Vikings dismantle Blackhawks in season-opener

CHARLO — The Charlo Vikings football team entered the season opener against Seeley with one primary goal: to capture a Class C, 8-man state title.

The Vikings made a declarative statement as they began their quest back to the football season as they buried Seeley 52-6 to capture Friday night’s home-opening victory.

“It was an exciting atmosphere,” Charlo coach Mike Krahn said. “Our players were in such an exciting atmosphere and everyone wants to get that feeling again. It was a really nice crowd for the regular season and the student section was really rocking for a non-conference game. I’ve said it before, Charlo is a football town. People came out and saw a new turf that we laid down last spring. We had a big barbecue and it was a pretty cool atmosphere.”

Krahn, who credited his offensive assistant coach Jim Peterson with devising a solid game plan against Seeley’s offense, said he felt his Vikings really achieved a balance on offense.

“On offense, I think we were really balanced,” Krahn said. “No one on our team put up gaudy numbers, which is good because a lot of times in small town football, there is one person that usually dominates. Defensively, you can concentrate on that one person.”

Krahn said it was the Vikings’ run game that showcased the balance of the team. Smith finished with 69 yards on six attempts and scored two touchdowns. Toby Odom had 28 yards on four carries and Garett Vaughan had one run for 27 yards.

“Landers had 69 yards in a game and he has had games where he has had games with 200 yards yards rushing,” Krahn said. “Between Toby and Vaughan’s contributions, that showcases a team that is going to spread the football around.”

Further evidence of Charlo’s balanced attack is in their receiving numbers. Sabin Perry caught two receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown, Odom had a reception for 31 yards, Shad Anderson caught a ball for 28 yards, Vaughan caught two balls for 18 yards and a touchdown, and Landers Smith caught one ball that turned into a 24-yard touchdown catch.

“I think that is coach Peterson taking what the defense gave us,” Krahn said. “There was an emphasis from one week to another and it just depends on what the teams give us. Coach Peterson is a mastermind at making adjustments on defense and offense.”

In the first quarter, the Vikings only led 8-0 but there were still several players getting used to their assignments, according to Krahn.

“Seeley was struggling with their conditioning and they had some issues not being able to practice because of the smoke,” Krahn said. “They didn’t have a lot of subs and they had two kids in the streets. They didn’t have enough practices to get their conditioning to where it should be because of the forest fires.”

The Vikings’ offensive line lacked a lot of experience because they were breaking in a new line.

“We started out with three guys who had not started on the varsity level,” Krahn said. “We had another injury on defense and had to move Brady Fryberger to play guard. However, our team is very football savvy and has good football minds. We are able to move them around our scheme. Knowing football well, they make a transition and they play the position well.”

Fryberger played for Nick Daugherty and Brock Tomlin played center.

Last year, the Vikings extended their season by four weeks and because they were able to extend their season, several of their less experienced players received opportunities to get extra playing time.

“We extended our season by four weeks and that is an extra four weeks of practice,” Krahn said. “The younger kids just grew in their football knowledge exponentially. Our freshmen became sophomores, our sophomores became juniors and juniors became seniors (experience wise). Just having that extra practice underneath their belts, they really grew as an athlete.”

Krahn further elaborated on how much the extended season from last year helped his team grow.

“We had 13 games last season and that is a lot of games in a season,” Krahn said. “When you play that many games it’s almost like two seasons in one. Any game that we were up and winning, we really tried to get those young guys in the game. It is was really crucial and you really get a feel for what it takes in a game situation. You get to see their intensity level step up from practice and you get to see it in a game. Obviously, experience is the best teacher towards teaching someone first hand and it does help them learn.”

After Smith’s 19-yard touchdown run in the first quarter gave them an 8-0 lead, Charlo had to make some adjustments, Krahn said.

“The first quarter was sloppy and there were a lot of penalties on both sides of the football,” Krahn said. “We aren’t usually penalized in a lot of games. There was 18 penalties in the first quarter and we had seven of them.”

Krahn said part of the reason for the early penalties was the Vikings getting used to new blocking rules and how the referees enforced them.

“The timing and execution on offense took us a little while to get going but when we started to get going, we where firing on all cylinders,” Krahn said. “There were some kids that hadn’t been starting that started to get a lot of reps last year. Other than our line, our backfield, quarterback and receivers are experienced. It just took us a while to get acclimated to the timing and speed of the game.”

In the second quarter of the game, Charlo scored 30 unanswered points to put the game away.

Smith ran for a 41-yard touchdown run and scored a successful 2-point conversion to give them a 16-0 lead. Smith connected with Vaughan and converted it into a 15-yard touchdown to grow the lead to 24-0. Backup QB Tyson Petticrew then connected with Smith on a 24-yard touchdown to cap the scoring for the half.

This allowed Krahn the luxury of playing his starting team for only one series in the second half.

In the third quarter, Vaughan ran for a 27-yard touchdown run, Jayden Stevens scored a 6-yard touchdown run and in the fourth quarter, Hunter Sokoloski scored a 1-yard touchdown run to finish the scoring 52-6.

Seeley’s success in track had Krahn initially concerned about their team. Charlo was able to exploit their lack of depth.

“They didn’t have a lot of subs and two of their kids didn’t have enough practices to play,” Krahn said. “I was a little concerned. I thought our kids held up pretty well and we were able to get a lot young kids playing as well.”

The Vikings, who now have a 1-0 record, will look to continue their quest to repeat as conference champs, and this Friday they will be tested on the road.

The Vikings hope to again give their younger players playing time if they continue to win by big margins.

Charlo will travel to Alberton to play Clark Fork at 7 p.m. Friday in Alberton.