Vikings drop third straight

EDMONDS — By now, the Snohomish County Vikings were sure they’d have a win under their belts. Or at the very least a few touchdowns to show for their efforts.

Three weeks into the 2003 Northwest Football League season, the Vikings have come up short on both counts.

Snohomish County has yet to show any type of offensive flair or flow and dropped its third straight game last weekend.

The unbeaten King County Jaguars flattened the Vikings 30-0 June 28 at Edmonds Stadium to remain in a three-way tie atop the league standings.

In their three losses, the Vikings (0-2 league, 0-3 overall) have been outscored 89-12 and they haven’t reached the end zone since Week 1.

Head coach Wes Fischer singled out a pitiful passing game as the main culprit in Snohomish County’s sluggish start. The Vikings completed just 4 of 21 attempts for 28 yards against the Jaguars.

“We need to get our quarterbacks to throw with real authority instead of just putting it up there,” Fischer said. “We still haven’t got our (offensive) line where it needs to be. That was part of the problem. We’ve got guys playing out of position.”

A 55-yard interception return and touchdown by Milton Myers and Malachi DeWalt’s 5-yard TD run helped the Jaguars secure a 17-0 first-quarter lead.

Vikings cornerback John Redmond halted King County’s next drive by picking off a Blake Garfield pass and returning it 34 yards to the Snohomish County 44-yard line.

Quarterback Eric Johnson then hit Phil Nugent for a 21-yard gain on third-and-long and a Jaguars penalty moved the Vikings inside the King County 25 with three minutes left in the second quarter.

But Snohomish County’s only attempt at the end zone was incomplete and Nick Obrastoff yanked his 32-yard field goal try wide.

The Jaguars responded with a 77-yard scoring drive capped by DeWalt’s 10-yard draw with 19 seconds remaining in the half.

So rather than facing a more manageable 10- or 14-point halftime deficit, Snohomish County trailed 24-0 at the break.

“That was key,” Fischer said. “When you’ve got an opportunity to score, you need to.”

King County amassed 212 of its 426 yards of offense in the second half, but was held to one touchdown — Isia Hall’s 13-yard strike to Hakeem McCallister at the 10:22 mark of the fourth quarter.

Duane Bowen blocked a Jaguars field goal attempt and snagged an interception in the third quarter. The Vikings drove to the King County 13-yard line after the interception — most of the yardage came off two Jaguars penalties — and lined up for a 36-yard field goal.

But King County linebacker Dion Alexander stuffed Obrastoff’s kick and the Jaguars drove 80 yards for McCallister’s score.

Snohomish County committed a season-best one turnover, but was limited to 104 yards of offense in its last home game until Aug. 2.

Following an Independence Day bye week, the Vikings finish out July with road games against the Renton Ravens, Multnomah County Bucs and Willamette Valley Raiders.

“I hate the way the schedule worked out this year,” Fischer said. “Four weeks away is terrible scheduling. We need to get that changed for next season.”