Snohomish County’s offense sputtered and sputtered in its Northwest Football League opener.
The Vikings generated only 71 yards of total offense, 35 on the ground and 36 through the air.
A paucity of production was too much to overcome as the Oregon Thunderbolts prevailed 9-3 in the June 9 contest at Alderwood Creek Middle School in Milwaukie, Ore.
“The defense played very well,” Snohomish County head coach Wes Fischer said. “When the offense is struggling and ends up (going) three-and-out, it puts a heck of a load on the defense.”
The problems on offense can be traced to a number of factors, Fischer said.
The Vikings were missing three of their four starting linemen and several penalties negated significant gains by the offense. Snohomish County also had one pass picked off in the end zone.
Oregon took a 2-0 lead in the first quarter after the Thunderbolts tackled a Snohomish County running back for a safety.
“We couldn’t drive it out of the end zone,” Fischer said.
Oregon then increased its lead to 9-0 with a second-quarter touchdown. The Vikings cut the deficit to 9-3 on a 35-yard field goal by Larry Moody with five minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Snohomish County then moved the ball inside Oregon’s 35-yard line late in the game but fumbled trying to advance the ball after a catch. The Thunderbolts then took a knee to run out the clock.
Fischer was pleased with the play of the defense, which shut down Oregon for the most part.
“They were not able to run the ball,” he said. “We made our adjustments. They could not run from tackle to tackle. They ended up having to go outside.”
Defensive back Brian Carter had five tackles, forced a fumble and also had an interception.
The Vikings look to rebound against Pierce County at 6 p.m. Saturday, June 16 at Sunset Chevrolet Stadium in Sumner. The Bengals lost 44-7 to defending NWFL champion King County in their opener.
The final score was somewhat misleading as the first half was a close game, according to Fischer.
“They’re going to be tough,” Fischer said of the Bengals. “(Pierce County coach) Ron Baines is a heck of a coach. … If we play our best and they play our best, it’ll be a good game.”
Fischer expects to have all of his linemen back for the Pierce County game.
“It was really tough to mount an offense without that starting offensive line there,” Fischer said.
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