JV Vikes wrap up season with win

The junior varsity Vikings football players may be disappointed that their season has come to an end, but the fact that they ended it with an 18-14 victory over Ronan certainly gives it a silver lining.

“It was a really hard game. Ronan is always our toughest competition,” said Bigfork JV football coach Jimmy Quirk. “They brought plenty of players, and it was a very physical and hard-hitting game.”

The JV Vikes (4-1) led 12-0 at halftime, but let up in the start of the second half and allowed Ronan to find the end zone.

“Ronan ran back the opening kickoff in the third quarter and then later on completed a long pass to get a second touchdown, which had us sort of nervous,” Quirk said. “But the kids buckled down and held on defensively and didn’t let them score in the final minutes of the game.”

 Bigfork’s touchdowns were credited to sophomore Boyd Rieke, junior Stephen Jochen and freshman Josh Sandry. Sandry’s touchdown followed an interception by classmate Logan Mejak, who ran the ball back to the 1-yard line, which set Sandry up for a touchdown on a quarterback sneak.

“We played an outstanding physical first half,” Quirk said. “We had a couple of mental lapses in the third quarter, but when the fourth quarter came the boys really banded together and played really good defense against a very good offensive team. It really showed the heart that these boys have because they were able to shift the momentum and shut this team down.”

Quirk said that the win was made possible due to the work of many different players and a strong defensive effort.

“The team played great defense led by Colton Dopps and four sacks and a fumble recovery by Logan Mejak,” Quirk said. “We had a key interception by Andy Russell and a blocked punt by Vinny Quirk and an important faked punt by Josh Sandry, who then ran it in for a big play. We had three great catches by Cameron Nissen and a key first-down catch by Luke LaFontaine.”