Under the bright lights of Beaver Lions Stadium, the North Battleford Comprehensive High School Vikings looked ready for prime time Thursday night.
In their first game of the 2016 season, the Vikings raced out to an early lead and never looked back as they picked up a decisive 42-7 win over the Tommy Douglas Tigers of Saskatoon.
“I was very happy with our efforts,” Vikings head coach Mike Humenny said. “We were a little bit slow at the start but I think that was because we didn’t have any exhibition games with another school before tonight.
“Once everyone started to settle down a little bit the guys that we expected to make big plays did that. I’m extremely happy with how we did offensively, but our defence made some great leaps and bounds with how they progressed tonight.”
The Viking attack was led by the one-two punch of Damon Dutton and Zach Wolfe on offence.
Dutton connected with Wolfe on three touchdown passes in the first half, while Wolfe officially put the game out of reach with a 75-yard kickoff return at the start of the second half.
“Those two guys have been playing tackle football since Grade 5 and they clicked tonight,” Humenny said.
“Zach’s been our go to guy for a while and Damon really used his legs tonight to pick up some key yards on the ground. We knew what he provides for us on offence with his arm, but tonight he really emerged as a key leader on offence for us.”
The two other touchdowns for the Vikings came on one-yard runs from Rett Taggart and Jesse Sankey.
Defensively, the Vikings caused havoc all game long, which was highlighted by a pair of interceptions and a fumble recovery.
“We were led up front by our defensive line,” Humenny said. “We have a number of returning starters there and how they play is something we take a lot of pride in.
“We had a lot of rookies last year in the secondary and that inexperience showed at times. A number of those guys stepped up to make big plays tonight, especially our safety Dawson Lehman.”
The Tigers lone touchdown came late in the second quarter when Hayden Sabadash threw an 11-yard pass to Jordan Taben.
“We’re a very young team this year with just nine returning players,” Tigers head coach Leo Grosjean said.
“For us, scoring a touchdown and being able to stop them a few times on defence are positives that we can build on as we look to grow into being a playoff team at the end of the season.”
The Vikings will look to continue their stellar play next Thursday when they travel to Prince Albert for a date with the Carlton Crusaders.
“I’m not going to say that things get easier for us, but a win like this does give our players extra confidence as they go forward,” Humenny said.
“We had a really good battle with Carlton last year and I expect next week’s game to be another good contest.”
The Vikings will be back at home Sept. 21 to face the Mount Royal Mustangs of Saskatoon.
