Vikings bang up Bellarmine, seal playoff spot

Published 1:00 pm Wednesday, October 25, 2006

POULSBO — North Kitsap’s Friday night game against Bellarmine Prep was more important than a ticket to the playoffs, more exciting than its sold-out crowd and even more meaningful than Senior Night and Homecoming combined.

It was all of the above.

The Vikings took advantage of the electricity that filled the October night air at Viking Stadium as they scampered for almost 400 yards rushing while senior quarterback Paul Stock added 119 yards passing.

The dominant performance and ensuing 37-21 victory sealed the Vikings’ third place spot in the Narrows League Bay Division as the team heads into the playoffs.

North (3-2 Narrows League, 4-3 overall) will face the Narrows Bridge No. 3 team — Lincoln (2-2, 5-3) — in a loser-out league crossover game at 4 p.m. Oct. 28 at Mount Tahoma Stadium.

“It feels great. We really wanted that. We really needed that, and the team was ready for it,” senior linebacker and offensive lineman Devin Gottschalk said of the homecoming win.

The Viking offensive line — consisting of guards Gottschalk and Jordan Ejde; tackles Cameron White and Erik Rydeen; center Josh Wills and tight end Eric Hedin — provided the protection and push needed to amass 515 total yards of offense Friday night. After entering the season with only one veteran, the Viking bigs have been making huge strides.

“Our philosophy as a coaching staff and a team is just to get better each week, and we obviously got better,” said NK head coach Steve Frease, noting that improvement is a never-ending mission. “It’s come quite a ways, but we still need to work our blocking game better.”

Beginning the evening on offense, North’s ground game racked up three first downs on its first three plays before going to the air. Then on NK’s first pass play, Bellarmine’s Beau Baldassin sniped an interception and sprinted 75 yards, untouched for the first points of the game.

North’s Jamaal Smith answered back, breaking through for a 36 yard-gain putting the Vikings inside the 10-yard-line later in the quarter. On their third try, the Vikings scored their first points on a Smith plunge with 32 seconds left in the first quarter.

“I thought after the first row that we were in trouble, but they (North) came back and really executed well,” Frease said. “They were confident … the kids have worked hard, and they understand the game.”

Confidence was one of the biggest bounties collected at Viking Stadium Friday night, Gottschalk said, as the team figured out how to put it all together.

In the second quarter, the Vikings’ next scoring drive was propelled by a 30-yard pass reeled in by Jack Clearman. Stock’s delivery to the 9-yard-line on the Vikings’ sideline set up a 4-yard touchdown stroll for Kyle Brose.

During Bellarmine’s ensuing drive, the Viking defense proved its worth yet again. As the Lions gathered momentum with a 20-yard rush by Bryce Comfort, NK’s Cory Hall sacked quarterback Lucas Schindele to force a punt. It was one of three sacks for NK.

“We just had a good game plan and executed,” said NK defensive end Eric Hedin. “We knew where they were going to come.”

The Vikings held the Lions to 185 yards of total offense.

While on offense, the Vikings scored once more before the half on a 4-yard jaunt by Smith — who finished with 181 yards and three touchdowns on the game. Sophomore kicker Zach Sampson added a field goal in the second half while North’s No. 2 offense also scored en route to the win.

Vikings vs. Lions

1 2 3 4 Final

NK 7 14 7 9 37

BP 7 0 7 7 21

Rushing Totals — BP 142; NK 396

Individual — BP: Lucas Schindele 9-51, Kyle Able 8-41; NK: Smith 22-181, Greg Ottele 4-91, Brose 11-57.

Passing Totals – BP: Schindele 2-12-43; NK: Stock 6-14-119-1.

Penalties — BP: 6-70; NK: 8-55

First Downs — BP: 8; NK: 24