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Early mistakes doomed the Vikings’ chances against the Wildcats last Friday.  The Wildcats took advantage of a short field after each of the first three Viking drives and Wildcat Cole Glenna scored on three short touchdown runs to give the Wildcats a 21-0 lead after the first quarter.  The Wildcats continued to add points and keep the Vikings off the scoreboard on the way to a 47-0 win.  The game was played at North Branch High School.

After the Vikings’ first drive stalled, Wildcat Peter Vitalis returned the ensuing punt 18 yards to give the Wildcats great field position.  A few plays later, Glenna scored from two yards out.  Alex Morehead kicked the extra point and the Wildcats led 7-0.  The Wildcats blocked the next Viking punt and, after a short drive, Glenna scored from four yards out to double the Wildcat lead to 14-0.  And, before the end of the first quarter, the Wildcats recovered a Viking fumble and this time Glenna went over from three yards out for a 21-0 Wildcat lead.

Wildcat Kyle Winner ran one in from six yards out in the second quarter and, after a failed two-point conversion attempt, the Wildcats led the Vikings 27-0 at the half.  Wildcat Matt Mohr rushed for a touchdown in the third quarter to stretch the Wildcat lead to 34-.  And later in the quarter, Mohr picked off a pass at the Viking 29 and ran it in for a score.  “Matt had an incredible run on the return,” said Wildcat head coach Bill Weiss.  “He caught the ball, made some nice moves, got a couple of good blocks and found the end zone.”  With the Wildcats now leading by over 40, the fourth quarter was played in running time.  Wildcat Mitch Barrett scored on a five yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to make the final score 47-0.

Weiss said “We got off to a good start in this one and things just kind of rolled in our favor.  In all phases of the game, we executed better than we did in our first two games.  We had some timing issues in our first two games that we were able to shore up against the Vikings.”

Weiss talked about some of the players who had a big impact last Friday night.  He said “Peter Vitalis played very well, especially in the return game.  He had a big kickoff return to start the second half.  Henry Trost, our quarterback, sometimes made plays out of nothing.  We’re not there yet offensively but Henry made some things happen.  On our defensive line, Jack Hallstrom, Logan Hedrick, Mason Hill, Ryan Marx and Cole Glenna, controlled the line of scrimmage for us.  Glenna had a big night on offense, as well.”

The offensive statistics from this game make it look pretty even.  The Vikings actually outgained the Wildcats 240-234 overall.  The Wildcats rushed for 220 yards.  Trost had eight carries for 101 yards and Glenna had eight carries for 53 yards.  Senior James Peltier led the Vikings with 15 carries for 72 yards as the Vikings rushed for 149 yards as a team.  The Wildcats completed just one of four passes for 14 yards. Viking quarterback Aaron Robillard was four for 16 for 67 yards but was picked off twice.  But the offensive stats are misleading.  The Wildcats often didn’t have to travel too far to score, courtesy of three Viking turnovers, a couple of nice returns and a blocked punt.
 
Notes
The Wildcats (1-2) will host Princeton (1-2) at Chisago Lakes High School tomorrow night at 7:00.  Weiss said “Princeton is always a good team.  They are well coached and well prepared.  The last two games have gone down to the wire.  We beat them by two last year.  It should be a great game.”

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