Charlo likes turf

RONAN - The already speedy Charlo Vikings got a big boost when they played on the turf at Ronan last Saturday against the Ronan JV team. Senior quarterback Chico Stipe scored the Vikings first two touchdowns on runs as the Vikings jumped out to a 27-0 lead in the first en route to a 57-6 victory.

"They liked the turf," Charlo head coach Mike Krahn said. "They were excited to play on it."

Ronan has one of only four turf football fields in the state, so the opportunity was a rare one for Charlo.

"I kind of thought it would play to our advantage because of our speed," Krahn said.

Sophomore Tra Ludeman really put the game on ice in the first quarter when he ran back two straight punt returns for touchdowns. The first was a 40-yard punt return and the second was a 60-yard return. Ludeman also returned an interception 40-yards for a touchdown and had a 17-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Senior Austin Bauer had a five-yard touchdown run in the game.

"I saw the quarterback with the receiver the whole time," Ludeman said.

Along with it being turf, the Ronan field was also larger than a normal eight-man football field. It was a 100x53 yard field as opposed to an 80x40 yard field. Ludeman finished with 57 yards on six attempts. Stipe finished the game with 76 rushing yards on five attempts and three touchdowns and junior Kolton Andrews had 57 yards on six attempts.

Charlo as a team had 259 yards rushing.

"It's like going from a dirt track to a rubber track," Ludeman said. "You can cut a lot faster on it."

Ronan began to take advantage of Charlo's adjustment to the larger field by sweeping to the outside on run plays with sophomore Jalen Rose. He had several runs for first downs and scored the JV's lone touchdown.

"Our inside backers were pursuing to far up," Krahn said. "That sweep caused some concern."

Ronan also had some concerns trying to adjust to the eight-man game. The teams would play with 11 men when the Chiefs were on offense and eight when Charlo had the ball.

"Do you pull your defensive linemen?" Ronan head coach Benn said. "Who do you pull?"

Benn said that the larger field meant that Charlo had 13 more yards to work with, and that he did like the speed that having eight men brought to the game.

"It's a fun brand of football," he said.

Benn also said good athletes, like Stipe, at a C school could play anywhere.

Benn thought Ronan freshman linebacker Austin Hakes also laid down some nice hits from the linebacker position.

"He pops people pretty good," he said.

Charlo now has a huge conference matchup against Arlee at 7 p.m. next week on the road.

"Now we're going to get a test of speed versus size," Krahn said.

For more photos from the game, check out www.leaderadvertiser.com.