Story and Photo by Brennan Waldorf
Broadwater Vikings fell 55-16 to a much larger Kent County team. The Vikings were fighting from behind from the start of the game. The Kent county offense proved to be too much as it overwhelmed the Vikings defense, moving the ball effectively both in the air and on the ground.
The Trojans received the ball and quickly made their way into Vikings territory with a 40-yard run by junior running back Ty Wilson. Wilson would punch a 1-yard touchdown in on the next play and with the extra point being successful the Vikings were down 7-0. The Vikings first offensive possession resulted in a turnover on downs when a rush up the middle fell inches short on fourth-and-2. Kent County would capitalize on good field position, scoring their second rushing touchdown of the day on only two plays.
Down 14 to 0 the Vikings would switch to a pass heavy offense that showed glimpses of the playmaking ability the young team is capable of. Brant Bloxom and company were facing an uphill battle after they committed a 5-yard penalty followed by a sack that had the Vikings facing third-and-15. On the next play, Bloxom delivered a strike over the middle to Gunnar Gustafson who had blown by his defender and took the catch to the house for a 65-yard TD. Gunnar would then go on to complete a pass to Clay Wardius on a 2-point conversion putting the score at 14-8.
Back on defense the fatigue of having to play both sides of the ball set in for an undersized and undermanned Vikings squad. They stood their ground and made the Trojans work for their gains but the strong rushing attack was successfully persistent with an array of running backs finding the end zone. The Viking defense was unable to record a single stop in the first half, putting themselves in 35-8 hole. The fatigue from defense quickly set in on offense as the struggling line missed blocks and fourth downs weren’t converted.
The last score of the half for the Vikings came with nine minutes on the clock when Bloxom hit Gustafson in stride for a 78-yard TD. Bloxom and company would then convert for 2 with a completed pass to Walt Etheridge.
With the last whistle of the first half, the score was 48-16 and the Vikings were gassed. The clock was set to run and both teams pulled starters allowing their younger players to finish the game. The Vikings move to 1-1 on the season and will travel to Powhatan, Va., on Sept. 13 to face Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot.
