Vikings Second Half Push Falls Short Against Knox Central
by JOHN MONROE
TriCitiesSports.com
August 17, 2017
BRISTOL, Tenn. -- On Thursday night at The Stone Castle, the Tennessee High Vikings kicked off the 2017 football season and for the first time in quite a while, the schedule didn’t include the Dobyns-Bennett Indians from Kingsport.
Once Tennessee High decided to take the longtime rival off of the schedule for the 2017 season, the Vikings had a little trouble finding a replacement.
After battling scheduling issues with local schools, the Vikings would find themselves looking all the way to Knoxville to find a replacement opponent that would eventually come in the form of Class 5A state runner-up Knox Central.
The Vikings don’t have much of a history with the Knox Central Bobcats, having played just only once, in the 1972 playoff quarter final in Neyland Stadium. Unfortunately for the Vikings the result wasn’t quite the same, and while it looked grim early on, there were still plenty of positives to come from this meeting.
The Bobcats wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard. After being stopped for no gain on the first play, the Bobcats transfer quarterback Dakota Fawver scampered to the outside for a 75-yard touchdown run. The Vikings would block the extra point attempt, but it wouldn’t be long before the Bobcats found the endzone once again.
After the Vikings 10-play, 48-yard drive stalled on the Central side of the field, the Bobcats would go on a long drive of their own and cap it off with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Fawver to wide receiver Isaiah Osborne.
The Bobcats would score once again to start the 2nd quarter to extend the lead to 20-0.
The Vikings would finally get into the end zone after the longest drive of the night (13 plays) on a six-yard run by Viking senior quarterback Courtland Carter. After diving to the pylon for the touchdown, Carter remained down on the field for a few minutes with a cramp, one that would keep him sidelined off and on for the rest of the game.
With the second quarter winding dow,n the Bobcats would once again find the end zone on an eight-yard run by running back Michael Milburo. The Vikings would run out of time on the ensuing possession leaving the halftime score 27-6,
Everything in the game at intermission pointed to a coming blowout. The Vikings however, had other ideas.
The two teams would battle hard during the 3rd quarter, often stopping for cramps on both sides. The quarter saw five possessions, three for the Vikings and two for the Bobcats, but no points from either squad.
The stalemate was finally broken when Vikings running back Hunter Holt scored from 11 yards out early in the 4th to make the score 27-13.
But the Vikings still had work to do.
The defense would hold Knox Central on its next possession and the Bobcats would punt back to the Vikings. On the very next play, with Courtland Carter looking from the sideline still fighting a cramp, Tennessee High's Tan Overbay found C.J. Hess for a 64-yard touchdown pass, catch, and run to make the score 27-19.
With the crowd back on its feet the Vikings had the look of an upset in their eyes.
The Bobcats dashed the hopes of the Viking faithful on the next drive. After methodically marching down the field, the Bobcats would find the end zone via a Dakota Fawver scramble to push the lead back out to 33-19
Despite the loss the Vikings showed a different team the one that finished 0-6 in the Mountain East Conference and 2-8 overall in 2016.
Despite being out-sized on defense and going up against a veteran offensive line averaging 6’0 298, the Vikings defense showed that they were still up to the task. No Bobcat running back ran for more than 20 yards.
While Fawver managed 126 on the ground, largely due to the 75-yard run to start the game. The Vikings still managed to outrush the Bobcats 180-170. Despite being in and out of the game all night, Courtland Carter would lead the Vikings rushing attack with 81 yards on 14 carries.
Next up for the Vikings is a trip to Ben Hur, Virginia to face the Lee High Generals. While a loss is always disappointing, the Vikings will look to build off of their second half surge as they prepare for the Generals and hop into conference play against the Daniel Boone Trailblazers the following week.
The Stone Castle - BRISTOL, TN
August 17, 2017
Photographer: Eddy Gray
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