Vikings prepare to defend title with new lineup

The idea of focusing on a new year and a new team is usually a concept reserved for those who are looking back on unfavorable seasons, but as the Vikings football team is coming to realize, new beginnings are also for those holding on to the championship title.

After years of being the team thankful for a clean slate, this year Bigfork’s football team is putting together a new lineup as it is being watched under a microscope by its opponents and its fans. However, target on their back or no target, the Vikes boast experience and skill this season.

“The team has quite a bit of experience,” said head coach Todd Emslie. “They played four more games last year than most teams did. Every game that you play in is a huge benefit. Experience-wise these seniors are in a good spot. It’s nice to have that much experience.”

Bigfork lost 14 seniors from last year’s team to graduation, but this year’s team — which boasts a roster of 46 boys — has another 15 seniors to step into those leadership roles.

Some of this year’s seniors have some pretty sizeable, and notable, shoes to fill from last year’s graduates, which include quarterback Christian Ker and running back Travis Knoll, as well as multiple linemen.

Taking Ker’s spot at QB is senior Colter Mahlum, who has been on the team since his freshman year serving as a backup quarterback as well as in other positions. Senior Cody Dopps, showed glimpses of his speed and potential to carry the ball consistently well last season, but this year Emslie and his team of assistant coaches will look to him to be the leading running back.

“It’s a big challenge for these guys to fill in for Travis and Christian,” Emslie said. “It’s a whole brand new year”

As was the case last year, Emslie is sitting with a slough of new players beyond the 12 freshman who have joined the program. They are sophomores, juniors and seniors, many of who were spurred to join the team after last year’s title victory. Many will be key members of this year’s effort, but they lack experience.

“A lot of these guys are coming out for the first time,” Emslie said. “Numbers can be deceiving, but if you’re up there in the 40s in a Class B program you’re sitting pretty good.”

Overall, Emslie said his boys are ready for the season ahead, which they begin Friday with a 7 p.m. game on the road in Ronan against the Chiefs.

“I think we’re looking pretty good,” Emslie said. “The test is going to be Friday night. It’s going to be hard. We have a bull’s-eye on our back. Everyone wants to beat Bigfork. We’re everyone’s little Superbowl game now. It’s a different year and preparation is going to be different. We’re not going to be the underdog in every game.”

Ronan moved down to Class B from Class A. The Chiefs, who were 5-4 last year and narrowly missed a spot in the playoffs, are in District 6B. Bigfork remains in 7B this year and the two districts make up the Western B Division.

Bigfork hasn’t played Ronan since the Vikes’ last winless season — 2008 — when this year’s seniors were freshmen. Bigfork hosted that game and lost 27-7.

With Ronan hosting Friday’s game there will be an added challenge for Bigfork — the Chiefs’ stadium has field turf. Fortunately, many of the Vikings players got to try it out during a team camp held in Ronan over the summer.

“Ronan is a good team and their coming from Class A and they won at that level,” Emslie said. “They have more kids than we do. They’re playing on their turf, which they’re used to. I don’t necessarily think it will be a factor as far as our kids having trouble playing on it, but that turf is a factor in the heat. It isn’t supposed to be too hot on Friday, though, so we should be alright.”

By the time Friday night rolls around the Vikes will have had nearly three weeks of practice together, and Emslie is ready to see how it has all paid off.

“I think that game is going to be a great game to watch,” Emslie said. “I’m really looking for us to avoid first-game mistakes that everybody makes. That’s one of my goals is to eliminate mistakes. I think that’s one of the reasons we went so far last year, is that we learned how to eliminate mistakes, and I just want us to keep going on that path.”