Viking gridders take conference title
It wasn't the best way to prepare for the playoffs, but Charlo High's football team certainly proved it's ready for a challenge.
The 10th ranked Vikings exploded for 40 first-quarter points en route to a 54-0 thrashing of Lincoln on Oct. 20 to round out a perfect Western C North showing. Charlo wrapped up the regular season with a 4-0 conference mark and is set to host Sheridan Saturday at 1 p.m. in an opening-round playoff game.
The Vikings tripped up Sheridan 21-12 during the regular season. Sheridan was third in the Western C South with a 3-1 conference mark and is 5-2 overall.
Outside of a blowout loss to top-ranked and defending state C champ Drummond, Charlo wasn't pushed by anyone during the regular season, with the exception of Sheridan.
iIt's going to be another hard football game,i Charlo coach Steve Love said in anticipation of facing the Panthers Saturday. iSheridan has a very balanced offense and they are very physical.i
The last time around, Charlo pulled out a narrow victory despite four costly turnovers. To be successful in the playoffs, the Vikings will need to hang onto the football, according to Love.
iWe'll have to cut down on the turnovers and contain Sheridan's offense,i the first-year Charlo coach said. iSheridan can run and throw the ball so we'll have to stay at home and play assignment football and tackle well. With Sheridan, you can't key on any one player.
iThe last time we played Sheridan we were in better physical shape,i he added. iHopefully, it will be the same Saturday and we'll be able to wear them down in the second half.i
It didn't take long for the Vikings to establish dominance against Lincoln Oct. 20. In fact, Charlo's 40 first-quarter points were a season best.
The Vikings ran rampant the opening 12 minutes, scoring on an astounding seven runs.
iI don't know how we did that,i Love said. iLincoln is kind of down this season and we're up. The best thing about that game was a lot of our younger guys were able to play and we didn't sustain any injuries before the playoffs.i
The Vikings amassed 325 yards rushing during the blowout win. Leading the way for Charlo was running back Jake Hanson, who piled up 133 yards rushing on just seven totes. Also, Charlie Stipe carried the