Season Review: Vikings navigated competitive season with flare

Charlo Viking footballers had a productive first half of the season, vaulting out to a pristine 4-0 mark that not only doubled their win total from last year, but also stratified them among the lower strata of the top 10 list of early Class C 8-man polls.

But a brutal second half of the schedule lurked around the corner that included tangling with two top-3 ranked teams. Although incurring two lopsided losses, the Vikings were still in contention for a postseason berth entering their regular schedule finale against Mission.

Charlo almost seemed acclimated to unfavorable conditions like their nordic mascot as the Vikings won the first half battle despite swirling snow, slick field conditions and below freezing temperatures. But as the offense cooled off with the falling mercury, their opponent was just starting to heat up. The early draft of the script written in their favor would flip the other way as Mission edged past host Charlo with the closing tally. The absence of Nate Clark from the lineup coupled with an injury to another starter early on during first half action may have factored into the outcome just enough to tilt the balance in favor of the challengers.

In a twist of irony, even if Charlo had prevailed, it is unlikely they would have been able to field a full roster for the first round playoff match when coronavirus contact tracing identified multiple players that would be placed in quarantine.

Quarterback Coyle Nagy passed for over 100 yards in five games, maintaining a triple figure average over the course of the season. The Viking backfield featured a trio of 200 yard plus rushers in Roper Edwards, Tucker Love and the scrambling of Nagy. A quartet among the receiving corps acquired century club credentials for pass receptions with a fifth knocking on the door of crossing the triple figure threshold. Both Love and Braydon Zempel caught for more than 200 yards each. The defense picked off at least a dozen interceptions while recovering seven fumbles. Close to three dozen tackles for loss were recorded.

Charlo graduates four from the football program that include Roper Edwards, Nate Clark, Phil Marquez and Ethan Hafliger.