone once more before the end of the first half. An unnecessary roughness penalty on the punt return gave the Saints great field position to start the drive. Riehl completed a 26-yard pass to receiver Kyle Hendriks, setting the Saints up with a first and goal from the Vikings' eight-yard line. Lewis took the hand off on the next play and found the end zone to put the Saints up 23-0 at the half.
In the second half, the Saints' special teams unit increased their team's lead. Slotback Luke Hale fielded the Vikings' punt on his own 20-yard line. He raced to the sideline, juked a couple defenders and scrambled to the end zone for a 90-yard punt return touchdown. The Vikings' blocked the point after attempt, but the Saints still led 29-0.
The Saints' offence struck again on their next drive. Starting at the Vikings' 53-yard line, tailback Deandre Crane started the drive with a 13-yard rush. After scrambling for seven yards, Riehl completed a 25-yard pass to give the Saints another first down. Crane capped off the drive with a three-yard touchdown, giving the Saints a 36-point lead.
Before the end of the third quarter, the Saints forced a turnover on downs deep in the Vikings' end. Crane gained 18 yards on the ground before Hondi Matara finished off the drive with a three-yard touchdown plunge to put the Saints up 43-0.
The Vikings had a strong drive to start the fourth quarter. Taryn Kotchorek took a hand off for a 40-yard gain and drew a 15-yard facemask penalty on the defence. After Dylan Schaefer's eight-yard gain, the Vikings suffered a 10-yard loss. A pass interference call on the Saints kept the drive alive, but a loss of two yards and a holding penalty stalled the Vikings' last threatening drive of the game.
"We just didn't bring our A game today," said Sommerfeld. "It was a little disappointing. So, we're going to go back, fix what went wrong and [look at] lots of films."
He added they have to "reload" as things don't get any easier for the Vikings. They play the 2-0 Marion Graham Falcons in Saskatoon Thursday. Kickoff is 3 p.m.
NBCHS returns home for their final regular season game Oct. 15 when they welcome the Mount Royal Mustangs into Beaver Lions Stadium. Kickoff is 6:30 p.m.
