Charlo Viking gridders down Noxon 20-14 Friday

CHARLO - The Charlo Vikings were definitely thankful they had a stout defense last Friday as they held off Noxon for a 20-14 win in Class C football.

Offensive, the Vikings were a different story. Mental mistake was the name of the game for the struggling Vikings offense in the first half. Charlo botched a pitch on third down midway through the first quarter, which set up fourth and long. Noxon blocked the punt and recovered for a safety.

Charlo's offense gained some composure as Shea Sammons hit paydirt with a 345-yard touchdown reception.

Noxon soon capitalized on more Viking miscues and put the ball into the end zone to lead 8-7 at halftime.

"We let Noxon get some momentum," Viking Coach Steve Love said. "Offensively we needed to get rolling. It we really a lot of mental mistakes. "

In the third quarter, Charlo was shut out and allowed Noxon to score again, which left the Vikes training by seven.

The fourth quarter was almost identical, statistically speaking. This one, however. Vike quarterback Bo Herak ran 32 yards for six points and followed by successful PAT.

With the game tied 14-14,, Sammons made his second grip across the goal line from the six after a 37-yard reception to end the game.

Most fourth quarter action is similar statistically, but this wasn't even close. The Vikes pushed for an impressive 280 total yards. Noxon, after taking 12 tackles for a loss in yards, was held to a meager 97 total yards.

Herak threw for a respectable 84 yards on 11 attempts and ran for 56 yards. His combined passes and rushes were responsible for all the Viking TDs.

Complementing Herak's arm was Sammons, who had three receptions - two good for touchdowns.

Defense, however, may have been the true fulcrum of the game. Linebacker Andy Sieges made an impressive 10 tackles and Joey Ray had five tackles and two sacks.

With the win, Charlo moved to 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in conference play.

Charlo's next game is Friday at Alberton at 7:30 p.m.

Love said, "Alberton is kind of mirror of ourselves. There are no real standouts, just a great team effort. Whoever makes the most mental mistakes probably won't win."