Vikings get 28-18 win over Philipsburg
Ethan Smith/Leader<br>TJ Kerr rushes past Philipsburg linemen en route to one of his three touchdowns. He led his team in offense, but also did well on defense.
The Charlo Vikings had a strong showing on both offense and defense last Friday night as they picked up a 28-18 win over Philipsburg in the home opener to even their record to 1-1.
The team was led on offense by TJ Kerr, who rushed for three touchdowns on 25 carries for 100 yards, and threw in five tackles, nine assists and one interception on defense.
But Kerr wasn't alone, as Jean Paul Toussaint had a great night controlling the Prospectors' offense, finishing with 12 tackles and an interception of his own to hold off a late surge by Philipsburg.
Philipsburg jumped on the board first with a one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, but Jason Foust intercepted the two-point conversion attempt to keep it at 6-0.
The only bleak part of the game was three unsportsmanlike penalties against the Vikings, due more to frustration than anything directed toward Philipsburg. However, the Charlo defense was able to keep Philipsburg from capitalizing on anything.
"Our defense was tremendous and kept us in the game in the first quarter. We lost two fumbles and should have been down about 24-0," said head coach Steve Love. "Instead, we were only down by six. I give our guys a lot of credit for digging in when things weren't looking good. I also give Coach Quinn credit for having them so prepared."
The Vikings bounced back 15 seconds into the second quarter when Kerr intercepted the ball, and then ran in for a touchdown a few plays later. Toussaint added his interception at the 10:05 mark, and then quarterback Jeff Bucholz found Jared Kingery in the end zone to make it 12-6.
Philipsburg wasn't done, though, and tied the game at 12 with 7:40 left in the half. Kerr had a 40-yard run that was called back due to a penalty, and the Vikings couldn't score before the half.
Kerr added his second TD in the third quarter with a 15-yard run, and Bucholz found Josh Sharbono for a nice catch in the back of the end zone, keeping his feet just inbounds for the 2-point conversion to give the Vikings a 20-12 lead.
Bucholz had an interception on the Prospectors' next drive to give Charlo the ball again, but the team had to punt. On the next possession, Kingery returned a Philipsburg punt to inside their own 20, but the team couldn't capitalize.
Kingery also had a great night punting, putting Philipsburg deep in their own territory each time.
"Our special teams played great football. Jared punted the ball so well that we were able to win the field position battle. Our coverage on punting and kicking was excellent," Love said.
Kerr added his third rushing TD at the 2:55 mark, and Sharbono again had a nice catch for the 2-point conversion to make it 28-12.
Toussaint then had a big sack to boost the team with a little more than a minute left in the third, before Sharbono came up with another big sack to force Philipsburg to punt.
Philipsburg threatened in the fourth, but their only touchdown with 3:37 left in the game was too little too late. Bucholz had an interception with 1:20 left in the game to stop their last drive and seal the Viking victory.
On offense, Bucholz finished with 60 yards passing, going 5-for-13 on the night, and added three tackles on defense. Love credited his defensive line with doing a great job, too.
"TJ, Jean Paul, Jason (Foust) and Jared did an outstanding job of reading the offense, playing their responsibility and making plays," Love said. "Jeff did a solid job of running things. Jason and Jean Paul were tremendous blocking on our traps, which opened things up for TJ. He carried us in the third quarter, and Josh Sharbono and Jared made some nice catches for Jeff."
The win was a good boost for the team after the loss to Twin Bridges in the season opener, and Love said it reflected the team's dedication.
"We took a big step as a football team. Young guys had to step in because of injuries and other personnel problems. They had their feet put to the fire and they met the challenge," Love said. "I was very proud of them for that."
Love gave credit to the underclassmen, too.
"There were several sophomores that were seeing varsity experience for only the first or second time. They came through tonight and now I expect them to keep getting better," he said. "Our team learned a lot about the importance of 'we' versus 'me.'"
The team travels to Drummond this Friday before hosting Noxon next Friday, Sept. 22.