Two equally matched teams went head-to-head in the Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletic Directorate 3A football quarter-finals, and the North Battleford Vikings came within a point of moving on.
"It's playoffs. Anything can happen," said coach Jamie Sommerfeld. Unfortunately the anything that happened was a 10-9 loss to Tommy Douglas.
The breakdown of Thursday's points had Tommy Douglas score the game's first touchdown. After a big play and miscue by the Vikings' defence, the Tigers took advantage and earned the game's first lead.
The Vikings countered with a touchdown of their own and tied the game.
Both teams had some good drives, but the defences were all but perfect. Sommerfeld said the difference was the Tigers made one more big play than the Vikings.
Later, Tommy Douglas nailed a field goal and led the game 10-7.
In the third quarter, the Vikings were marching down the field and elected to punt, pinning Tommy Douglas deep in their own territory. The Tigers surrendered a safety making it a 10-9 game.
Late in the game, the Vikings were driving the ball and had a chance to complete a pass and get into field goal range, but the ball went off the receiver's fingertips and the Vikings saw their season come to an end.
Tommy Douglas held on to beat the Vikings for the second time this season. The Tigers advance to play Bishop James Mahoney, who had a first round bye in the semi final.
"It was a very exciting game," said Sommerfeld adding, "It was a very hard-fought game and as a staff we were incredibly proud of the way they played."
The Vikings season ends with a 2-4 record during the regular season and now Sommerfeld said the team graduates about 11 players. The Vikings also took their graduating junior players along to give them a taste of what to expect come next season. Of those seniors, Sommerfeld mentioned the team will miss those leaving the offensive line, or hoggies as he refers to them, in Brendan Elliott, T.J. Nicotine and Shaye Clark as well as quarterback Cole Omelchenko. On the defence the biggest losses will be defensive captains Pita Tuiloma and Scott Reiley.
Sommerfeld noted that some of the graduates have intentions of playing football next season with the Saskatoon Hilltops, the U of S Huskies or other opportunities.
Looking back on the season, the Vikings' coaching staff understood it would be a long process to get the young players playing good football since they began the season with a green group of good athletes.
"We knew we were going to start off really slow," said Sommerfeld. "As the season went on they started to clue in to what was happening and what it was going to take to win."
Now with the Vikings' season over on the field, the season will officially come to an end at the Dec. 6 football banquet at North Battleford Comprehensive High School.
