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The excitement at North Branch's first home football game in four weeks was evident. From the red-and-white clad fans that packed that stadium to the intense looks in the kids eyes, it was obvious that it was homecoming time in Viking Land.

The Vikings played host to non-conference opponent Princeton for their homecoming. The Tigers were sporting a 2-2 record on the year coming into the game, and boasted one of the top quarterbacks in the state in Phil Klaphake.

Although the Vikings were only 1-3 on the season leading into the game, the buzz had been slowly building towards this game as they had played Chisago Lakes and Fridley -- two teams that blew them out in year's past -- very tight, and had shut out the Columbia Heights Hylanders the week before.

Outside of a tough matchup against the Irondale Knights the week before, the Vikings had as good a shot at being 3-1 as they did 1-3.

But, the way the cards had been dealt, the Vikings were 1-3 and badly in need of a win over the Klaphake-led Tigers.

Princeton didn't do North Branch any favors, marching down the field on their opening drive and plugging the ball into the endzone for an early 7-0 lead.

On North Branch's first drive, they stalled deep in their own territory and faced a fourth and forever, but after a wobbly snap to Zack Smith on the Vikings punt attempt -- and facing heavy pressure from the Princeton defenders -- Smith pulled the ball down and scampered for a first down to rejuvenate the Vikings' sideline.

However, the big play was for naught as the Vikings ended up turning the ball over on downs on their march down the field.

"We played well, and had some big holes to run through. We really did what we wanted to do," first year Head Coach Phil Link said of the first half. "We just didn't take advantage of some of our opportunities."

After a few stalemates around midfield, North Branch took over in the shadow of their own end zone, and it proved to be a huge turning point in the game.

Quarterback Joe Johnson aired the ball out on third and long, and Klaphake, who also plays cornerback for the Tigers, snatched the ball out of the air and sliced and diced his way through the field and the North Branch tacklers for a touchdown. The score was capped off with an extra point, and North Branch was down 14-0 by the time halftime rolled around. "We came out a little sluggish," Link said. "But, I don't think homecoming was a factor or a major distraction for the kids."

In the second half, a long bomb set up another Princeton score in the third quarter, and a huge run set up the last to make it 28-0 in the fourth quarter.

But, the Vikings still had some fight in them. With junior quarterback Anders Dahlberg piloting the team, they went on a good drive midway through the quarter that was capped off with a beautiful touchdown pass from Dahlberg to tight end Sean Franks.

Dahlberg threaded the ball through three Tiger defenders and settled it right in between Franks' eight and two for the perfect strike. Junior Brian Grand missed his first extra point of the season to leave the game at 28-6.

Link believes the pass boosted Dahlberg's confidence in his arm, and that the junior will start the game against Benilde-St. Margaret's tomorrow night, instead of coming in after halftime like he's done in the first five games.

On the ensuing North Branch drive, they scored a second touchdown on a long draw play to Chad Anderson. A successful two-point conversion cut the score to 28-14, which is the tally the game ended in.

Other than starting Dahlberg, Link knows his team has its work cut out for them hosting a 4-1 Red Knights squad this week in the middle of a three-game homestand.

"They are a solid team," he said. "We can't make any mistakes. If we play hard, I think we can definetley stay with them. We're growing fast, and it'll get there for us."

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