Vikings secure conference title, get home field games in playoffs

CHARLO — The Charlo High School football team will not have to worry about a one-way, 617-mile road trip to Fairview this season with a 60-6 victory over Twin Bridges Friday night at Charlo High School.

With the victory, the Vikings have secured two home games in the playoffs and wrapped up their conference one week before the team hosts its season-finale against rival Arlee Friday night at Charlo.

The same can not be said for the Warriors, a team that finished second in Class C 8-man last year, will fight for their playoff lives against the now conference champs.

“Its nice to go into the last game of the season without the pressure and knowing you have the conference title wrapped up,” Vikings’ Coach Mike Krahn said. “You know you had to play a tough team in order to win conference and Twin was a tough team and to play that well against them just builds confidence.”

According to Krahn, though he acknowledges he has the luxery to rest his kids in the season-finale, he said he “won’t do so.”

“This is a rivalry game and we aren’t going hold anything back against Arlee,” Krahn said. “We are expecting this game to be a knock down, drag out game.”

For the Charlo and Arlee players this game is about “bragging rights.”

“They beat us the last two years and they have played well against us recently,” Krahn said. “These kids know each other really well and they are pretty good friends and they have a good rivalry and it’s a big game in the valley and state regardless. “This is one of those types of games where you throw the records out and we know Arlee is going to step their game up with the chances of going to the playoffs on the line and they will be ready to go. They got us the last few years and we are wanting payback and this will be a big game.”

Nose guard. defensive end Chandler Krahn said wrapping up home-field was “huge” for him and his Vikings’ teammates.

“I think its pretty big that we get home field advantage and we don’t have to travel this far all of the time,” Krahn said. “The travelling has taken a huge toll on us and made us super exhausted when we’ve had to travel far.”

Krahn said he expects the game against the Warriors to be “intense.”

“I think they will come out playing well and since they’ve had two weeks off we suspect they might change their scheme and one that we haven’t seen before,” Chandler Krahn said. “I think Mr. Krahn and Mr. Peterson we have us well-equipped to face any team that they coach and we are putting in a lot of time studying all of the time and I think no matter what they are going to be pretty well-equipped for any game.”

Vikings’ RB, LB Toby Odom talked about how nerve-wracking it was trying to wrap up the conference championship.

“You know it was pretty nerve-wracking going into it and we would have to fight for the conference title,” Odom said. “(Our team) is pretty strong as a whole and we have more speed than anyone else we’ve faced and we just played faster and more physical than them.”

Odom admits the game with rival Arlee isn’t just “another game.”

“(Winning against Twin Bridges) was a bigger win for us because (Arlee) is a rival and knowing that they beat us the last two years makes us a little more ambitious going up against them and gives an incentive to want to win.”

Mike Krahn said he’s been impressed watching his team’s film on every player sticking to their blocking assignments. Odom attributes the success to his team’s “mentality.”

“To us (blocking) is more of a mentality and we are practicing our angle and you have to go out there and block for the running back or wide receiver that has the ball.”

Though Arlee is playing for a playoff spot Odom said his team isn’t going to “let up” despite having their playoff spot and conference championship secured.

“The records don’t matter you just never know how a rivalry game is going to come out in rivalry game,” Odom said. “It just depends who scores the first touchdown in the game and we can’t relax going against Arlee and we take things as serious as everything else.”