Vikings demolish Horsemen in district opener

It’s been three years since the Bigfork

Vikings broke their 28-game losing streak with a victory over

Plains, so perhaps it is only fitting that the defending state

champions gave a little back to the Horsemen on Friday night

allowing them to score their first touchdown of the season.

Giving up the points was clearly

unintentional, but it was the only give that the Vikings had on

Friday night when they defeated Plains in a 56-6 District 7B

blowout.

“We’re 1-0 in district and we’re happy

to be 1-0,” said Bigfork head football coach Todd Emslie. “All the

games leading up to that point have really been meaningless. So

we’re on our way to fulfilling our team goal, which is to make the

playoffs.”

It all started Friday night with a

touchdown by senior Ian Lorang off a 39-yard pass play from senior

quarterback Colter Mahlum. A few minutes later senior Cody Dopps

made it a 14-0 game with a touchdown run from 16 yards out.

Plains took in its touchdown midway

through the first quarter on a 91-yard interception return. The

extra-point kick failed, which left the score at 14-6 as Bigfork

kicker senior Dillon Charlebois was 8-8 in extra-point kicks for

the night.

On the following play Lorang took a

83-yard kickoff return into the end zone to extend Bigfork’s lead

to 21-6.

“Ian Lorang continues to impress and to

‘wow,’” Emslie said.

The second quarter opened with a series

of three consecutive Bigfork touchdowns in a little more than three

minutes of play. Junior Austin Jordt was responsible for the first

one after taking the ball in on a 46-yard run.

“Austin Jordt just continues to show

his athleticism,” Emslie said.

Dopps followed with two back-to-back

touchdowns. The first was off an interception, which he returned

from 17-yards out. Then he took the ball back into the end zone

with a 17-yard rushing play.

“Cody had another phenomenal game on

both sides of the football,” Emslie said. “He can score on every

side of the football — offense, defense, special teams — and he

continues to prove it every week.”

Midway through the second quarter

senior linebacker Ron Loudermilk picked up an interception and ran

it in for a touchdown from 14 yards out.

“I was happy to see Ron Loudermilk get

in the end zone,” Emslie said. “He works so hard.”

Around that time Emslie pulled the

majority of his first string players and gave his younger players

some time on the field during the remainder of the game. One of

those players was sophomore Boyd Rieke, who was the only player to

score in the second half. He took the ball in from 6-yards out

halfway through the third quarter.

Despite swapping out players early on,

the Vikings still accumulated 237 yards of total offense, including

181 rushing yards, while holding Plains to just 82 yards of total

offense.

“It’s hard to get a lot out of a game

like that, but we played well,” Emslie said. “The varsity just

didn’t get four quarters of work in.”

Although the game didn’t do much for

giving the varsity players experience, it was beneficial for the

younger players.

“I think it is worth noting that the

future is bright, which was witnessed by everyone who saw all those

younger kids play,” Emslie said. “A lot of kids got to touch the

ball again on Friday. That’s sort of who we are as a team now. It’s

neat to look back and know that everyone got to play. I know the

seniors would like to play every minute of every game, but because

of who they are they understand the importance of getting those

younger kids out on the field. Our seniors are just great athletes,

sportsmen and leaders.”

Dopps was the Vikings’ rushing leader

with 73 yards in six carries. Jordt followed with 57 yards in two

carries.

None of Bigfork’s players had more than

one catch on the night, though senior Ryan Hayes’ big aerial catch

made him the leading receiver as his was a 39-yarder.

Mahlum completed four of his attempted

nine passes on the night for a total of 56 yards. He had one

interception.

Junior Matt Edwards led on defense with

six tackles. Senior newcomer Hayden George and junior Josh Sather

made big contributions as well with four tackles apiece.

“Dillon Fraley is really becoming a

college-type football player,” Emslie said. “And, with Blake

Weimer, Austin Cantrell, Austin Curtis, Connor Coleman and Kevin

Countie offenses have their hands full.”

The Vikings defense is not only keeping

its opponents out of the end zone, but also helping Bigfork’s

offense stay productive on the scoreboard.

“I thought our line played really

well,” Emslie said. “From watching film our offensive line is

really starting to sustain blocks and that’s really good to

see.”

Next Up

The Vikings host their Homecoming

football game at 7 p.m. on Friday night against Troy.

“We’ll work this week to get ready for

Troy,” Emslie said. “It’s our second district game of the season.

This is our most important game of the season so far.”

A tailgate barbecue will be held at

5:30 p.m. at the west end of the field to celebrate the occasion.

There is a suggested donation of $5 for the meal.

Homecoming royalty will be crowned at

halftime.