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Viking football season ends at Spring Lake Park

Two early fumbles and one long Spring Lake Park run and the North Branch Vikings found themselves at the bottom of a 21-0 hole less than five minutes into the game. Despite playing even with the SLP Panthers the rest of the game, the Vikings’ season was over after a 42-21 playoff defeat.

The Vikings started the game at the North Branch 35 and quickly picked up a first down on an Adam Gades run to the 46. After Matt Warren hit Justin Novak with a 14 yard first down pass, things looked good for North Branch.

But, two plays later, Warren fumbled as he ran around left end. SLP picked it up and returned it for a TD. A minute into the game, the Vikings were already down 7-0.

The Vikings fumbled their next opportunity, too. This time, the Panthers recovered on the NB 20. A one minute drive gave SLP a 14-0 lead with less than two minutes elapsed.

North Branch punted without making a first down on their next possession. Spring Lake Park scored on a 58 yard run off left tackle on the next play and the score was 21-0 with 7:22 remaining in the first quarter.

The next time North Branch got the ball, they lost another fumble. The Viking defense held and North Branch took possession on its own 37. Four plays later another fumble gave the Panthers the ball on the North Branch 21.

A Viking defensive stand resulted in a failed SLP 36 yard field goal. The first quarter ended with a 21 point deficit for North Branch.

The Vikings showed some life in the middle of quarter two. Following a Novak return of a Panther punt, North Branch mounted an 80 yard drive that narrowed the margin to 21-7. The drive featured an 11 yard Gades run, a Warren to Gades pass for 13 and a Warren 14 yard run. The TD came on a Jake Smith 20 yard reception.

The teams exchanged punts before SLP drove to the Viking 30. After an eight yard loss, Dillon Kost intercepted a Panther pass in the endzone to keep the deficit at 14 when the first half ended.

The third quarter belonged to Spring Lake Park. In that stanza, the Panthers turned three interceptions into touchdowns and assumed a commanding 42-7 lead.

In the fourth period, the Vikings scored on another Smith reception to bring the score to 42-14 with 7:39 to go. The big play in the drive was a Novak run around left end for 21 yards.

Following a Panther fumble, the Vikings scored on a 10 yard Novak run around left end. Gades kicked the extra point to make the score 42-21.

Spring Lake Park ran out the clock and the season was over for the Vikings. The Panthers defeated Fridley in the next round of the section playoffs and will meet Totino Grace for the opportunity to play in the state tournament.

“We had too many turnovers and we gave up too many big plays,” explained Viking head coach Joel Swanson. “We had the ball at their 30 yard line about a minute into the game. Then came a four minute stretch where things turned against us and, suddenly, we were down 21-0.

“It was great to see our kids battle back from this tough situation. Going into the half we had momentum. In the second half, we turned the ball over deep in Spring Lake Park territory. That led to their second defensive score. Our kids never quit and continued to play hard throughout.”

Swanson concluded by saying, “Thanks for those who supported us throughout the season. I wish the winter and spring sports and activities the best of luck.”

Scoring Summary

School Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final

North Branch

0 7 0 14 21

Spring Lake Park

21 0 21 0  42

First Quarter:

S: Clark 62 fumble return (Gerding kick)

S: Gerding 7 run (Gerding kick)

S: Woods 58 run (Gerding kick)

Second Quarter:

N: Smith 20 pass from Warren (Gades kick)

Third Quarter:

S: Domino 10 run (Gerding kick)

S: Hallstrom 70 interception return (Gerding kick)

S: Beck-Buysse 74 run (Wolf kick)

Fourth Quarter:

N: Smith 6 pass from Warren (Gades kick)

N: Novak 9 run (Gades kick)

Team Statistics NB SLP

Rushing (plays/yds) 27/134 53/337

Passing (plays/yds) 32/169 7/14

Passing (att/com/yd)18/32/4 2/7/1

First downs 18 17

North Branch Individual Stats

Rushing (player-att/yds/long/td)

Gades 15 /107/34/0

Novak 5 / 23 /21/1

Warren 7 / -2 / 14/0

Mike Carlson 1 / 6 / 6/0

Receiving(player-no/yds/long/td)

Novak 8 / 56 /14 / 0

Carlson 4 / 47 / 2 / 0

Smith 3 / 34 /20 / 2

Jared Grams 1 / 24 /24 / 0

Gades 2 / 8 /13 / 0

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