The Snohomish County Vikings bounced back with a 29-0 victory over the Multnomah County Buccaneers in a Northwest Football League game Aug. 12 at Portland’s Jefferson High School.
Quarterback Daimino Stewart threw for one touchdown and ran for two more to spark the Vikings to the win. After they turned the ball over four times the week before in a shutout loss to the Oregon Thunderbolts, the Vikings’ offense found its rhythm again.
“It was so much of a turnaround. What a team effort,” Vikings’ head coach Wes Fischer said.
Instead of turnovers costing the Vikings, they capitalized on them.
Cornerback Ty Williams’ interception set up the Vikings’ first score in the first quarter. Stewart hit Davie Beeks for a 38-yard touchdown pass. A bad snap on the extra point left the score 6-0.
Later in the quarter, defensive tackle Ishmael Easton recovered a fumble that gave the Vikings the ball on the Buccaneers’ 45-yard-line. Tailback Apollo Lewis scampered into the end zone from 38 yards out and the Vikings took a 13-0 lead after Larry Moody’s extra point.
In the second quarter, Stewart ran for a 34-yard touchdown on an option play to give the Vikings a 19-0 lead after the two-point conversion failed. A 33-yard field goal by Moody concluded the scoring in the first half.
Stewart scored again in the third quarter, finding the end zone on a 6-yard option run to cap a 65-yard drive. Lewis and seldom-used back Chris Stokes chewed up much of the yardage on the drive. Moody added the extra point to make the score 29-0.
Four starters on the offensive line did not play because of injury or other commitments but “the guys who stepped into those spots busted their butts,” Fischer said.
“We did some pretty special stuff considering we were missing four of our offensive linemen,” Fischer said.
The Vikings’ Jeff Berry, who moved from defensive end to tackle, had four sacks and several tackles for losses. Brian Carter intercepted a pass to halt a second quarter drive by the Buccaneers.
The Vikings improved to 4-3 in the league with the win and are tied with the Oregon Thunderbolts for fourth place.
To make the playoffs, the Vikings need to beat the Pierce County Bengals in a 7 p.m. game Aug. 19 at Edmonds Stadium. They also need the Renton Ravens to beat the Oregon Thunderbolts as well because the T-bolts own a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Vikings by virtue of an Aug. 5 win. A three- or four-way tie with the Willamette Valley Raiders, West Sound Saints and T-bolts would most likely leave the Vikings out as well, based on points scored, the next tiebreaker.
“We know it’s tough,” Fischer said. “We’re going to try to take care of our business on Saturday and see what happens from there.”
The home finale, also known as the Harvest Bowl, is a fundraiser/food drive for Volunteers of America food banks in Snohomish County. Fans who bring three cans of food will receive $1 off the price of admission. Part of the gate will also be donated to the food banks.
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