Late rally, trick play gets Vikings victory

Published 2:21 pm Tuesday, July 22, 2008

After the game, Snohomish County Vikings’ defensive back Brian Carter could only say how much the team needs to have fun out on the field in order to win.

“We’re not getting paid to play this game,” Carter said to his teammates. “We’re doing this because we love this game; we need to have fun out there.”

Hopefully for the fans, that could mean more trick plays in the future.

Vikings’ running back Tristian Gray capped a punishing ground game with the game-winning touchdown en route to a 20-19 nailbiter against the Pierce County Bengals last Saturday night, July 19, at Edmonds District Stadium, bringing the team back to .500 at 3-3.

Gray, who finished the game with 106 yards on 17 carries, might be better remembered for his arm rather than his feet after he connected with tight end Louis Newsom in the end zone on a halfback pass play near the end of the first half, making his first pass attempt, completion and touchdown of the season.

The team agreed that they should try a couple other tricks to score.

“If it works and we score, great, let’s do more,” Carter laughed, referring to a trick play that is banned in the NFL and the NCAA. “We should try a fumblerooski. Who knows? Maybe the refs don’t know the rules.”

The first half hinted at what would be a close defensive battle as both teams got the ground game started early. The game’s first turnover came just two plays in after Bengals running back Kenneth Humphrey fumbled to Carter, leading to the game’s first score on a seven-yard connection from quarterback Hal Bisnett to receiver Jamar Brown just five minutes in. Kicker Larry Moody Sr. missed the extra point, leaving the lead at six.

The Bengals responded eight minutes later on the feet of quarterback Bernard Blosser. The tandem of Blosser and running back Steven Parley used the option offense to keep the Vikings’ defense on edge, getting their first score on a seven-yard run from Blosser to cap off a 50-yard, six-minute drive.

“We knew they were going to run the option, and they have a really talented quarterback,” Fischer said.

Pierce County’s second score came two plays after Blosser, playing defensive back, picked off Bisnett on an attempt to receiver Majikia Harris. The Bengals got the ball at midfield and Parley wriggled through the middle and ran 44 yards for six more, but a missed extra point would leave the score at 13 only a minute into the second quarter.

In what was most likely the best play of the game two drives later, Gray took a pitchout in the flat from Bisnett and after the defense bit on the pursuit, he dropped back and let the ball fly right to wide open Newsom, tying the game at 13-13 after a successful Moody extra point with 1:47 left.

Not even head coach Wes Fischer could hold back the laughter.

“Oh, that play was all [Bisnett],” Fischer said. “It sure as hell wasn’t [offensive coordinator Scott] Betzvog that called that one.”

Offensively, Pierce County dominated the running game in the first half with 157 yards, with 72 from Parley and 49 from Blosser. Gray topped Snohomish County with 60.

Bisnett ended the half 2-for-6 with 23 yards and a touchdown.

The second half started with back-to-back fumbles from each team and nothing happening in the third except for a Vikings’ 10-minute, 16-play drive that included an impressive fourth down conversion from five yards out, only to have it end in a punt.

The fourth quarter added to the suspense as the Bengals went on a 60-yard, 16-play march down the field that culminated in a three-yard run from Blosser to paydirt, but another missed point after kept the lead at six with 3:06 remaining.

The ensuing kickoff only added to the intensity as Carter cut the field in half for the Vikings with a 46-yard return, going down at the 50. After a two-yard run from Gray and an encroachment penalty making it second and three, Bisnett connected on back-to-back plays to Brown for 13 and Carter for 23, putting them on the Bengals’ seven. Gray got the final score by pounding the rock straight up the middle, and Moody kept it between the uprights for a one-point lead with 1:26 left.

“Gray’s so good with the ball,” Fischer said. “He covers so well and he’s really tough to bring down. And he’s really not afraid to take a hit.”

With the Bengals starting at their own 29, Blosser couldn’t connect on his first two passes, but an illegal contact penalty spotted them an additional 15 and fresh set of downs. One incomplete pass later, however, and he let one fly into the waiting hands of Carter, giving the Vikings the ball with 31 seconds left to knee out the clock.

The team has been keeping a bend-but-not-break mentality so far this season, and with a patchwork offensive and defensive line, they held true to that saying at the end.

The Vikings head to Portland, Ore. this weekend for a game against the 2-4 Willamette Valley Raiders at Cleveland High School. For more information, see www.nwfootball.net.