Vikings prepare for semifinal playoff showdown with Huskies

CHARLO — Charlo High School running back Trent Dennison is a “reserved player” who lets his performance do most of the talking, according to Vikings’ Coach Mike Krahn. 

Dennison called Charlo’s 66-52 Class-C 8-man quarterfinal victory over Fairview the biggest game of his career Saturday at Charlo High School.

“I thought the Fairview game was the biggest game of my life right there,” Dennison said. “Fairview is well coached, and we are well coached. We had to execute everything and our coaches called perfect plays. We just came out in the fourth quarter (against Fairview) firing on all cylinders.”

The quarterfinal victory over the Warriors marks the first time the Vikings defeated Fairview in the last three meetings with them. With the win, Charlo now finds itself one victory away from playing in the Class C 8-man state championship game. The Vikings will travel to Belt High School to play the Huskies in the Class-C 8-man semifinal game at 1p.m. Saturday at Belt High School.

The Huskies enter the game with an unblemished 11-0 record after defeating Circle 33-28 in Saturday’s quarterfinal game at Belt High School.

“I am just glad we came out with a victory and I am looking forward to playing Belt,” Dennison said. “I think we are going to have a little dog fight on our hands. Belt is pretty well coached, undefeated and they are deep in the playoffs. We just have to execute well, keep working, and have good practices this weekend. Every team we play from here on out is an obstacle in front of us. We just have to execute our plays, be physical and play fast.”

Dennison said he hasn’t been this close to the championship game since his freshman year in high school.

“This game is going to come down who has the most heart and wants to continue to the state championship,” Dennison said. “It’s going to be really similar and we are going to have a lot of motivation. Our team just has to execute and have perfect plays.”

In Dennison’s experience in the playoffs, he admits it’s easier to get distracted when the stakes of the games get higher.

“There are more distractions,” Dennison admitted. “People want us to win. There are more people yelling on the field and it’s very hard to hear (on the field). When you are playing on the field, you are more nervous than ever. This is my senior year and I would like us to win and go onto the next step in the championship game.”

Vikings’ WR Kane Shenyer said the game against Fairview got “pretty crazy.”

“It was the third time that we played them and I personally had played in both the games that we lost,” Shenyer said. “The third time was the charm and finally being able to defeat Fairview was a pretty great feeling. We finally did it right here. The game against Fairview was a dogfight for sure. We’ve had two battles this season and this was as hard as when we played Victor I would say. They have some really good athletes and that was the most even football match up that we’ve played all season.”

This week the Vikings will find themselves in an unfamiliar match up situation where they will not be undersized, according to Krahn.

“I would say the bigger teams pound and ground and they have their own strengths but the smaller and faster teams are tougher,” Shenyer said. “The smaller and quicker you are, it’s a lot harder to catch. There is a lot to be said for having team speed. Having a high-powered offense and fast-reacting defense can really turn around a game. It can change momentum in games and go either way with two fast teams.”

According to Krahn, his Vikings will travel and stay over in Great Falls.

“When we play on Saturday, it will be a half-hour bus trip and we will be in Belt,” Krahn said. “You have to really try to keep your routine as close to normal as you can. Obviously, we will be staying overnight and try to practice at home that day.”

Charlo will travel approximately 258 miles one way.

“We would travel that morning and try to find a place to practice on the road,” Krahn said. “We will practice at home, do our Friday practice, and then we will travel afterward. We will get to eat on the road, go to bed and try keep our routine that we have right before a game. We will have a polished practice and a team dinner hosted by one of the player’s family. We won’t have a lot of down time. We have to get on the bus and play.”

According to Krahn, this will the first time his Vikings will play in Belt.

“I have never played in Belt or even been to Belt before,” Krahn admitted. “I know Great Falls can be windy. I was talking to the Fairview coach and from the sounds of it, the stadium there is in a low spot. It’s down in the valley and the wind doesn’t affect them much.”

According to Krahn, the Huskies are a pretty versatile team and aren’t affected.

“The Huskies throw the ball around quite a bit and they have a tendency not to be as windy there as you would think,” Krahn said. “With the kicking and passing game, we will have to see what happens on game day. Looking at the weather forecast, it looks to be between 65 and 70-degrees. If anything, it might be a little warm. In our game against Fairview, we were sweating and cramping a little bit. It might be 60 but when you are in football pads, it feels like it is 75. You can have a cramping issue and at the end of the day, we have to keep in mind to stay hydrated and try to stay fresh.”

This year has been “interesting” and “unique,” according to Krahn.

“It has been an interesting season for me,” Krahn said. “We’ve had kids with hurt ankles and they are just finding a way to get it done. Beating Fairview was pretty emotional. I was thinking about the day, what happened on the field, and how everyone on our team overcame adversity. They were tired and dinged up, and that is something they had to overcome. That was a really reflective moment. I usually don’t get a chance to soak it in. I was able to walk on the field, sit there, look around, and think ‘this is pretty amazing.’”

Krahn said his team will have to “execute well” if they want to punch their ticket to the state championship game.

“When it comes down to the execution, we are going to have to move the ball really well and account for every person,” Krahn said. “We are going to have to have our running game and our passing game is going to have to compliment that. We are going to have to hold our blocks. They are going to have guys that close just as fast as we do. Because of this, we are going to sustain our blocks.

“I think, at this point, it is always going to be crucial to have both the offensive and defensive line play well,” Krahn said. “Typically, in 8-man, your best athlete is your quarterback. In this day and age, they usually have a running quarterback, and in 8-man, it’s always been that way. If we can keep Belt’s QB under wraps, not let him have a huge day, and our lineman get the job done up front, that will be crucial to our success.”

Charlo 64, Fairview 52

Fairview 6 8 16 22 – 52

Charlo 14 0 38 12 – 64

C – Brady Fryberger 24 pass from Landers Smith (run failed)

C – Fryberger 14 pass from Smith (Smith run)

F - Tanner Reynolds 46 run (run failed)

F - Reynolds 3 run (Reynolds run)

C – Jared Doty 30 pass from Smith (Smith run)

C – Zane Hafliger 29 pass from Smith (Smith run)

F - Pat Hardy 15 pass from Reynolds Carson Cayko pass from Reynolds)

C – Doty 69 kickoff return (pass failed)

C – Doty 4 run (Trent Dennison run)

F - Reynolds 12 run (Taryn Candee pass from Reynolds)

C – Tyson Petticrew 23 pass from Smith (Hafliger pass from Smith)

F - Hardy 28 pass from Reynolds (Hardy pass from Reynolds)

C – Petticrew 17 pass from Smith (run failed)

F - Reynolds 11 run (pass failed)

C – Dennison interception return (pass failed)

F - Candee 5 pass from Reynolds (Cody Asbeck pass from Reynolds)