Smoky Valley came into the night 2-0, looking to grab their 3rd straight win to start the season against a tough Hillsboro football team.
So far this season, the Viking defense has been stout, holding Halstead to 16 points and Haven to just 8. They proved well again tonight, only giving up one score to a high-powered group of Trojans.
The Vikings got on the board first, with 9:01 left in the first quarter. Justice Autry scored on a 53-yard rush to cap a 6 play, 65-yard drive. The point-after pass attempt from Karson Pihl to Vincent Pickering failed, leaving the Vikings with a 6-0 lead.
After a stop on defense, the Smoky offense handed the ball back to the Trojans, leading to their first and only score of the night with 3:55 left in the quarter. Quarterback, Matthew Potucek, ran 54 yards for the touchdown, adding a point-after run himself, giving the Trojans a 8-6 lead that would hold through the end of the first quarter.
With 8:35 left in the half, Trystan Stambaugh ran it in from the 1-yard line, followed by a successful 2-point try from Autry. The two defense held out the final 32:35 of the game, leaving us with a 14-6 to close out the ball game.
Justice Autry led the three-headed monster that has powered the Vikings offense. Smoky Valley rushed the ball 54 times tonight for 273 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per rush. This was the main reason for the Vikings winning the time of possession battle, 30:09 to 17:51. Autry added his third 100+ yard night of the season, with 18 rushes for 126 yards, and another touchdown, while Stambaugh and Blanchat added 78 and 69 yards respectively. Haven Lysell-Stewart led the defensive effort with 10.5 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and 1.5 tackles for loss.
The Vikings have themselves a 3-0 start to the season and travel out to Colby, Kansas next Friday.
