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With back-to-back losses after their first win of the season, the North Branch Vikings took another small step forward against the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights on Friday, Oct. 2.

Although the Vikings lost 26-6, their road back to respectability will have bumps like this.

In these two teams past three meetings, the Red Knights had gashed the Vikings by a total score of 139-20, or an average of 46-6. And BSM isn't down this year either, they strutted into the game sporting a 4-1 record on the season, with their only loss coming to conference kingpin Totino Grace.

None of the past mattered, however, to the current Vikings squad. After a successful opening drive stalled in BSM's territory, North Branch elected to punt and pin the Red Knights in the shadow of their own end zone.

The strategy paid off, as Benilde went three and out and had to punt, giving the Vikings the ball back with good field position.

Two plays into the drive, Chad Anderson ripped off a 59-yard touchdown scamper on a well-designed counter play that put the Vikings up 6-0 early on their home field. The Red Knights were able to pound away at the Vikings for the remainder of the first quarter, and although the game got physical, the Vikings held the high-powered BSM offense to only six points in the quarter.

"It was a heck of a game," Head Coach Phil Link said. "It was a very physical game for both sides. They had a couple kids hurt on the sideline, and we had a couple kids hurt on the sideline." One BSM player even had to be carted off in an ambulance during the rough contest.

In the second quarter, however, Benilde came up with a few big pass plays that led to scores. One was a play-action that the North Branch safeties bit on and left a Red Knight open for a touchdown. Another bomb put the ball down to the Vikings six-yard line, and even their stout defense couldn't keep Benilde out of the endzone from the six.

In the third quarter, the Vikings attempted to make their comeback.

On both of their first drive, the Vikings crept their way down the field into BSM's redzone, but both times they came away empty handed, and that was tough to swallow.

"At 20-6 in the third quarter and with us moving the ball well, I told the kids it was anyone's game," Link said. But their inability in the two redzone trips haunted them as they didn't get another close crack at the Red Knight's end zone. "We put ourselves in position to score, and when you have chances against good teams like Benilde, you can't waste them," Link pointed out.

Although the game came down to just a few errors here and there that led to big Benilde plays, Coach Link was sympathetic to his troops, saying it's "hard to be disciplined on every single play" but that they are working on it.

The score remained 20-6 throughout most of the fourth quarter until BSM's running back broke a tackle on the inside and bursted to the outside for a touchdown and a 26-6 lead. That turned out to be the final score in the brutally physical contest. "Teams aren't going to walk in and out-physical us anymore," Link said. "They aren't going to come in and run all over North Branch."

With the loss, the Vikings drop to 1-5 on the year, but have a chance to improve on that as the last two teams they play combine for a 2-10 record.

First up is Robbinsdale Cooper tomorrow at home at 7 p.m. The Orioles sport a 2-4 record on the year. In the last game of the regular season in the MEA-shortened week, the Vikings travel to play the winless St. Francis Saints on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

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