Vikings lose at West Carroll 12-7 Sat.
LOOKING FOR DAYLIGHT – Senior Tre Thomas looks for daylight on this pass play. Thomas did catch a 52-yard pass for a touchdown as the Vikings only score in the 12-7 loss on Saturday at West Carroll.
Hurricane Harvey dropped 10 inches of rain on West Tennessee this past week and Vikings-War Eagles District 7A matchup was moved to Saturday. The last time the Vikings played on a Saturday was when they lost to Marion County back in 1995 in the State Championship. This past Saturday was not the Championship but the outcome was the same as Humboldt’s offense sputtered in the Head Coach Joseph Shephard first game. The Vikings lost to the War Eagles 12-7.
Humboldt got off to a good start thanks to a big return by Kayvi Russell as the Vikes set up on offense at midfield. Quarterback Mike Brown ran for five yards and then an offside penalty against West Carroll gave Humboldt a first down. The drive would stall at the West Carroll 33-yard line and the War Eagles took over on downs.
The War Eagles came into the game 0-2 on the season as they were shutout in their first two matchups and were looking for their first win on the 2017 season. A bad snap on first down led to a scramble for the ball but West Carroll recovered. Qua Luster had a hit in the backfield for a loss and then an innocent looking pass play in the flat turned into a 68-yard touchdown for the War Eagles. The point after was no good and the War Eagles led 6-0 with 7:26 left in the first.
Humboldt was pinned deep in their next possession as a short return and a block in the back led to the Vikes starting at the 10-yard line. The Vikes were unable to move the sticks and Gabe Bracamonte punted the ball from the end zone. The 40-yard kick got Humboldt out of a hole. The Vikes defense forced a quick three and out as Luster had another tackle for loss. Jhyquez Jones batted down a pass and an incompletion led to a punt.
The ball rolled to the Humboldt 11-yard line and the Vikes gained nine yards on a pass play from Bracamonte to Tre Thomas and the crowd wanted Coach Shepherd to go for it on fourth and one but the punt team trotted back out on the field. A short punt gave West Carroll the ball inside the 50-yard line in Humboldt territory. The game quickly went into the second period and on second and short, a bad snap over the War Eagle QB’s head was recovered by senior Jordan Patrick at the Humboldt 45-yard line.
The Vikings got five yards on a run from Keyshawn Stewart and on fourth and short near midfield, the Vikes went for it and Brown came up short on a dive play and West Carroll took over on downs with 9:30 left in the half.
West Carroll’s offense made a couple of first downs and drove the ball down to the Vikings 18-yard line but another high snap to the War Eagle quarterback for a nine-yard loss and the Vikings took over at the 27-yard line.
Humboldt was plagued all game long with false starts and delay of game penalties as they suffered three on the next drive. A pass from Brown to Thomas was good for eight yards and as he fought for additional yardage, Thomas fumbled. However, Malik Cox was near the fumble, scooped it up and ran 20 yards for a first down out to the 49-yard line. The drive stalled and West Carroll took over at midfield.
The War Eagles spent a lot of time in the first half in Viking territory and drove down to the 20-yard line with about 40 seconds left in the half. Jones deflected a pass and K.J. Pettigrew got the interception as Humboldt kept it a 6-0 game as both teams went to the locker room.
In the second half, West Carroll got the ball first and drove downfield running the football. Humboldt’s defense did come up with a stop on fourth down as Russell stopped the quarterback on a sweep play and Humboldt took over on downs at the 26-yard line. The Vikes second half didn’t start well offensively as a bad snap and two false starts led to yet another Bracamonte punt.
West Carroll put together a five-play 59-yard drive and took a 12-0 lead. Adam Hartig knocked down the two-point conversion pass to keep it at 12-0 with 1:00 left in the third period.
Russell had a nice return negated by another Humboldt penalty. The Vikings had three false starts on the next drive as Humboldt went three and out as the game moved to the fourth and West Carroll in control with a 12-0 lead and the football. The Vikes defense got the ball back as the War Eagles went for it on fourth down at the 48-yard line and the incomplete pass gave the Vikes the ball in the great field position.
Humboldt scored on the next play as Bracamonte hooked up with Thomas for a 58-yard pass and run for the Vikings initial score of the season. Bracamonte kicked the ball through the uprights and with 8:37 on the clock, the Vikes were right back in the game at 12-7.
The War Eagles got a big return out to the 45-yard line and on four running plays, West Carroll was at the Humboldt 38-yard line trying to run out the clock. A bad snap on third down led to a 12-yard loss and a War Eagle punt. A short punt gave the Vikings the ball with 5:35 left in the game and a chance to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.
Bracamonte hit Russell with a quick pass. Russell broke three tackles and gained 27 yards as Humboldt was in War Eagle territory. False starts continued to hurt the Vikings as they incurred two more penalties on the drive. Bracamonte to Jones for seven yards brought up third and eight. Two incompletions gave West Carroll the ball back with 3:41 to play in the game.
The defense played tough on the last West Carroll possession and forced a third and 16 but the QB scrambled for a 17-yard gain on third down and gave the War Eagles a first down with less than a minute to play in the game. West Carroll went into victory formation and walked away with their first win of the season 12-7 over the Vikings.
Another tough loss for the Vikes as this was a Region game as Humboldt falls to 0-2 on the season and things don’t get any easier as Humboldt will entertain Peabody next Friday night at home at 7:00.
